nobilissimus on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Nobilissimus'' (
The term ''nobilissimus'' originated as an epithet to the title of '' Caesar'', whose holder was the Roman and Byzantine emperor's heir-apparent and who would, after Geta in 198, be addressed ''nobilissimus Caesar''. According to the historian Zosimus, Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) first created the ''nobilissimus'' into a separate dignity, so as to honour some of his relatives without implying a claim to the imperial throne. The title thus came to be awarded to members of the imperial family, coming in rank immediately after that of ''Caesar'', and remained so throughout the early and middle Byzantine period, until the mid-11th century. In the '' Klētorologion'' of Philotheos, written in 899, the rank's insignia are described as a purple tunic, mantle and belt, indicating the exalted position of its holder. Their award by the emperor in a special ceremony signified the elevation of the recipient to the office..
From the late 11th century, the title was given to senior army commanders, the future Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos being the first to be thus honoured. The inflation of its holders during the Komnenian period led to its devaluation, and the new titles of ''prōtonōbelissimos'' (πρωτονωβελίσσιμος, "first ''nobilissimus''") and ''prōtonōbelissimohypertatos'' (πρωτονωβελισσιμοϋπέρτατος, "supreme first ''nobilissimus''") were created in the 12th century. ''nobilissimus puer'' referred to "most noble child".
''Nobilissimus'' (Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for "most noble"), in Byzantine Greek ''nōbelissimos'' (Greek: νωβελίσσιμος),. was one of the highest imperial titles in the late Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
and Byzantine empires. The feminine form of the title was ''nobilissima''.
History and functions
The term ''nobilissimus'' originated as an epithet to the title of '' Caesar'', whose holder was the Roman and Byzantine emperor's heir-apparent and who would, after Geta in 198, be addressed ''nobilissimus Caesar''. According to the historian Zosimus, Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) first created the ''nobilissimus'' into a separate dignity, so as to honour some of his relatives without implying a claim to the imperial throne. The title thus came to be awarded to members of the imperial family, coming in rank immediately after that of ''Caesar'', and remained so throughout the early and middle Byzantine period, until the mid-11th century. In the '' Klētorologion'' of Philotheos, written in 899, the rank's insignia are described as a purple tunic, mantle and belt, indicating the exalted position of its holder. Their award by the emperor in a special ceremony signified the elevation of the recipient to the office..
From the late 11th century, the title was given to senior army commanders, the future Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos being the first to be thus honoured. The inflation of its holders during the Komnenian period led to its devaluation, and the new titles of ''prōtonōbelissimos'' (πρωτονωβελίσσιμος, "first ''nobilissimus''") and ''prōtonōbelissimohypertatos'' (πρωτονωβελισσιμοϋπέρτατος, "supreme first ''nobilissimus''") were created in the 12th century. ''nobilissimus puer'' referred to "most noble child".
''Nobilissimi''
* Hannibalianus * Varronianus * Gratian * Valentinianus Galates * Valentinian III * Justinian I * Martinos *Bagrat IV of Georgia
Bagrat IV ( ka, ბაგრატ IV; 101824 November 1072), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King of Georgia from 1027 to 1072. During his long and eventful reign, Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure Georgia's sovereign ...
* George II of Georgia
* Alexios I Komnenos
* Robert Guiscard
* Tzachas
References
Sources
* * * {{cite journal, last=Mitthof, first=Fritz, title=Vom ἱερώτατος Καίσαρ zum ἐπιφανέστατος Καίσαρ. Die Ehrenprädikate in der Titulatur der Thronfolger des 3. Jh. n. Chr. nach den Papyri, journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, volume=99, year=1993, location=Bonn, publisher=Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, pages=97–111, url=http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/zpe/downloads/1993/099pdf/099097.pdf, language=German Ancient Roman titles Byzantine imperial titles Byzantine court titles *