The title of ''protosebastos'' (, ''prōtosébastos'', "first '' sebastos''") was a high

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

court title created by Emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

History

Although the title first appears in a document of 1049, where Domenico I Contarini, the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

, uses it alongside the title of ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

'' to refer to himself, it is commonly accepted that it was created by Emperor

(). It was first conferred to his brother Adrianos, while another early holder, his brother-in-law Michael Taronites, was soon after raised to the even higher title of '' panhypersebastos''. It was also conferred on Sergius VI of Naples and his son, John VI, at about the same time. Later, during the 12th century, it was given to close relatives of the Byzantine emperor, such as the eldest son of a ''

sebastokratōr ''Sebastokrator'' (, ; ; ), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound ( ...

''. In the

Palaiologan period The Byzantine Empire, officially known as the Roman Empire, was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its r ...

it was conferred to leading aristocratic families, such as the Tarchaneiotai, the Raoul, etc. The ''Book on Offices'' by Pseudo-Kodinos, written shortly after the middle of the 14th century, places the ''prōtosebastos'' in the thirteenth place in the overall hierarchy after the emperor, between the '' megas logothetēs'' and the '' pinkernēs''. His ceremonial costume comprised a golden-green ''skiadion'' hat with silk embroideries, or a domed ''skaranikon'' in a reddish

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

colour decorated with gold-wire embroidery, with a painted glass depiction of the emperor standing in front, and enthroned in the rear. A rich silk '' kabbadion'' tunic was also worn.

Notable holders

* Adrianos Komnenos, brother of Alexios I Komnenos * Alexios Branas, general * Alexios Komnenos, nephew of Manuel I Komnenos, ''de facto'' regent in 1180–82 * Constantine Bodin, ruler of

Duklja Duklja ( sr-Cyrl, Дукља; ; ) was a medieval South Slavs, South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana river in the east, and to the sou ...

in 1081–1101 * George Mouzalon, friend and chief minister of Theodore II Laskaris *

Hrelja Hrelja may refer to: * Hrelja (protosebastos), 14th-century feudal lord from northeastern Macedonia and the Rila mountains * Silvano Hrelja (born 1958), Croatian politician * Adnan Hrelja (born 1993), Bosnian-Herzegovinian footballer See also * ...

, magnate of the

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српско царство, Srpsko carstvo, separator=" / ", ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expande ...

* Teodor I Muzaka, ruler of Principality of Muzaka and Protosebastos * John Komnenos, nephew of Alexios I Komnenos and governor of Dyrrhachium * Michael Panaretos, official and historian of the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

* Philaretos Brachamios, general * Theodore Branas, general, son of Alexios Branas and husband of the twice empress Agnes of France

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Byzantine offices after pseudo-Kodinos Byzantine court titles