Sebastokratōr

Sebastokratōr (Greek: σεβαστοκράτωρ; Bulgarian and Serbian Cyrillic: Севастократор; both pronounced sevastokrator) 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 of "sebastos" ("venerable", the Greek equivalent of the Latin Augustus) and "kratōr" ("ruler", the same element as is found in "autokratōr", "emperor"). The wife of a sebastokratōr was named sebastokratorissa (Greek: σεβαστοκρατόρισσα) in Greek or sevastokratitsa (Cyrillic: севастократица) in Serbian and Bulgarian.

The title was created by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) to honour his elder brother Isaac Komnenos. According to Anna Komnene, Alexios did this to raise Isaac above the rank of Caesar, which he had already promised to his brother-in-law, Nikephoros Melissenos. Anna Komnene compares the rank of sebastokratōr to "a second emperor", and also records that along with the Caesar a sebastokratōr was granted the right to wear a crown (but not the imperial diadem). During the Komnenian dynasty (1081–1185), the title continued to be the highest below that of Emperor until 1163, when Emperor Manuel I created the title of despotēs. During that period, it was given exclusively to members of the imperial family, chiefly younger sons of the emperor.

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