Protosebastos

Although the title first appears in a document of 1049, where Domenico I Contarini, the Doge of Venice, uses it alongside the title of patrikios to refer to himself, it is commonly accepted that it was created by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos ({{reign|1081|1118}}).{{sfn|ODB|loc="Protosebastos" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1747–1748}} It was first conferred to his brother Adrianos,{{sfn|Magdalino|2002|p=181}} while another early holder, his brother-in-law Michael Taronites, was soon after raised to the even higher title of panhypersebastos.{{sfn|ODB|loc="Protosebastos" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1747–1748}} It was also conferred on Sergius VI of Naples and his son, John VI, at about the same time.{{sfn|von Falkenhausen|2007|p=107}}

Later, during the 12th century, it was given to close relatives of the Byzantine emperor, such as the eldest son of a sebastokratōr.{{sfn|Stiernon|1965|p=224}} In the Palaiologan period it was conferred to leading aristocratic families, such as the Tarchaneiotai, the Raoul, etc.{{sfn|ODB|loc="Protosebastos" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1747–1748}}

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.{{sfn|Verpeaux|1966|p=137}} His ceremonial costume comprised a golden-green skiadion hat with silk embroideries, or a domed skaranikon in a reddish apricot 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.{{sfn|Verpeaux|1966|p=155}}

• 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 in 1081–1101
• George Mouzalon, friend and chief minister of Theodore II Laskaris
• Hrelja, magnate of the Serbian Empire
• 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
• Philaretos Brachamios, general
• Theodore Branas, general, son of Alexios Branas and husband of the twice empress Agnes of France

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Portal|Byzantine Empire}}

• {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|ref={{harvid|ODB}}}}
• {{cite book|last=Magdalino|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Magdalino|title=The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|orig-year=1993|isbn=0-521-52653-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cWZvqp7q18C}}
• {{cite journal|last=Stiernon|first=Lucien|title=Notes de titulature et de prosopographie byzantines: Sébaste et gambros|journal=Revue des études byzantines|volume=23|year=1965|pages=222–243|url=http://persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1965_num_23_1_1349|doi=10.3406/rebyz.1965.1349 }}
• {{cite book | editor-first = Jean | editor-last = Verpeaux | title = Pseudo-Kodinos, Traité des Offices | publisher = Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique | year = 1966 | language = fr }}
• {{cite journal|last=von Falkenhausen|first=Vera|author-link=Vera von Falkenhausen|title=The South Italian Sources|journal=Proceedings of the British Academy|volume=132|year=2007}}

{{Byzantine offices after pseudo-Kodinos}}

Category:Byzantine court titles