Sebastophoros
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The office is first attested in the Escorial Taktikon of circa 975. Nicolas Oikonomides suggested that it was introduced sometime between 963 and 975.[1][2][3] In the Escorial Taktikon, it is ranked as one of the highest dignities, after the proedros and before the magistroi,[4] and was usually reserved for eunuchs.[2][5]
The first known holder was Romanos Lekapenos, the son of Stephen Lekapenos and grandson of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944),[2][6] but Oikonomides suggested that the title may have been first created for Basil Lekapenos, the powerful parakoimomenos and long-time first minister of the Byzantine Empire.[7]
The functions of the sebastophoros are unclear; the name may imply that he carried the emperor's banner, or that he was a personal messenger of the emperor, a role some of its holders are known to have fulfilled.[2][3] The title was quickly devalued, already during the 11th century: on seals, it is combined with relatively modest offices in the Byzantine imperial hierarchy. It disappeared completely after the 12th century.[2][3]
In some texts, namely the Patria of Constantinople and the Suda lexicon, the sebastophoroi are identified as officials of the districts (regeonai, "regions") of Constantinople, who every year on October 5 performed dances before the Byzantine emperor. This statement, however, comes from the 6th-century antiquarian writer John Lydus, who alleges that this practice existed under Emperor Tiberius (r. 14–37), i.e. in Rome.[1][2]