''Prōtospatharios'' ( el, πρωτοσπαθάριος) was one of the highest court dignities of the middle

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period (8th to 12th centuries), awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.

History

The meaning of the title, "first ''

spatharios The ''spatharii'' or ''spatharioi'' (singular: la, spatharius; el, σπαθάριος, literally "spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely ho ...

''", indicates its original role as leader of the order (''taxis'') of the ''spatharioi'', the imperial bodyguards, was already attested in the 6th century. Probably under the Heraclians, the rank became an honorary dignity (Greek: δια βραβείου ἀξία, ''dia brabeiou axia''), and was henceforth bestowed to high-ranking

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

commanders, senior court officials, and allied rulers.. The first concrete reference to a ''prōtospatharios'' occurs in the ''Chronicle'' of

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...

, who records "Sergios, ''prōtospatharios'' and ''

stratēgos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

" in 718. In the late 9th century, the ''prōtospatharios'' is recorded as ranking below the ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) 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 ...

'' and above the ''

dishypatos ''Dishypatos'', Latinized as ''dishypatus'' ( el, δισύπατος, "twice ''hypatos''"), was a Byzantine honorary dignity (διὰ βραβείου ἀξία, ''dia brabeiou axia'') in the 9th–11th centuries, intended for "bearded men" (i.e. ...

''. The award of the dignity also meant the entry of its holder in the

Byzantine Senate The Byzantine senate or eastern Roman senate ( el, Σύγκλητος, ''Synklētos'', or , ''Gerousia'') was a continuation of the Roman Senate, established in the 4th century by Constantine I. It survived for centuries, but the senate's powers ...

. Its prestige was consequently very high, as illustrated by a well-known story related by Emperor

Constantine Porphyrogennetos Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

() in his ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'': during the reign of his father, Emperor

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well r ...

(), an aged cleric of the ''

Nea Ekklesia The Nea Ekklēsia ( gkm, Νέα Ἐκκλησία, "New Church"; known in English as "The Nea") was a church built by Byzantine Emperor Basil I the Macedonian in Constantinople between 876 and 880. It was the first monumental church built in the ...

'', Ktenas by name, paid 60

litra A litra (plural: litrae; grc, λίτρα) was a small silver coin (or unit of measurement for other precious metals) used in the Archaic-era and early Classical colonies of Ancient Greece in general and in ancient Sicily in particular. As a co ...

s of gold (circa 19.4 kg), i.e. sixty times the annual stipend of 72 ''

nomismata ''Nomisma'' ( el, νόμισμα) was the ancient Greek word for "money" and is derived from nomos (νόμος) anything assigned, a usage, custom, law, ordinance".The King James Version New Testament Greek Lexicon; Strong's Number:3546 The te ...

'' to which ''prōtospatharioi'' were entitled, to acquire the title. He did not live long to enjoy his new status, however, dying two years later. Like other titles of the middle Byzantine period, its importance declined sharply in the 11th century. The last attested occurrence is in 1115, although the title is still recorded by

pseudo-Kodinos George Kodinos or Codinus ( el, Γεώργιος Κωδινός), also Pseudo-Kodinos, ''kouropalates'' in the Byzantine court, is the reputed 14th-century author of three extant works in late Byzantine literature. Their attribution to him is mere ...

in the mid-14th century in the 34th place of the court hierarchy, between the '' primmikerios'' of the court and the ''megas archōn''. According to the ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos, the holders of the dignity were distinguished between eunuchs (''ektomiai'') and non-eunuchs (''barbatoi'', "bearded ones"). In addition to the insigne of their rank, a gold necklet (''maniakion'') adorned with pearls, the former had a special dress, a white, gold-adorned

tunic A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...

and a red

doublet Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",