The ''spatharokoubikoularios'' ( el, σπαθαροκουβικουλάριος, "sword-chamberlain") was a

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 ...

court dignity reserved for

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

palace officials. He was a ceremonial sword-carrier assigned to the personal guard of the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

.. It later became a simple court rank, being the third-lowest dignity for eunuchs, coming after the ''

ostiarios ''Ostiarios'' ( el, , from the Latin ''ostiarius'', "doorkeeper, usher") was a Byzantine court dignity reserved for eunuch palace officials. History and functions The ''Patria of Constantinople'' mention an ''ostiarios'' named Antiochos in the 6 ...

'' and before the ''

koubikoularios ''Cubicularius'', Hellenized as ''koubikoularios'' ( gr, κουβικουλάριος), was a title used for the eunuch chamberlains of the imperial palace in the later Roman Empire and in the Byzantine Empire. The feminine version, used for the ...

''.. According to the '' Klētorologion'' of 899, the insigne of the rank was a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

-handled

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

References

Sources

* * Byzantine palace offices Byzantine titles and offices reserved for eunuchs Swordfighters {{Byzantine-stub