of this new familial aristocracy, with sons of a , a , or a being themselves; due to the proliferation of the title, however, under Manuel I Komnenos () a new class of dignitaries was created for the emperor's nephews and cousins, i.e., the sons of higher dignitaries; and the were relegated to a grade below them, above the . The were further divided in two groups: the simple and the . The latter were members of various aristocratic families tied to the emperor via marriage to his female relatives ( means 'son-in-law in Greek). The thus formed the upper layer of the class, but should not be confused with the imperial , the actual sons-in-law of the emperor, who were even higher in the hierarchy, ranking above the cousins and nephews and just below the . The forms ('venerable by all'), and are also found in seals, inscriptions, and correspondence of the period, but they are merely rhetorical augmentations of the original title , and do not, as was believed by earlier scholars like Gustave Schlumberger, represent distinct and superior ranks. It is notable that among Byzantine , their precedence was not determined by the offices they might bear, but by the degree of their kinship to the emperor. Later usage The title was also conferred to foreign rulers, and spread to neighboring, Byzantine-influenced states, like Bulgaria, where a was the head of an administrative district, and Serbia, where the title was employed for various officials. In Byzantium itself, the title lost its pre-eminence in the late 12th century, and in the following centuries the was a title reserved for commanders of ethnic units. By the time pseudo-Kodinos wrote his Book of Offices, shortly after the middle of the 14th century, the sebastos occupied one of the lowest rungs in the imperial hierarchy, coming 78th between the and the . His court dress was a white hat with embroideries, a long of "commonly used silk", and a hat covered in red velvet and topped by a small red tassel. He bore no staff of office. Earlier lists of offices, such as the appendix to the Hexabiblos, give slightly different ranks, placing him above the governor () of a fortress and of the , and after the . References Sources Further reading Byzantine imperial titles Byzantine court titles Augustus