The title of () was a Byzantine court title created by Alexios I Komnenos () using the imperial root (the Greek translation of ). It was always conferred to members of aristocratic families closely allied to the imperial family. Michael Taronites, Alexios I's brother-in-law, was first awarded this title and regarded as almost equal to a . Under the Komnenian emperors, was one of the titles accorded to the emperor's sons-in-law (): the husband of the eldest daughter received the title of , the husband of the second daughter became , and those of the third and fourth received the titles of and respectively. The title remained very important through to the Palaiologan era, coming right after the , but under Andronikos III Palaiologos (), when the future emperor John VI Kantakouzenos was named , the latter office was raised above the . According to Pseudo-Kodinos, writing after the middle of the 14th century, the was distinguished by the yellow colour of his clothing: his shoes, his mantle (), as well as his saddle, were all yellow, decorated with gold braid. Otherwise his costume resembled that of the , i.e., a hat in red and gold, decorated with embroideries in the style, with a veil and pendants in the same style. Alternatively, a domed hat could be worn, again in red and gold, with a portrait of the emperor, standing crowned and flanked by angels, within a circle of pearls, in front. The itself was also bordered with pearls. A rich silk tunic, the , of two colours, decorated with stripes of gold braid, was also worn, and the staff of office () featured carved knobs, with the first of plain gold, the second of gold bordered with silver braid, the third like the first, the fourth like the second, etc. References Sources Byzantine court titles Court titles in the Middle Ages