sebastokrator

Sebastokratōr (; Bulgarian and Serbian: Севастократор; both pronounced sevastokrator) was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound of "sebastos" ("venerable", the Greek equivalent of the Latin Augustus) and "kratōr" ("ruler", the same element as is found in "autokratōr", "emperor"). The wife of a sebastokratōr was named sebastokratorissa (Greek: σεβαστοκρατόρισσα) in Greek or sevastokratitsa (Cyrillic: севастократица) in Serbian and Bulgarian.