Sebastokrator  Sebastokrator (, "sebastokrátor"; Bulgarian and Serbian Cyrillic: 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 ""krátor"" ("ruler", the same element as is found in ""autokrator"", "emperor"). The wife of a "Sebastokrator" was named sebastokratorissa (σεβαστοκρατόρισσα, "sevastokratórissa") in Greek or sevastokratitsa (севастократица) in Bulgarian and sevastokratica (севастократица) in Serbian. The title was created by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos () to honour his elder brother Isaac Komnenos. According to Anna Komnene, Alexios did this to raise Isaac above the rank of "Caesar", which he had already promised to his brother-in-law, Nikephoros Melissenos. Anna Komnene compares the rank of "sebastokratōr" to "a second emperor", and also records that along with the "Caesar" a "sebastokratōr" was granted the right to wear a crown (but not the imperial diadem). During the Komnenian dynasty (1081–1185), the title continued to be the highest below that of Emperor until 1163, when Emperor Manuel I created the title of "despotes". During that period, it was given exclusively to members of the imperial family, chiefly younger sons of the emperor. After the dismemberment of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the title was adopted in the Latin Empire, the Empire of Nicaea, and the Bulgarian Empire. In Nicaea and the post-1261 restored Byzantine Empire, the title remained one of the highest court dignities, and was almost always restricted to members of the imperial family.