Basileopator

[2][3] A different interpretation, however, has been offered by A. Schmink, whereby the alternative spelling basileiopatōr (βασιλειοπάτωρ), found both in contemporary seals and in the Life of Theophano hagiography, ought to be preferred.

The title could then be interpreted as meaning 'father of the palace', confirming the holder's position as the emperor's chief aide without implying any sort of tutelage over him.

[6] Coming in addition to Stylianos's earlier title of magistros and the position of logothetēs tou dromou, by this act Leo, according to the traditional interpretation, is held to have formally placed the affairs of the Byzantine Empire in Zaoutzes's hands until the latter's death in 899.

[7][8] More recent scholarship, however, has cast doubt on the image of the "all-powerful basileopatōr" (Shaun Tougher), citing evidence in support of Leo's effective control of the government.

[10] The title was not used thereafter except in a literary context; Symeon Metaphrastes for instance anachronistically calls Arsenius the Great a basileopatōr, as he was the tutor of Honorius and Arcadius, the sons of Emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–395).