Spatharios

The spatharii or spatharioi (singular: Latin: spatharius; Greek: σπαθάριος, literally "spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely honorary dignity in the Byzantine Empire.

The various generals and provincial governors also maintained military attendants called spatharioi, whilst those of the emperor were distinguished with the prefix basilikoi ("imperial ones").

[2] The officer leading the imperial spatharioi held the title prōtospatharios ("first spatharios"), which became a separate dignity probably in the late 7th century.

[5] At the same time, the term oikeiakos spatharios still designated a bodyguard of the imperial oikos ("household"), as distinct from the basilikoi spatharioi who now were the holders of the honorary dignity.

[1] The term ceased to be used in these contexts after circa 1075, and by the time Anna Komnene wrote her Alexiad in the early 12th century, a spatharios was held to be completely insignificant.