Sebastos in the context of Komnenian period

Augustus (plural Augusti; /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/ aw-GUST-əs, Classical Latin: [au̯ˈɡʊstʊs]; "majestic", "great" or "venerable") was the main title of the Roman emperors during Antiquity. It was given as both name and title to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (often referred to simply as Augustus) in 27 BC, marking his accession as Rome's first emperor. On his death, it became an official title of his successor, and was so used by all emperors thereafter. The feminine form Augusta was used for Roman empresses and other female members of the imperial family. The masculine and feminine forms originated in the time of the Roman Republic, in connection with things considered divine or sacred in traditional Roman religion. Their use as titles for major and minor Roman deities of the Empire associated the imperial system and family with traditional Roman virtues and the divine will and may be considered a feature of the Roman imperial cult.

In Rome's Greek-speaking provinces, "Augustus" was translated as Sebastos (Σεβαστός), or Hellenised as Augoustos (Αὔγουστος); these titles continued to be used in the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, although they gradually lost their imperial exclusivity in favour of Basileus and Autokrator.

Gregorios Kamonas (fl. c. 1215 – ?) was a Greek-Albanian lord who ruled the Principality of Arbanon after c. 1215. Demetrios Chomatenos (1216–1236) mentioned him as having the title of sebastos, given to him by the emperor Alexios III Angelos after 1205, during his stay in the Despotate of Epirus at the court of his nephew Michael I Komnenos Doukas. He first married the daughter of Gjin Progoni, then married Serbian princess Komnena Nemanjić, the daughter of King Stefan Nemanjić and widow of Dimitri Progoni, thus inheriting the rule of Arbanon. He strengthened ties with Serbia and secured Arbanon through an Orthodox alliance. He had a daughter together with Komnena, who married Golem of Kruja, the next lord of Kruje.

Sebastokrator (Medieval Greek: Σεβαστοκράτωρ, romanized: Sevastokrátor, lit. 'August Ruler', Byzantine Greek pronunciation: [sevastoˈkrator]; Bulgarian: севастократор, romanized: sevastokrator; Serbo-Croatian: 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 sebastós (lit. 'venerable', the Greek equivalent of the Latin Augustus) and krátōr ('ruler', the same element as is found in autokrator, 'emperor'). The wife of a Sebastokrator was named sebastokratorissa (σεβαστοκρατόρισσα, sevastokratórissa) in Greek, sevastokratitsa (севастократица) in Bulgarian and sevastokratorica in Serbian.

The title of panhypersebastos (Greek: πανυπερσέβαστος, lit. 'venerable above all') was a Byzantine court title created by Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) using the imperial root sebastos (the Greek translation of Augustus). 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 Caesar. Under the Komnenian emperors, panhypersebastos was one of the titles accorded to the emperor's sons-in-law (gambroi): the husband of the eldest daughter received the title of Caesar, the husband of the second daughter became panhypersebastos, and those of the third and fourth received the titles of protosebastohypertatos and sebastohypertatos respectively.

The title of protosebastos (Greek: πρωτοσέβαστος, prōtosébastos, "first sebastos") was a high Byzantine court title created by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.