The office was initially created by
Alexios I Komnenos (), who reformed the derelict
Byzantine navy and amalgamated the remnants of its various provincial squadrons into a unified force under the . The Emperor's brother-in-law
John Doukas is usually considered to have been the first to hold the title, being raised to it in 1092, when he was tasked with suppressing the Turkish emir
Tzachas. There is however a document dated to December 1085, where a monk Niketas signs as supervisor of the estates of an unnamed . The office of " [commander] of the fleet" (, ), with similar responsibilities and hence perhaps a precursor of the office of , is also mentioned at the time, being given to
Manuel Boutoumites and in 1090 to
Constantine Dalassenos. ". He is known only from this seal. Initially, the office may have designated ad hoc commanders-in-chief placed in charge of combined naval and land expeditions, before coming to denote the head of the imperial fleet. John Doukas, the first known , led campaigns on both land and sea and was responsible for the re-establishment of firm Byzantine control over the
Aegean and the islands of
Crete and
Cyprus in the years 1092–93 and over western
Anatolia in 1097. From this time the was also given overall control of the provinces of
Hellas, the
Peloponnese and
Crete, which chiefly provided the manpower and resources for the fleet. However, since the was one of the Empire's senior officials, and mostly involved with the central government and various military campaigns,
de factο governance of these provinces rested with the provinces' or , and various local leaders. During the 12th century, the post of was dominated by the
Kontostephanos family; one of its members,
Andronikos Kontostephanos, was one of the most important officers of Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos (), assisting him in achieving many land and naval victories. With the virtual disappearance of the Byzantine fleet after the
Fourth Crusade, the title was retained as an honorific in the
Empire of Nicaea.
Michael VIII Palaiologos () assumed the title when he became regent for
John IV Laskaris (), before being raised to senior co-emperor. It was also used by the
Latin Empire, where, in , the Latin emperor awarded the island of
Lemnos and the hereditary title of to the Venetian (or possibly of mixed Greek and Venetian descent)
Filocalo Navigajoso (""). His descendants inherited the title and the rule of Lemnos until evicted by the Byzantines in 1278. After the Byzantine recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the title reverted to its old function as commander-in-chief of the navy, and remained a high rank for the remainder of the empire, its holder ranking sixth after the emperor, between the and the . As such, it was also sometimes conferred upon foreigners in imperial service, the most notable among these being the Italian
Licario, who recovered many Aegean islands for Emperor Michael VIII, and
Roger de Flor, head of the
Catalan Company. The mid-14th century
Book of Offices of
Pseudo-Kodinos lists the insignia of the as a golden-red hat decorated with embroideries in the style, without veil. Alternatively, a domed hat could be worn, again in red and gold and decorated with golden wire, with a portrait of the emperor standing in front, and another of him enthroned in the rear. The also wore a rich silk tunic, the
kabbadion, and could choose the fabric himself "from those that are in use". His staff of office () featured carved knots and knobs in gold, bordered with silver braid. Pseudo-Kodinos also records that, while the other warships flew "the usual imperial flag" of the
cross and the firesteels, the flagship of the flew an image of the emperor on horseback. His subordinate officials were the , the , the , a number of junior , and of junior . The
Serbian Empire, established in 1346 by Tsar
Stefan Dushan, adopted various Byzantine titles, among them that of , which became the "grand
voivode" (), albeit without any naval connotations. Holders of the office included senior noblemen such as
Jovan Uglješa and
Jovan Oliver. == List of known holders ==