nobilissimus

thumb|Coin of Licinius II , the inscription "LICINIUS IUNior NOBilissimus CAESar" translates as 'Licinius Junior Most Noble Caesar' ' (Latin for "most noble"), in Byzantine Greek (Greek: ), was one of the highest imperial titles in the late Roman and Byzantine empires. The feminine form of the title was '.

==History and functions== thumb|right|"Prōtonōbelissimos" (with the Greek numeral "A" for "Prōto-") from the codicil of the Sicilian admiral [[Christodulus]] The term nobilissimus originated as an epithet to the title of Caesar, whose holder was the Roman and Byzantine emperor's heir-apparent and who would, after Geta in 198, be addressed nobilissimus Caesar. According to the historian Zosimus, Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) first created the nobilissimus into a separate dignity, so as to honour some of his relatives without implying a claim to the imperial throne. The title thus came to be awarded to members of the imperial family, coming in rank immediately after that of Caesar, and remained so throughout the early and middle Byzantine period, until the mid-11th century. In the Klētorologion of Philotheos, written in 899, the rank's insignia are described as a purple tunic, mantle and belt, indicating the exalted position of its holder. Their award by the emperor in a special ceremony signified the elevation of the recipient to the office.