parakoimomenos

The parakoimōmenos (, literally "the one who sleeps beside [the emperor's chamber]") was a Byzantine court position, usually reserved for eunuchs. The position's proximity to the emperors guaranteed its holders influence and power, and many of them, especially in the 9th and 10th centuries, functioned as the Byzantine Empire's chief ministers.

==History and functions== The title was used anachronistically by various Byzantine writers for prominent eunuch court officials of the distant past, including Euphratas under Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337), the notorious Chrysaphius under Theodosius II (), or an unnamed holder of the office under Emperor Maurice (). The position was probably created no later than the reign of Leo IV the Khazar (), when the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor mentions a "koubikoularios and parakoimomenos” serving Leo. In the beginning, it was a modest office, given to those koubikoularioi (from Latin cubicularius, denoting the eunuch servants of the emperor's "sacred bedchamber" or sacrum cubiculum) who were tasked with sleeping outside the emperor's chamber during the night as a security measure. As evidenced by seals from the 7th and 8th centuries, it was usually combined with other palace functions, such as the epi tēs trapezēs, and awarded lowly dignities such as ostiarios. It is possible that in the cases where several co-emperors reigned at the same time, a parakoimōmenos would be assigned to each.