despotes
Title introduced in the 12th century. In administrative hierarchy, the office of despotes was under the emperor and the co-emperor. From the 14th century onwards, the title was given to the governors of the Byzantine Peloponnese.

emir
(from Arabic amir) Emir meaning "commander" or "general", later also "prince". Also a high title of nobility or office in some Turkic historical states.

emirate
Arab emirates were divisions administered by a military officer, the emir. In the Seljuk Sultanate, emirates were territories granted to members of the dynasty as suzerainties. In late 13th and during the 14th century, emirate designates any small state established in Asia Minor by Turkmen rulers, after the dissolution of the Seljuk Sultanate of Iconium.

Isfendiyar Oğullari
A Turkmen dynasty, which established its dominion around Kastamone (Castamonu) in the late 13th c., under Mongol suzerainity. In the period of 1301-1340, they expanded their dominion as far as Sinope, as independent sovereigns. By 1460 they had passed under Ottoman suzerainity, and so their territory was absorbed in the Ottoman Empire.

Karamanid emirate
The Karamanid emirate was established in early 14th c. in the central and southeast Asia Minor. It comprised territories until Lycaonia and Cilicia. Iconium was its capital. The Karamanids were temporarily pushed back by the Mongol khan of Persia Ulajtu, an ally of Andronikos II against the Turkmen. After Ulajtu's death in 1316, the emirate grew into a considerable power. It was assimilated into the Ottoman empire in the second half of the 15th century.

protovestiarios
(and protovestiarites) Honorific title given to high-ranking officials and future emperors during this period. The protovestiarios was originally responsible for the imperial wardrobe, but in the 9th-11th centuries the holders of the title could command an army or conduct negotiations with foreign states.