In the late 7th century, the Excubitors appear to have degenerated into a parade-ground formation, and fade from the record as a corps. Individual seals of office attest to the fact that title of appears to have been used as an honorific dignity rather than an active military appointment during the early 8th century. This changed in , when the corps was reformed by Emperor Constantine V into one of the elite , professional heavy cavalry regiments that provided the core of the Byzantine army of the middle Byzantine period. Notable members of the regiment during this time are Saint Joannicius the Great, and Emperor Michael II the Amorian, who served as regimental commander, or domestic of the Excubitors (), before rising to the throne. The Excubitors fought in several campaigns during the next four centuries, and are last attested in the disastrous Battle of Dyrrhachium in 1081 that destroyed the remnants of the middle Byzantine army.
