Alexios domestikos of Samos (?) (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St. Nicholas blessing with his right hand and, probably, holding a book. Inscription: |ν-κ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ν(ι)κ(όλαος). Circular inscription along the border of dots.
κεRοι...σδ,
Κ(ύρι)ε βοΐ[θει τ]ῷ σῷ δ(ούλῳ)
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, preceded and followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
+αλε
ξιοσδ
μεστικ
τισαμˊ
– –
Ἀλέξιος δωμέστικ(ος) τῖς <Σ>άμ(ου) (?)
Obverse
Bust of St. Nicholas blessing with his right hand and, probably, holding a book. Inscription: |ν-κ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ν(ι)κ(όλαος). Circular inscription along the border of dots.
κεRοι...σδ,
Κ(ύρι)ε βοΐ[θει τ]ῷ σῷ δ(ούλῳ)
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, preceded and followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
+αλε
ξιοσδ
μεστικ
τισαμˊ
– –
Ἀλέξιος δωμέστικ(ος) τῖς <Σ>άμ(ου) (?)
| Accession number | BZS.1947.2.145 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 21.0 mm; field: 19.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 85.1. |
Translation
Κύριε βοΐθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ. Ἀλέξιος δωμέστικος τῖς Σάμου.
Lord, help your servant. Alexios, domestikos of Samos.
Commentary
This is undoubtedly the domestikos of a theme. In the last line we have a not uncommon haplography, the engraver having omitted one of the two successive sigmas. The attribution to the theme of Samos rather than to a city starting with Αμ (such as Ἀμισός, Ἀμάσεια, etc.) is based on the assumption that we are dealing with the name of a theme and not of a city (unless Alexios were an ecclesiastical domestikos). Names of cities are usually mentioned without the definite article while the theme of Samos is almost always mentioned with the article.