Theophanes hypatos, imperial spatharokandidatos and strategos of Cephalonia (eighth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|Δ.. . No visible border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δού[λῳ]
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|Δ.. . No visible border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δού[λῳ]
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Wreath border.
ΕΟΦΑΝ
ΠΑΤΒ̅
.ΡΚΝ
ΤΡΤ
.ΕΦ
[Θ]εοφάν(ει) [ὑ]πάτῳ, βα(σιλικῷ) [σπα]θαρ(ο)κανδ(ιδά)τ(ῳ) [(καὶ) σ]τρατηγ(ῷ) [Κ]εφα[λ(ληνίας)]
Accession number | BZS.1947.2.55 |
---|---|
Diameter | 27.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 1.17. Zacos-Veglery, no. 3200. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεοφάνει ὑπάτῳ, βασιλικῷ σπαθαροκανδιδάτῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Κεφαλληνίας.
Mother of God, help your servant Theophanes, hypatos, imperial spatharokandidatos the strategos of Cephalonia.
Bibliography
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- De Administrando Imperio (Open in Zotero)
- De Thematibus (Open in Zotero)
- Les sceaux byzantins du Médaillier Vatican (Open in Zotero)
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea (Open in Zotero)
- Titres et fonctions de l’Empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The script on this specimen is of poor craftsmanship and devoid of any particular style: Zacos-Veglery proposed an 8th-century date that may well be right because of the non-elongated characters of the inscription and the mention of the title hypatos before that of spatharokandidatos, an indication of early date (cf. Zacos-Veglery, 1283, and DO Seals 3, no. 1.15).