Leo Arianites, proedros and katepano of the Optimatoi (eleventh century)
Obverse
St. Michael standing in military dress, holding scepter with trefoil ornament and globus. Vertical inscription.: Μ|Ι.: Μι[χα(ήλ)]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines. Border of dots.
ΕΟΝΤΑ
ΡΑΕΔΡΟ,
ΤΕΠΑΝ,ΤΝ
ΠΤΙΜΑΤΝ
ΕΝΟΥΣΑ
ΙΑΝΙΤ,
Λέοντα φέρω πρόεδρον, κατεπάνω τῶν Ὀπτιμάτων, γένους Ἀριανίτην
Obverse
St. Michael standing in military dress, holding scepter with trefoil ornament and globus. Vertical inscription.: Μ|Ι.: Μι[χα(ήλ)]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines. Border of dots.
ΕΟΝΤΑ
ΡΑΕΔΡΟ,
ΤΕΠΑΝ,ΤΝ
ΠΤΙΜΑΤΝ
ΕΝΟΥΣΑ
ΙΑΝΙΤ,
Λέοντα φέρω πρόεδρον, κατεπάνω τῶν Ὀπτιμάτων, γένους Ἀριανίτην
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1003 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 21.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 71.27. Cf. Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden I, no. 1263. Similar seal published in Sig., 245, no. 2. |
Translation
Λέοντα φέρω πρόεδρον, κατεπάνω
τῶν Ὀπτιμάτων, γένους Ἀριανίτην
Leo is the name I bear, proedros, katepano of the Optimatoi, Arianites by descent.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Documents de sigillographie byzantine: La collection C. Orghidan (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)
- Byzantine Praetorians: An Administrative, Institutional, and Social Survey of the Opsikion and Tagmata, c. 580-900 (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 1, Siegellegenden von Alpha bis inclusive My (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The restitution of φέρω (first verse) is not secure, but it fits the metre and meaning.
This seal is very similar to one published by Schlumberger, notwithstanding the differences that his copy shows in comparison: πρωτοπρόεδρον instead of φέρω πρόεδρον, καὶ κατεπάνω, and, at the end, σκέποις με Μιχαήλ; ours seems to have been reworked to create a metrical inscription. For another katepano at the Optimatoi, see BZS.1958.106.5410.
St. Michael's military attire reproduces the costumes described for heavily armed soldiers in the military treatise known as the Praecepta militaria of Nikephoros Phokas: short tunic to the knees, cuirass with a decoration in the center (or perhaps a gird for hanging the sword), short sleeves with covers, arm guards (zava), greaves, and a long cloak thrown back. See E. McGeer, Sowing the Dragon's teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century (Washington, D.C., 2008), 34-36.