Bardas imperial spatharokandidatos and epi tou manglaviou (tenth century)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1183 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 20 mm |
| Condition | Obverse corroded. Flan is too small for boulloterion. |
Obverse
Outline of peacock visible. Indecipherable traces of epigraphy at right, but surely the formulaic invocation.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, followed by a decoration of dots.
ρ.
σιλι.
σπθρ.
κνε.
τομγγ
Βαρδᾷ βασιλικῷ σπαθαροκανδ(ιδάτῳ) καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ μαγγλαβίου
Translation
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Βαρδᾷ βασιλικῷ σπαθαροκανδιδάτῳ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ μαγγλαβίου.
Lord or Mother of God, help Bardas imperial spatharokandidatos and epi tou manglaviou.
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1183 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 20 mm |
| Condition | Obverse corroded. Flan is too small for boulloterion. |
Commentary
The ἐπὶ τοῦ μαγγλαβίου was the head of the manglavion, a detachment of imperial bodyguards. The unit is attested from the end of the eighth century to the end of the eleventh. Oikonomides (Listes, 328) has noted that μαγγλαβίτης originally constituted an office that eventually became a title. Τhis does not seem to be the case with Bardas, who nevertheless holds a middling rank.