Sergios imperial spatharokandidatos and strategos of Cherson (ninth/tenth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding medallion of Christ and flanked by two crosslets made of dots. No sigla visible. Within a border of dots, a circular inscription along the circumference:
ΚΕ.ΟΗΘΕΙΤΣΔΟΥΛ,
Κ(ύρι)ε [β]οήθει τῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ)
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
σεργι
σπθρ,
κνδστ.
τιγοχερ
σονσ
Σεργίῳ β(ασιλικῷ) σπαθαρ(ο)κανδ(ιδάτῳ) (καὶ) στ[ρ]ατιγο Χερσόνας
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding medallion of Christ and flanked by two crosslets made of dots. No sigla visible. Within a border of dots, a circular inscription along the circumference:
ΚΕ.ΟΗΘΕΙΤΣΔΟΥΛ,
Κ(ύρι)ε [β]οήθει τῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ)
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
σεργι
σπθρ,
κνδστ.
τιγοχερ
σονσ
Σεργίῳ β(ασιλικῷ) σπαθαρ(ο)κανδ(ιδάτῳ) (καὶ) στ[ρ]ατιγο Χερσόνας
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.2836 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 22.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 82.21a; See also Alekseyenko, L'administration byzantine de Cherson, no. 45 (2) with parallels, and no. 46, a similar seal likely from the same individual. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Σεργίῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαροκανδιδάτῳ καὶ στρατιγο Χερσόνας.
Lord, help your servant Sergios imperial spatharokandidatos and strategos of Cherson.
Bibliography
- 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)
- L’administration byzantine de Cherson: catalogue des sceaux (Open in Zotero)
- Archaeology and the History of Cherson (Open in Zotero)
- Monety i pečati vizantijskogo Hersona (Open in Zotero)
- De Administrando Imperio (Open in Zotero)
- Nicephori archiepiscopi Constantinopolitani Opuscula historica (Open in Zotero)
- Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Svincovye pečati vizantijskogo Hersona (Open in Zotero)
- Pečati Hersonskoj Femy (Open in Zotero)
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Documents de sigillographie byzantine: La collection C. Orghidan (Open in Zotero)
- Sceaux byzantins inédits (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
This seal comes from the same boulloterion as BZS.1951.31.5.93, and so their readings have been combined.