John Mitylenaios, protospatharios and judge of Paphlagonia (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
κ̅εR,θ,
τσδ
Ι̅Ασπα
θαριο
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σῷ δού(λῳ) Ἰω(άννῃ) (πρωτο)σπαθαρίο
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.
Sκριτι
παλαγ,
μιτυ
ληνε,
(καὶ) κριτιῖ Παφλαγ(ονίας) ὡ Μιτυληνέ(ος)
Obverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
κ̅εR,θ,
τσδ
Ι̅Ασπα
θαριο
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σῷ δού(λῳ) Ἰω(άννῃ) (πρωτο)σπαθαρίο
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.
Sκριτι
παλαγ,
μιτυ
ληνε,
(καὶ) κριτιῖ Παφλαγ(ονίας) ὡ Μιτυληνέ(ος)
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.3202 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 11.12a. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Ἰωάννῃ πρωτοσπαθαρίο καὶ κριτιῖ Παφλαγονίας ὡ Μιτυληνέος.
Lord, help your servant John Mitylenaios, protospatharios and judge of Paphlagonia.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- 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)
- Byzantinische Bleisiegel in Berlin II (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- De Thematibus (Open in Zotero)
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
- Paphlagonien und Honorias (Open in Zotero)
- Η Μικρά Ασία των θεμάτων. Ἐρευνες πάνω στην γεωγραφική φυσιογνωμία και προσωπογραφία των βυζαντινών θεμάτων της Μικράς Ασίας (Open in Zotero)
- Das byzantinische Bleisiegel als Kunstwerk: Katalog zur Ausstellung (Open in Zotero)
- Die Gedichte des Christophoros Mitylenaios (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
This specimen and BZS.1958.106.5161 are close copies of each other, but they do not come from the same boulloterion. John Mitylenaios is already known. See DO Seals 3, no. 71.24 (BZS.1947.2.1202). See also Seibt-Zarnitz, no. 4.3.8. The well-known poet Christophoros Mitylenaios, who may be John’s brother, was also judge of Paphlagonia in the early eleventh century: Kurtz, Mitylenaios, 1; cf. REB 16 (1958) 61.