Michael poimenarches (= bishop) of Ibora (eleventh century)
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4969 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Condition | Blank too small for die. |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 27.1. Laurent, Corpus V/3, nos. 1722 (correct reading), 1870 (completely misread). |
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding Christ on her right arm. Siglα:..-θ̅υ : [Μ(ήτη)ρ] Θ(εο)ῦ. Traces of a circular inscription at right. Border of dots.
ει
[Θεοτόκε βοήθ]ει
Reverse
Inscription of six lines, top line missing. No visible border.
τ.
Rρν
μιχαηλ
ποιμε
.Α Ρ
Τῷ [τ]ῶ[ν] [Ἰ]βώρων Μιχαὴλ ποιμε[ν]άρχ(ῃ)
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ τῶν Ἰβώρων Μιχαὴλ ποιμενάρχῃ.
Mother of God, help Michael, bishop of Ibora.
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4969 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Condition | Blank too small for die. |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 27.1. Laurent, Corpus V/3, nos. 1722 (correct reading), 1870 (completely misread). |
Bibliography
- Kleinasiatische Ortsnamen
- Η Μικρά Ασία των θεμάτων. Ἐρευνες πάνω στην γεωγραφική φυσιογνωμία και προσωπογραφία των Βυζαντινών θεμάτων της Μικράς Ασίας
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, volume 4: The East
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium
Commentary
In Corpus V/3, Laurent published our specimen twice; the first time, he read line 2 (rev.) correctly and attributed the seal to the bishopric of Ibora; on the second occasion he failed to read line 2 and published the specimen under the general heading of “Le métropolite.” The correction proposed by W. Seibt in ByzSl 35 (1974) 75 should not be retained.
Laurent was struck by the use of poimenarches for a simple bishop and not for a metropolitan, as is usual (Laurent, Corpus V/1, p. XXXI). We think that the reverse is a correct twelve-syllable verse and for this reason the poetic word has been used instead of the usual ἐπισκόπῳ.
On line one of the reverse one cannot see clearly the letter between the two Ωs. The restitution that we propose makes better sense for an independent verse. Laurent had proposed τῷ σῷ Ἰβώρων ... which is not impossible.