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Demetrios hypatos, imperial kommerkiarios of the abydos of Thessalonica (ninth century)

 
 

Obverse

Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. No visible border.

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. No visible border.

ΔΗΜΗ.
ΡΙΥΠΑΤ.
ΒΚΟΜΕΡΚ
ΑΒΥΔΘΕ.
ΣΑΛΟΝ

Δημητρίῳ ὑπάτ, βασιλικῷ κομερκιαρίῳ τοῦ ἀβύδου Θεσσαλονίκης

Obverse

Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. No visible border.

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. No visible border.

ΔΗΜΗ.
ΡΙΥΠΑΤ.
ΒΚΟΜΕΡΚ
ΑΒΥΔΘΕ.
ΣΑΛΟΝ

Δημητρίῳ ὑπάτ, βασιλικῷ κομερκιαρίῳ τοῦ ἀβύδου Θεσσαλονίκης

Accession number BZS.1958.106.1064
Diameter 31.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 1, no. 18.2.
Zacos-Veglery, no. 1852c.

Translation

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Δημητρίῳ ὑπάτῳ, βασιλικῷ κομερκιαρίῳ τοῦ ἀβύδου Θεσσαλονίκης.

Theotokos, help your servant Demetrios hypatos, imperial kommerkiarios of the abydos of Thessalonica.

Commentary

Our reading differs from the one in Zacos-Veglery in two respects. The latter postulated that line 3 (rev.) begins with the abbreviation sign , but we believe that there is insufficient space for this sign. Additionally, they have transcribed ΤΑΒΥΔ/ (line 4) as τοῦ ἀβυδικοῦ, a reading needlessly forced, since the title of kommerkiarios of the abydos of Thessalonica makes sense. Our reading is supported by DO Seals 1, no. 18.3. It is very probable that the owner of this seal is identical to that of DO Seals 1, no. 18.3.

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)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
  • Silk Trade and Production in Byzantium from the Sixth to the Ninth Century: The Seals of Kommerkiarioi (Open in Zotero)
  • Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantinische Bleisiegel in Berlin (West) (Open in Zotero)
  • Le kommerkion d’Abydos, Thessalonique et le commerce bulgare du 9e siècle (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
  • Les plus anciens recueils des miracles de Saint Démétrius et la pénétration des Slaves dans les Balkans (Open in Zotero)
  • L’éparque de Thessalonique: les origines d'une institution administrative (VIIIe-IXe siècles) (Open in Zotero)
  • Recherches sur les douanes à Byzance: L’octava, le "kommerkion" et les commerciares (Open in Zotero)