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Basil protospatharios, megas (?) chartoularios tou genikou, judge of the Hippodrome of the Peloponnesos and Hellas (eleventh century)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of the Virgin holding her hands palm outward on her chest. Sigla with tongues of fire: ̅ΘΥ̅: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of seven lines, the final three letters between horizontal bars. Border of dots.

ΣΠΑΘ.
ΧΑΡΤ,Λ,Τ
Γ,ΚΡΙΤ,ΕΠ
ΤΙΟΔ
ΠΕΛΟΠ,
ΕΛ,Δ,

Βασίλειος πρωτοσπαθάριοςμέγας? χαρτουλάριος τοῦ γενικοῦ, κριτὴς ἐπ τοῦ Ἱπποδρόμου Πελοποννήσου καὶ Ἑλλάδος.

Obverse

Bust of the Virgin holding her hands palm outward on her chest. Sigla with tongues of fire: ̅ΘΥ̅: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of seven lines, the final three letters between horizontal bars. Border of dots.

ΣΠΑΘ.
ΧΑΡΤ,Λ,Τ
Γ,ΚΡΙΤ,ΕΠ
ΤΙΟΔ
ΠΕΛΟΠ,
ΕΛ,Δ,

Βασίλειος πρωτοσπαθάριοςμέγας? χαρτουλάριος τοῦ γενικοῦ, κριτὴς ἐπ τοῦ Ἱπποδρόμου Πελοποννήσου καὶ Ἑλλάδος.

Accession number BZS.1958.106.1590
Diameter 23.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 2, no. 8.15b.

Translation

Βασίλειος πρωτοσπαθάριος, μέγας (?) χαρτουλάριος τοῦ γενικοῦ, κριτὴς ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἱπποδρόμου Πελοποννήσου καὶ Ἑλλάδος.

Basil, protospatharios, megas (?) chartoularios tou genikou, judge of the Hippodrome of the Peloponnesos and Hellas.

Commentary

Parallel seal (BZS.1955.1.2239) is from same boulloterion, but this seal has a slightly retooled die as can be seen in the Ι ligature.

The close resemblance between this seal and its parallel allows us to restore with certainty the name and the title πρωτοσπαθάριος on this specimen. It is not certain whether Basil was megas chartoularios because the ligature  does not appear on either specimen. For prosopographical comments on Basil the megas chartoularios, see DO Seals 2, no. 8.16.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Peloponnese byzantin jusqu’en 1204 (Open in Zotero)
  • Du stratège de thème au duc: chronologie de l’évolution au cours du XIe siècle (Open in Zotero)
  • Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
  • Hellas und Thessalia (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
  • Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)