Panaretos kensor and judge of the Armenian themes (eleventh century)
Obverse
In the center St. Eustratios standing, surrounded by four medallions, two on each side, containing inscribed busts of saints. Inscription on the sides of the central figure: |ευ|στ|ρ|α-τ|ι|ο|σ : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Εὐστράτιος. In the medallions: upper left, |α|υ-.|τ; lower left, –α|ρ; upper right, |ε|υ-γ|ε; lower right, |ο-ρε : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Αὐ[ξέν]τ(ιος), [Ὁ ἅγιος Μαδρ]άρ(ιος), Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Εὐγέ(νιος), Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ὀρέ(στης). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription. Border of dots.
σφργ,
κενσροσ
Sικστου
θετ,τ.
ρρενικ
νηετπ
νρετ
Σφραγ(ὶς) κένσωρος (καὶ) δικαστοῦ θεμάτω(ν) τῶν Ἀρ{ρ}μενικῶν ἥδε τοῦ Παναρέτου.
Obverse
In the center St. Eustratios standing, surrounded by four medallions, two on each side, containing inscribed busts of saints. Inscription on the sides of the central figure: |ευ|στ|ρ|α-τ|ι|ο|σ : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Εὐστράτιος. In the medallions: upper left, |α|υ-.|τ; lower left, –α|ρ; upper right, |ε|υ-γ|ε; lower right, |ο-ρε : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Αὐ[ξέν]τ(ιος), [Ὁ ἅγιος Μαδρ]άρ(ιος), Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Εὐγέ(νιος), Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ὀρέ(στης). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription. Border of dots.
σφργ,
κενσροσ
Sικστου
θετ,τ.
ρρενικ
νηετπ
νρετ
Σφραγ(ὶς) κένσωρος (καὶ) δικαστοῦ θεμάτω(ν) τῶν Ἀρ{ρ}μενικῶν ἥδε τοῦ Παναρέτου.
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.5582 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 28.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 56.9. See also W. Seibt, "Ἀρμενικὰ θέματα", 136, no. 15; and Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 2491. |
Translation
Σφραγὶς κένσωρος καὶ δικαστοῦ θεμάτων τῶν Ἀρμενικῶν ἥδε τοῦ Παναρέτου.
Seal of Panaretos, censor and judge of the Armenian themes.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- L’organisation de la frontière orientale de Byzance aux Xe-XIe siècles et Le Taktikon de l’Escorial (Open in Zotero)
- Ἀρμενικὰ Θέματα als terminus technicus der byzantinischen Verwaltungsgeschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- The Land Legislation of the Macedonian Emperors (Open in Zotero)
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 2, Siegellegenden von Ny bis inklusive Sphragis (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The inscription consists of two twelve-syllable verses.
First attested in the middle of the tenth century, the “Armenian themes” drew their name from the Armenian immigrants settled along the eastern frontier of the empire. They covered small territories, made up essentially of one fortress and its region, each supplying infantry soldiers for campaigns, and had a distinct administrative structure characterized by the large number of officers (the Charpezikion had 22 major toumarchai and 47 lesser ones). The Armenian themes (tentative list in Kühn, Armee, 61-64) thus differed from the larger, traditional “Roman themes” lying to the interior. See Oikonomides, Listes, 345-46, and “Organisation"; and W. Seibt, “Ἀρμενικὰ θέματα als terminus technicus der byzantinischen Verwaltungsgeschichte des 11. Jahrhunderts,” ByzSl 54 (1993) 134-41. Each Armenian theme had its own (low-grade) strategos (called zirwar by the Arabs, zoravar by the Armenians); in the eleventh century we find a strategos of the Armenian themes in general (Zacos, Seals II, no. 844), indicating an effort to centralize the command of these scattered units. The many seals of the financial officials in our collection reflect the economic importance of the Armenian themes while those of the judicial officials show the effort necessary to maintain law and order in these frontier zones, especially in an Armenian population notorious for its lack of discipline (E. McGeer, The Land Legislation of the Macedonian Emperors [Toronto, 2000] 86-89).