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(Seal of) Apameia and Antioch (sixth/seventh centuries)

 
 

Obverse

A cross, with an inscription in the quarters. Linear border.

Α
ΜΙΣ

Ἀπαμίας

Reverse

Bust of an unidentified figure wearing a cloak fastened with a large fibula. Inscription flanking and below the image. Border of dots.

Θ̅Υ̅
ΟΛ

Θ(εο)υπόλ(εως)

Obverse

A cross, with an inscription in the quarters. Linear border.

Α
ΜΙΣ

Ἀπαμίας

Reverse

Bust of an unidentified figure wearing a cloak fastened with a large fibula. Inscription flanking and below the image. Border of dots.

Θ̅Υ̅
ΟΛ

Θ(εο)υπόλ(εως)

Accession number BZS 1977.34.81
Diameter 15.0 mm; field: 10.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 5 no. 9.19.

Translation

Ἀπαμίας Θεουπόλεως

(Seal of) Apameia and Theoupolis [Antioch]

Commentary

The interpretation of this specimen is problematic. It may have been struck by an official who had authority over the two cities, Apameia (no doubt the ancient Pharnake and the Arab Qalat al-Madiq, in Syria) and Antioch. On the other hand, it could also have belonged to an ecclesiastical institution, in this case the church of Apameia, that wished to clarify its subordination to Antioch the Theoupolis and thus avoid being confused with the archbishopric Apameia of Bithynia, or the bishopric of the same name (also known as Kibotos) that was a suffragan of Antioch of Pisidia (see Laurent, Corpus 5.1:616, 637, and 402–3; DO Seals 3, sections 43 and 90).

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 5: The East (continued), Constantinople and Environs, Unknown Locations, Addenda, Uncertain Readings (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (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)