Theodora (1055–1056) was the last member of Byzantium’s Macedonian Dynasty which had ruled the empire since 886. She was an active and energetic monarch despite taking the throne aged 74. Theodora’s determination to be more than a figurehead and her resolve are clear from her seal. The empress herself is shown in majesty in imperial regalia (loros and crown with pendillia). She holds the labarum, a military standard dating back to Constantine the Great (306–337), an indication that she was every bit the ruler of Byzantium and commander of its armies as her male predecessors.
Only the sovereign was allowed to use gold seals (chrysobulls), which were attached to the most prestigious documents and communications with foreign leaders. Gold seals were made from coins (nomismata) and graded by weight. Theodora’s great-grandfather Constantine VII (913–959) wrote that the weight of a gold seal (as measured in gold coins) reflected the importance of the recipient in the empire’s eyes. Only the rulers of Cairo and Baghdad warranted a seal made from four gold coins as this one was, an indication of its original purpose.
Early gold seals were made from a single piece of metal like their lead counterparts. The obverses of these seals depict Christ; the imperial image is on the reverse. Early eleventh-century gold seals continued to be made from a single piece of gold and were finely engraved. By the later eleventh century the declining fortunes of Byzantium led to the debasement of the coinage from almost pure gold to between 8 and 10 carats. The debased alloy was too brittle to use a single piece of metal for seals, necessitating the soldering of two disks. The impoverished emperors of the fifteenth century used seals formed of thin gold plates pressed over a wax core. This practice was introduced into Byzantium from Western Europe, likely under Crusader influence.
Image Sources
- Four-nomismata gold seal of Theodora (1055–1056). BZS.1961.20
- One-nomisma gold seal of Basil I and Constantine (869–879). BZS.1948.17.4294
- One-nomisma gold seal of Constantine VII (945). BZS.1948.17.4295
- Two–nomismata gold seal of Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1078–1081). BZS.1948.17.4296
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