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Constantine metropolitan of Trebizond (eleventh century)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of the Virgin holding a medallion of Christ before her. Sigla: ̅-θ̅υ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Circular inscription, beginning at seven o'clock. Border of dots.

+θκεRοηθτσδ.....

Θ(εοτόκε) βοήθ(ει) τῷ σῷ δ[ούλῳ]

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.

+κν
σταντι
μροπολι
τˊ.ραπε
ζντ

Κωνσταντί(νῳ) μ(ητ)ροπολίτ(ῃ) [Τ]ραπεζοῦντ(ος)

Obverse

Bust of the Virgin holding a medallion of Christ before her. Sigla: ̅-θ̅υ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Circular inscription, beginning at seven o'clock. Border of dots.

+θκεRοηθτσδ.....

Θ(εοτόκε) βοήθ(ει) τῷ σῷ δ[ούλῳ]

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.

+κν
σταντι
μροπολι
τˊ.ραπε
ζντ

Κωνσταντί(νῳ) μ(ητ)ροπολίτ(ῃ) [Τ]ραπεζοῦντ(ος)

Accession number BZS.1947.2.184
Diameter 22.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 4, no. 39.1a. Laurent. Corpus V/1, no. 662 (listing our specimen as Shaw Coll., no. 1159). A similar seal is published in Zacos, Seals II, no. 802. Cf. also Koltsida-Makre, no. 243, and Dunn, Handlist, no. 50.

Translation

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Κωνσταντίνῳ μητροπολίτῃ Τραπεζοῦντος.

Mother of God, help your servant Constantine, metropolitan of Trebizond.

Commentary

This seal and BZS.1058.106.99 come from the same boulloterion, but from different stocks of blanks. Their readings have been combined.

No doubt identical to Constantine of Trebizond who attended the Synod in 1027 and 1028 (Grumel, Regestes, nos. 833, 835), as Laurent noted.

Today Trabzon, Trebizond was an important city and market, situated at the point where the road from Central Asia ended. It was first listed as a suffragan bishopric of Neokaisareia (Darrouzès, Notitiae no. 1, l. 234), but later became archbishopric (Darrouzès, Notitiae no. 2, 4, 5) and then the metropolis of Lazica, with seven suffragans (Darrouzès, Notitiae no. 6, l. 34 and all further notitiae). See ODB III, 2112; Brandes, 128-131; Mikra Asia them., 154-155; Laurent, Corpus V/1, 495; Bryer-Winfield, Pontos, 178-250; Sinclair II, 48 ff. List of prelates in Fedalto, HEO I, 73-75.

Bibliography