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Irene protoproedrissa, daughter of the exousiokrator (of Alania) (?) (1072–1078)

 
 

Obverse

The Mother of God orans standing with a medallion of Christ on her chest. No epigraphy or border visible.

Reverse

Inscription of six lines. No border visible.

ΘΚΕ
ΗΣΗΛ
ΡΙΝΗΑ͂ΠΡ
ΡΙΣΑΤΗΘ
ΑΤΡΙΤΕΞ
.ΚΡΑΤ.

Θ(εοτό)κε [β(οή)θ(ει) τ]ῇ σῇ δούλ[ῃ Ἠ]ρίνῃ (πρωτο)πρ[οε]δρίσᾳ τῇ θ[υγ]ατρὶ τοῦ ἐξ[ουσιο]κράτ[ορ(ος) Ἀλανίας].

Obverse

The Mother of God orans standing with a medallion of Christ on her chest. No epigraphy or border visible.

Reverse

Inscription of six lines. No border visible.

ΘΚΕ
ΗΣΗΛ
ΡΙΝΗΑ͂ΠΡ
ΡΙΣΑΤΗΘ
ΑΤΡΙΤΕΞ
.ΚΡΑΤ.

Θ(εοτό)κε [β(οή)θ(ει) τ]ῇ σῇ δούλ[ῃ Ἠ]ρίνῃ (πρωτο)πρ[οε]δρίσᾳ τῇ θ[υγ]ατρὶ τοῦ ἐξ[ουσιο]κράτ[ορ(ος) Ἀλανίας].

Accession number BZS.1951.31.5.1007
Diameter 19.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 5 no. 116.1. Cf. Theodoridis, "Ein byzantinisches Bleisiegel mit zwei Prägungen," 62.

Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore.

Translation

Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῇ σῇ δούλῃ Ἠρίνῃ πρωτοπροεδρίσᾳ τῇ θυγατρὶ τοῦ ἐξουσιοκράτορος Ἀλανίας.

Mother of God, help your servant Irene protoproedrissa, daughter of the exousiokrator of Alania.

Commentary

Irene was the cousin of Maria of Alania, the wife of Michael VII Doukas. In late 1072, she was married to Isaakios Komnenos, brother of the future emperor Alexios I. She would have received the title protoproedrissa upon her marriage. Isaakios received the title of sebastos in 1078, providing a terminus ante quem for the present seal. See Theodoridis, "Ein byzantinisches Bleisiegel," 62.

On the Theodoridis specimen the lady's name reads HPHNH; in contrast, this specimen seems to read [H]PINH. It is possible that the iota here is a broken eta.

Regarding Irene's father's title, on line five, the first letter, read here as an epsilon, looks like a rho. It may have been imperfectly printed.

There is no seventh line preserved on this specimen, so it is impossible to say whether the geographical designation of Alania was included (as it is on the Theodoridis specimen). The Theodoridis seal is similar but not parallel, since its field is larger in diameter than that of the present seal.

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)
  • Ein byzantinisches Bleisiegel mit zwei Prägungen aus dem 11. Jahrhundert (Open in Zotero)