Leo "Toxeas," imperial spatharios and protonotarios of Nikopolis (ninth/tenth century)
Obverse
Patriarchal cross on three steps; at the end of the lower arms, two pellets form a vertical end; the three upper arms end with one pellet (thus it could as well be described as a cross potent with two transverse bars; the same motif is found on other 9th-century seals: e.g. DOSeals 1, no. 5.11 and 5.12). Circular inscription placed between one border of dots (inside) and a double border of dots (outside).
ΚΕΟΗΘΗΤΟΣΣΟΥΛ,
Κύριε βοήθη το σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines preceded and followed by rows of pellets. Border of dots.
ΛΕΝ
,ΣΠΑΘΑΡ,
ΑΝΟΤΑΡ,ΝΙ
ΚΟΠΟΛΤ
ΟΞΕΑΣ
Λέωντι βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ πρωτονοταρίῳ Νικοπόλεως ὡ Τοξέας.
Obverse
Patriarchal cross on three steps; at the end of the lower arms, two pellets form a vertical end; the three upper arms end with one pellet (thus it could as well be described as a cross potent with two transverse bars; the same motif is found on other 9th-century seals: e.g. DOSeals 1, no. 5.11 and 5.12). Circular inscription placed between one border of dots (inside) and a double border of dots (outside).
ΚΕΟΗΘΗΤΟΣΣΟΥΛ,
Κύριε βοήθη το σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines preceded and followed by rows of pellets. Border of dots.
ΛΕΝ
,ΣΠΑΘΑΡ,
ΑΝΟΤΑΡ,ΝΙ
ΚΟΠΟΛΤ
ΟΞΕΑΣ
Λέωντι βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ πρωτονοταρίῳ Νικοπόλεως ὡ Τοξέας.
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1188 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm; field: 17.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 2.5. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθη το σῷ δούλῳ Λέωντι βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ πρωτονοταρίῳ Νικοπόλεως ὡ Τοξέας.
Lord, help your servant Leo "the bowman," imperial spatharios and protonotarios of Nikopolis.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, south of Asia Minor
- Die sphragistischen Quellen zum byzantinischen Thema Nikopolis
- A Collection of Dated Byzantine Lead Seals
- De Administrando Imperio
- Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Imperio
- Nikopolis und Kephallenia
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae
- Nikopolis I. Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Nicopolis
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea
Commentary
Seibt dated this specimen to the late 9th century; in our opinion, a 9th/10th-century date is more appropriate on account of the compact epigraphic characters (cf. Dated Seals, nos. 55, 59, 60, 61). This date is also suggested by the type of the cross on the obverse.
It is quite common on seals to have the whole inscription written out in the dative and family name at the end in the nominative.
The main problem lies in explaining lines 4 and 5; our reading is based on the assumption that Toxeas, not to our knowledge attested elsewhere as a surname, comes from the ancient τοξεύς ("bowman"), and could be a surname as well as a nickname (which seems to us more likely).