Aaron proedros, protostrator and doux (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St. Theodore holding a spear and shield. Epigraphy on either side: |.Ε|Ο|Ρ|ΟΣ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) [Θ]εόδωρος. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines beginning with a cross. Border of dots.
ΚΕ̅,Θ̣,
ΡΝ
ΠΡΟΕΡ̣
ΠΡΤΣΤΡ
ΤΡΙΚΙ
ΟΥΚΙ
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Ἀαρὼν προέδρῳ, πρωτ(ο)στράτωρι καὶ δουκί
Obverse
Bust of St. Theodore holding a spear and shield. Epigraphy on either side: |.Ε|Ο|Ρ|ΟΣ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) [Θ]εόδωρος. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines beginning with a cross. Border of dots.
ΚΕ̅,Θ̣,
ΡΝ
ΠΡΟΕΡ̣
ΠΡΤΣΤΡ
ΤΡΙΚΙ
ΟΥΚΙ
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Ἀαρὼν προέδρῳ, πρωτ(ο)στράτωρι καὶ δουκί
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1410 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 26.0 mm |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Ἀαρὼν προέδρῳ, πρωτοστράτωρι καὶ δουκί.
Lord, help Aaron proedros, protostrator and doux.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Aaron's career has been outlined in several publications. The son of the Bulgarian tzar Ivan-Vladislav and brother-in-law of Isaac I Komnenos, he was appointed katepano of Mesopotamia by Isaac I and appears to have received the promotion, recorded on this seal, to proedros and protostrator during the reign of Constantine X Doukas (1059-1067). See DO Seals 4, no. 75.1, (a seal bearing an image of St. Theodore and identifying Aaron as magistros and doux of Ani and Iberia); J.-C. Cheynet, “Intrigues à la cour de Constantinople: le délitement d’une faction (1057-1081),” in: Le saint, le moine, et le paysan. Mélanges d’histoire byzantine offerts à Michel Kaplan. Ed. Olivier Delouis, Sophie Métivier, and Paul Pagès. Byzantina Sorbonensia 29. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 2016, 73 (with further references).