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.
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).