Basil N., imperial notarios and grand kourator of Derzene, Rachaba (?), and Chavzizin (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with her hands open before her. Sigla: Μ̅ρ-θ̅υ : Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Circular inscription within a border of dots:
+θκε-Rοθ..
Θ(εοτό)κε βοήθ(ει)
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
Rασιλ
R̅νοταριο
Sκρατρ,
δερζινραχα
.ασSχαυζιζι
ο....αλο
π..ο.
Βασιλ(είῳ) β(ασλικῷ) νοταρίο (καὶ) μ(ε)γ(ἀλῳ) κουράτωρ(ι) Δερζιν(ῆς), Ῥαχά[β]ας (καὶ) Χαυζιζίου ὁ ....αλοπ..ο..
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with her hands open before her. Sigla: Μ̅ρ-θ̅υ : Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Circular inscription within a border of dots:
+θκε-Rοθ..
Θ(εοτό)κε βοήθ(ει)
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
Rασιλ
R̅νοταριο
Sκρατρ,
δερζινραχα
.ασSχαυζιζι
ο....αλο
π..ο.
Βασιλ(είῳ) β(ασλικῷ) νοταρίο (καὶ) μ(ε)γ(ἀλῳ) κουράτωρ(ι) Δερζιν(ῆς), Ῥαχά[β]ας (καὶ) Χαυζιζίου ὁ ....αλοπ..ο..
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1733 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 33.0 mm; field: 25.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 59.1. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Βασιλείῳ βασλικῷ νοταρίο καὶ μεγἀλῳ κουράτωρι Δερζινῆς, Ῥαχάβας καὶ Χαυζιζίου ὁ ....αλοπ..ο...
Mother of God, help Basil ....alop..o..., imperial notarios and grand kourator of Derzene, Rachaba, and Chavzizin.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Die Ostgrenze des byzantinischen Reiches: von 363 bis 1071 nach griechischen, arabischen, syrischen und armenischen Quellen (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Armjano-vizantijskaja kontaknaja zona (X-XI vv.) (Open in Zotero)
- Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey (Open in Zotero)
- Theophanes Continuatus, Ioannes Cameniata, Symeon Magister, Georgius Monachus (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
As to the reading of the geographical name at the end of line 4 and the beginning of line 5 (reverse): the letters ραχα are fairly clear and the first visible letter in the next line appears to be of triangular shape, inevitably an α, since it is followed by a σ. The name Ῥαχάβ is attested; cf. the κάστρον Ῥαχάβ mentioned in the Grottaferrata version of Digenes Akrites, ed. J. Mavrogordato (Oxford, 1956), 50, l. 111. In other versions it appears as Ρουχά, or Ραχέ. It is usually identified with Edessa of Osroene (Urfa), or then with Raqqah of Syria, but this is no more than speculation since the resemblance of placenames does not make for a secure reading. See the recent discussion in Digenes Akrites, ed. R. Beaton and D. Ricks (Variorum, 1993), 18-19, 43, 87. This is not the only case where a seal confirms a placename attested in the Grottaferrata version of Digenis: see the case of Hexakomia, in Listes, 360 ( and infra, paragr. 62). Another possibility is Ραχά[τ]ας, i.e. the Paulician fortress Ραχάτ that Basil I conquered (Theophanes cont., 270; cf. Honigmann, Ostgrenze, 60). But this will have been far to the west of Derzene and so this identification seems improbable.
Of the three placenames mentioned on this seal, only one, Derzene/Tercan, can be located with certainty. The other two will have been somewhere in the vicinity.
The territory of Chavzizin (Hafgig) is situated at Bingöl Dag, to the south (?) of Theodosioupolis. It was conquered after 940. Cf. Honigmann, Ostgrenze, 194-196; Listes, 361; B. Arutjunova-Fidanjan, Armjano-vizantijskaja kontaktnaja zona (X-XI vv.) (Moscow, 1994), 29; see now Sinclair II, 237 ff, 525.