Anastasios hypatos, imperial balnitor, and general kommerkiarios of the apotheke of Constantinople (720/21)
Obverse
Two imperial busts: the bearded emperor at left (Leo III) wears a crown topped with a cross and holds a globus cruciger in his right hand. The beardless figure at right (his son and successor Constantine V) wears a crown and holds a globus cruciger in his right hand. Visible at left: : Ἰ(νδικτιών). Inscription of three lines below. No visible border.
ΝΣΤΣΙ..
Π̅ΒΣΙΛΙΚ.
ΒΛΝ.
Ἀναστασί[ου ὑ]π(άτου), βασιλικ[οῦ] βαλν[(ίτορος)]
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. No visible border.
ΓΝΙ
ΟΥΚΟΜ
ΡΚΙΡΙ
..ΠΟΘΗΚ
ΣΚΝΣΤ
..ΤΙΝΟΥ
ΟΛ..
[(καὶ)] γενι[κ]οῦ κομ[μ]ερκιαρί[ου ἀ]ποθήκ[η]ς Κωνστ[αν]τινου[π]όλε[ως]
Obverse
Two imperial busts: the bearded emperor at left (Leo III) wears a crown topped with a cross and holds a globus cruciger in his right hand. The beardless figure at right (his son and successor Constantine V) wears a crown and holds a globus cruciger in his right hand. Visible at left: : Ἰ(νδικτιών). Inscription of three lines below. No visible border.
ΝΣΤΣΙ..
Π̅ΒΣΙΛΙΚ.
ΒΛΝ.
Ἀναστασί[ου ὑ]π(άτου), βασιλικ[οῦ] βαλν[(ίτορος)]
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. No visible border.
ΓΝΙ
ΟΥΚΟΜ
ΡΚΙΡΙ
..ΠΟΘΗΚ
ΣΚΝΣΤ
..ΤΙΝΟΥ
ΟΛ..
[(καὶ)] γενι[κ]οῦ κομ[μ]ερκιαρί[ου ἀ]ποθήκ[η]ς Κωνστ[αν]τινου[π]όλε[ως]
| Accession number | BZS 1951.31.5.1764 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 33.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 23.2; Zacos–Veglery, no. 224b. Zacos and Veglery have mistakenly published this specimen as a metallic copy in the collection at the ANS (no. 2698). It is in fact a Fogg specimen and is genuine. Same die: Laurent, Vatican, no. 116 (metallic copy); Zacos–Veglery, no. 224a; and Likhachev, "Nekotorye," 515. Cf. Likhachev, Molivdovuly, LXXIII.4 (p. 215). |
Translation
Ἀναστασίου ὑπάτου, βασιλικοῦ βαλνίτορος καὶ γενικοῦ κομμερκιαρίου ἀποθήκης Κωνσταντινουπόλεως.
(Seal of) the hypatos Anastasios, imperial balnitor, and general kommerkiarios of the apotheke of Constantinople.
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)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Les sceaux byzantins du Médaillier Vatican (Open in Zotero)
- Nekotorye stareishie tipy pechati vizantijskich imperatorov (Open in Zotero)
- Molivdovuly grečeskogo Vostoka (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Likhachev believed that he could see a gamma to the right of the imperial portraits, but on Zacos–Veglery, no. 224a it is clearly a delta. Anastasios will have received the title of hypatos during the indiction year 720/21. Cf. W. Seibt's review in BSl 36 (1975): 209–10.
Anastasios's career links the sole reign of Leo III, from 717 to the end of March 720, with that in which he is associated with his son, Constantine V, from 720 to 741.