John protokentarchos of the judge of the Thrakesioi (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St. Nicholas; details effaced. Inscription in two columns: |ν|ι-κ|ο|λ : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικόλ(αος). Circular inscription along a border of dots:
κεR.-τωσω
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)[θ(ει)] τῷ σῷ [δ(ούλῳ)]
Obverse
Bust of St. Nicholas; details effaced. Inscription in two columns: |ν|ι-κ|ο|λ : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικόλ(αος). Circular inscription along a border of dots:
κεR.-τωσω
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)[θ(ει)] τῷ σῷ [δ(ούλῳ)]
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, the final letter between two bars. Border of dots.
+ι̅ωα̅
κενταρ
χ,τκριτ,
τονθρα
.ησυο
–ν–
Ἰω(άννῃ) (πρωτο)κεντάρχ(ῳ) τοῦ κριτ(οῦ) τον Θρᾳ[κ]ησύον
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.2301 |
---|---|
Diameter | 24.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 2.33. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Ἰωάννῃ πρωτοκεντάρχῳ τοῦ κριτοῦ τον Θρᾳκησύον.
Lord, help your servant John, protokentarchos of the judge of the Thrakesioi.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Constantini Porphyrogeniti De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Praetorians: An Administrative, Institutional, and Social Survey of the Opsikion and Tagmata, c. 580-900 (Open in Zotero)
- Theophanis Chronographia (Open in Zotero)
- L’histoire et la géographie de la région de Smyrne entre les deux occupations turques (1081-1317), particulièrement au XIIIe siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- “Thrakien” und “Thrakesion” (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The present specimen shows that the protokentarchos, an official who appears in the provincial administration during the tenth century, might best be defined as a sergeant-at-arms, subordinate not only to the strategos (Cer., 663), but also to the judge, no doubt heading their guards.