Veken protospatharios and strategos of Balaneos (tenth/eleventh centuries)
Obverse
Bust of St. George holding a spear in his right hand and a shield in his left hand. Inscription in two columns: |ΓΕ|Γ|Η|ΟΣ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Γεώ[ρ]γηος. No border visible.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
Κ̅Ε̅,Θ,
ΕΚΕΝ
ΣΠΘ,ϗ
ΣΤΡ,Τ,,
ΛΝ,
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Βεκὲν (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) στρ(ατηγῷ) τ(οῦ) Β(α)λαν(έως)
Obverse
Bust of St. George holding a spear in his right hand and a shield in his left hand. Inscription in two columns: |ΓΕ|Γ|Η|ΟΣ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Γεώ[ρ]γηος. No border visible.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
Κ̅Ε̅,Θ,
ΕΚΕΝ
ΣΠΘ,ϗ
ΣΤΡ,Τ,,
ΛΝ,
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Βεκὲν (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) στρ(ατηγῷ) τ(οῦ) Β(α)λαν(έως)
| Accession number | BZS 1951.31.5.240 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 15.1. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Βεκὲν πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ τοῦ Βαλανέως.
Lord, help Veken protospatharios and strategos of Balaneos.
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)
- Popravki i dopolneniia k ’Katalogu Molivdovulov’ B. A. Panchenko (Open in Zotero)
- Pechatite ot strategii︠a︡ta v Preslav, 971-1088 (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The owner’s name suggests Armenian or Georgian ancestry. A Βηκἐν (first name), strategos of Sasoun, is known from a late eleventh-century seal (see V. Shandrovskaia, “Popravki i dopolneniia k ‘Katalogu Molivdovulov’ B. A. Panchenko,” VizVrem 38 (1977): 115) Seibt correctly revised the dating of the seal and identified Sasoun as a region south of Taron (BZ 71 [1978]: 289; cf. SBS 5 [1998]: 132). We also note the eleventh century seal of a Παγκράτιος Βηκένης (here a family name), discovered in Preslav and published by Jordanov, Preslav, nos. 399–400.