Symbatios imperial mandator and chartoularios of Thessalonica (ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (indeterminate type); in the quarters: ΤΣ.|ΔΛ. No visible border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σ[ῷ] δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of at least four lines. Wreath border.
.ΒΑ
.Β/ΜΑΝΔ/
ΑΡΤΛ/ΘΕ
ΛΟΝΙΚ/
[Συμ]βα[τίῳ] β(ασιλικῷ) μανδ(άτωρι) [(καὶ) χ]αρτουλ(αρίῳ) Θε[σσα]λονίκ(ης)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (indeterminate type); in the quarters: ΤΣ.|ΔΛ. No visible border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σ[ῷ] δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of at least four lines. Wreath border.
.ΒΑ
.Β/ΜΑΝΔ/
ΑΡΤΛ/ΘΕ
ΛΟΝΙΚ/
[Συμ]βα[τίῳ] β(ασιλικῷ) μανδ(άτωρι) [(καὶ) χ]αρτουλ(αρίῳ) Θε[σσα]λονίκ(ης)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.334 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 25.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 18.14. See also Zacos-Veglery, no. 3222. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Συμβατίῳ βασιλικῷ μανδάτωρι καὶ χαρτουλαρίῳ Θεσσαλονίκης.
Lord or Mother of God, help your servant Symbatios, imperial mandator and chartoularios of Thessalonica.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Silk Trade and Production in Byzantium from the Sixth to the Ninth Century: The Seals of Kommerkiarioi (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Le kommerkion d’Abydos, Thessalonique et le commerce bulgare du 9e siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Recherches sur les douanes à Byzance: L’octava, le "kommerkion" et les commerciares (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Les plus anciens recueils des miracles de Saint Démétrius et la pénétration des Slaves dans les Balkans (Open in Zotero)
- L’éparque de Thessalonique: les origines d'une institution administrative (VIIIe-IXe siècles) (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Zacos-Veglery, no. 3186, published a seal of the same era with a cruciform invocative monogram on the reverse and an inscription identifying the owner as Symbatios, imperial mandator and chartoularios of Thessalonica. It is probable that the two specimens belonged to the same person (same titles; the letters ΒΑ on line 1 of our specimen), although they are from different boulloteria.