Sabas (?) monk and bishop of Alabanda (ninth/tenth century)
Obverse
Vague outline of a winged figure standing in profile at right; probably an Annunciation scene, but with the Archangel standing on the side where the Virgin customarily appears. No sigla visible. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
....
ΟΗΘΕΙΣ..
ΜΟΝΧΕ..
ΣΚΟΠ,Λ
ΝΔΝ
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Σάβᾳ (?) μοναχῷ καὶ ἐπισκόπῳ Ἀλαβάνδων
Obverse
Vague outline of a winged figure standing in profile at right; probably an Annunciation scene, but with the Archangel standing on the side where the Virgin customarily appears. No sigla visible. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
....
ΟΗΘΕΙΣ..
ΜΟΝΧΕ..
ΣΚΟΠ,Λ
ΝΔΝ
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Σάβᾳ (?) μοναχῷ καὶ ἐπισκόπῳ Ἀλαβάνδων
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.840 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 28.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 60.1. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Σάβᾳ (?) μοναχῷ καὶ ἐπισκόπῳ Ἀλαβάνδων.
Theotokos, help Sabas (?) monk and bishop of Alabanda.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, south of Asia Minor
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium
- Fouilles d'Amyzon en Carie
- Kleinasiatische Ortsnamen
Commentary
Line 2 (reverse): the name of the bishop begins with the letter Σ, followed by a letter formed with slanting sides, no doubt the letter Α. Line 4: Laurent read the letter Ν at the end of the line; the line in fact terminates with a slender rendition of the letter .
Alabanda (modern Arabhisar), located south of the Meander River, was a suffragan bishopric of Stauroupolis of Caria (first bishop attested in 451). It appears in all notitiae until the thirteenth century. See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 382-83; Fedalto, 192; Robert, Amyzon, 17; Zgusta, 56.