N. strategos of the Anatolikoi (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of a saint with a short and round beard, long hair falling straight back in an oriental fashion, and remnants of an elaborate garment. Traces of a vertical inscription: Φ|ΟΡ|ΟΣ; perhaps St. Elpidiphoros. Border of dots.
Obverse
Bust of a saint with a short and round beard, long hair falling straight back in an oriental fashion, and remnants of an elaborate garment. Traces of a vertical inscription: Φ|ΟΡ|ΟΣ; perhaps St. Elpidiphoros. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
ΤΟΣ
ΡΑΤΙ.
.ΝΑΝΑ
ΚΝ
.... [πρω]τοσ[παθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) στ]ρατι[γῷ τῶ]ν Ἀνα[τολι]κῶν
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.895 |
---|---|
Diameter | 18.0 mm |
Condition | Blank too small for die. |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 86.62. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
....πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατιγῷ τῶν Ἀνατολικῶν.
N. protospatharios and strategos of the Anatolikoi.
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)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Documents de sigillographie byzantine: La collection C. Orghidan (Open in Zotero)
- Sceaux byzantins du Musée National de Varsovie (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Three possibilities fit the lettering in the saint's name: Χριστοφόρος, Ἐλπιδιφόρος, and Ὀνησίφορος. Taking into consideration his oriental appearance, we venture to identify him as St. Elpidiphoros, a Persian "senator" who converted to Christianity and was martyred under Sapor (Syn. Eccl. CP, 189, line 2).