Theodosios imperial spatharokandidatos and archon of Cyprus (tenth century)
Obverse
Patriarchal cross on three steps. Circular inscription between two borders of dots.
Κύριε βοήθη τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
ΘΕΟΔΟ
ΣΙΣΠΑ
ΘΑΡ,ΚΑΝΔΙ
ΔΑΡΧΟ
ΤΚΥΠΡ,
Θεοδοσίῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαροκανδιδάτῳ καὶ ἄρχοντι Κύπρου
Obverse
Patriarchal cross on three steps. Circular inscription between two borders of dots.
Κύριε βοήθη τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
ΘΕΟΔΟ
ΣΙΣΠΑ
ΘΑΡ,ΚΑΝΔΙ
ΔΑΡΧΟ
ΤΚΥΠΡ,
Θεοδοσίῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαροκανδιδάτῳ καὶ ἄρχοντι Κύπρου
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.1682 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm; field: 20.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 38.2. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθη τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεοδοσίῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαροκανδιδάτῳ καὶ ἄρχοντι Κύπρου.
Lord, help your servant Theodosios imperial spatharokandidatos and archon of Cyprus.
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 (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Photii Patriarchae Constantinopolitani Epistulae et Amphilochia (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantium and Islam in Cyprus in the Early Middle Ages (Open in Zotero)
- The Nature of the Arab-Byzantine Relations in Cyprus from the Middle of the 7th to the Middle of the 10th Century A.D. (Open in Zotero)
- The Church of Cyprus during the Period of the Arab Wars, 649-965 (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Le Synodikon de l’orthodoxie: Édition et commentaire (Open in Zotero)
- Ἡ Κύπρος καὶ οἱ Ἄραβες (Open in Zotero)
- Σημειώσεις Ἀναφερόμεναι Εἰς Τῆν Ἱστορίαν Τῆς Βυζαντινῆς Κύπρου (Open in Zotero)
- Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The archon of Cyprus is also mentioned, among the spatharokandidatoi, in the Taktikon Uspenskij (Listes, 57, line 15); and the protospatharios and archon of Cyprus Leo tou Symbatike (obviously an Armenian) is mentioned in the accounts of the Byzantine naval campaign of 911 (Cer., 657). We cannot say with certainty if the spatharokandidatos and eparchon of Cyprus Staurakios, a correspondent of Photios, was also an archon, but we know that his responsibilities were fiscal (Photii patriarchae Constantinopolitani, Epistulae et Amphilochia II, ed. B. Laourdas and L. G. Westerink [Leipzig, 1984], 229-30, no. 278). In all these cases, the archon appears to be a regular Byzantine official, presumably appointed by the emperor.