Theodore Proteuon, protospatharios and judge of the Armeniakoi (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the Christ child on her left arm. Sigla: ̅–θ̅υ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Border of dots.
θ̅κ̅εRθ
τσ̅δ̅θε
δρ.σπθ
Sκριτ,τν
ρμενικ,
τΠρ,τευ
οντ,
Θ(εοτό)κε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σ(ῷ) δ(ούλῳ) Θε[ο]δώρ(ῳ) (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) κριτ(ῇ) τῶν Ἀρμενιακ(ῶν) τῷ Πρ(ω)τεύοντ(ι)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the Christ child on her left arm. Sigla: ̅–θ̅υ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Border of dots.
θ̅κ̅εRθ
τσ̅δ̅θε
δρ.σπθ
Sκριτ,τν
ρμενικ,
τΠρ,τευ
οντ,
Θ(εοτό)κε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σ(ῷ) δ(ούλῳ) Θε[ο]δώρ(ῳ) (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) κριτ(ῇ) τῶν Ἀρμενιακ(ῶν) τῷ Πρ(ω)τεύοντ(ι)
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.3276 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 22.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 22.23a. V. Laurent, "Mélanges d'épigraphie grecque et de sigillographie byzantine," EO 31 (1932) 442-43. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεοδώρῳ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ κριτῇ τῶν Ἀρμενιακῶν τῷ Πρωτεύοντι.
Mother of God, help your servant Theodore Proteuon, protospatharios and judge of the Armeniakoi.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, volume 4: The East
- Mélanges d'épigraphie grecque et de sigillographie byzantine
- The Armeniac Theme and the Fate of Its Leaders
- Les sceaux byzantins de la Collection Henri Seyrig
- Byzantine Lead Seals, vol. 2
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, vol. 2, Phocas to Theodosius III (602–717), Part I, Phocas and Heraclius (602-641)
- De Thematibus
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
- Η Μικρά Ασία των θεμάτων. Ἐρευνες πάνω στην γεωγραφική φυσιογνωμία και προσωπογραφία των Βυζαντινών θεμάτων της Μικράς Ασίας
- Istoriceskoe znacenie italo-greceskoj ikonopisi: Izobra zenija Bogomatera v prozvedenijah italo-greceskih ikonopiscev i ih vlijanie na kompozicii nekotoryh proslavlennyh russkih ikon
Commentary
This seal, BZS.1958.106.2514, and BZS.1951.31.5.495 all come from the same boulloterion and so their readings have been combined.
Theodore Proteuon was a well known judge of the Constantinopolitan tribunal, who also exercised authority for a limited time in the theme of the Kibyrraiotai. See DO Seals 2, no. 59.13 (BZS.1951.31.5.699 and BZS.1951.31.5.1533).