Synetos and Niketas general kommerkiarioi of the apotheke of Mesembria (713/714)
Obverse
Emperor Anastasios II standing frontally, wearing chlamys and holding globus cruciger. On either side, indictions signs: ΙΒˊ. Traces of circular inscription beginning at two o'clock. No visible border.
τ...............
[Ἰ(νδικτιὼν)] ιβˊ. [Συνε]τοῦ (καὶ) [Νικήτα ἀπὸ ἐπάρχων]
Reverse
Inscription of six lines. No visible border.
ΓΕΝ.
ΚΩΝΚΟΜ
ΜΕΡΚΙΑΡΙ.
.ΑΠΟΘΗΚ.
..ΕΣΕΜ.
ΡΙΑΣ
(καὶ) γεν[ι]κῶν κομμερκιαρί[ων] ἀποθήκ[ης Μ]εσεμ[β]ρίας
Obverse
Emperor Anastasios II standing frontally, wearing chlamys and holding globus cruciger. On either side, indictions signs: ΙΒˊ. Traces of circular inscription beginning at two o'clock. No visible border.
τ...............
[Ἰ(νδικτιὼν)] ιβˊ. [Συνε]τοῦ (καὶ) [Νικήτα ἀπὸ ἐπάρχων]
Reverse
Inscription of six lines. No visible border.
ΓΕΝ.
ΚΩΝΚΟΜ
ΜΕΡΚΙΑΡΙ.
.ΑΠΟΘΗΚ.
..ΕΣΕΜ.
ΡΙΑΣ
(καὶ) γεν[ι]κῶν κομμερκιαρί[ων] ἀποθήκ[ης Μ]εσεμ[β]ρίας
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4396 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 33.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 77.10a. See also Zacos-Veglery, no. 217a. A parallel specimen has been published several times with erroneous reading of the name as Constantine; cf. Bibicou, Douanes, 229, no. 44. |
Translation
Ἰνδικτιὼν ιβˊ. Συνετοῦ καὶ Νικήτα ἀπὸ ἐπάρχων καὶ γενικῶν κομμερκιαρίων ἀποθήκης Μεσεμβρίας.
Indiction 12. (Seal of) Synetos and Niketas apo eparchon and general kommerkiarioi of the apotheke of Mesembria
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)
- Recherches sur les douanes à Byzance: L’octava, le "kommerkion" et les commerciares (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Tribute or Trade?: The Byzantine-Bulgarian Treaty of 716 (Open in Zotero)
- Mesembria in the Ninth Century: Epigraphical Evidence (Open in Zotero)
- Sceaux byzantins du musée de Constantinople (Open in Zotero)
- Ἡ συνέχεια τῆς Χρονογραφίας τοῦ Ἰωάννου Σκυλίτση (Open in Zotero)
- La Thrace Orientale et La Mer Noire: Géographie Ecclésiastique et Prosopographie (VIIIe-XIIe Siècles) (Open in Zotero)
Parallel Seals
Similar Seals
- Synetos and Niketas apo eparchon, general kommerkiarioi of Lazike (711/712)
- Synetos and Niketas apo eparchon and general kommerkiarioi of the apotheke of Constantinople (713/714)
- Synetos and Niketas apo eparchon and general kommerkiarioi of the apotheke of Constantinople (seventh/eighth century)
- Synetos and Niketas apo eparchon, general kommerkiarioi of the apotheke of Koloneia, Kamacha and Fourth Armenia (713-715)
Commentary
In spite of the poor state of preservation of the circular inscription with the names on the obverse, the attribution of this seal and its parallels to Synetos and Niketas, already proposed by Zacos-Veglery, seems secure because (1) these seals belonged to an association of kommerkiarioi, since they are mentioned in the plural; (2) at that date, the two associates Synetos and Niketas are well attested from other seals; (3) the attribution is strongly supported by the remnants of letters on specimen (a); and (4) all three specimens are very similar: if they are not from the same boulloterion, they are certainly faithful copies of one another, the resemblance extending even to the relative positioning of letters from one line to the next.