John bishop of Ionopolis (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with hands raised before her. Sigla: .ρ̅-θ̅. : [Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(εο)[ῦ]. No visible border.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
.ι..
.σκοπ
..νοπο
.εσ
- -
Ἰω(άννῃ) [ἐπι]σκόπ(ῳ) [Ἰω]νοπό[λ]εως
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with hands raised before her. Sigla: .ρ̅-θ̅. : [Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(εο)[ῦ]. No visible border.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
.ι..
.σκοπ
..νοπο
.εσ
- -
Ἰω(άννῃ) [ἐπι]σκόπ(ῳ) [Ἰω]νοπό[λ]εως
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4648 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 19.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 18.1. |
Translation
Ἰωάννῃ ἐπισκόπῳ Ἰωνοπόλεως.
John, bishop of Ionopolis.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Paphlagonien und Honorias (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
- Sceaux byzantins du musée de Constantinople (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Laurent (Corpus V/1, no. 442, following Ebersolt, Sceaux, no. 390bis) published, but did not illustrate, a seal of John, bishop of Ionopolis, which he dated to the eleventh century. This seal carries a similar inscription to the present one but differs in iconography (St John the Baptist).
The community of Ionopolis (modern Inebolu) was represented at the Council of Nicaea in 325 and appears as a suffragan of Gangra in the episcopal list of pseudo-Epiphanios and in all subsequent lists up to the XIIIth century. See Paphlagonien, 219-221; Laurent, Corpus V/1, 321. A list of bishops is published in Fedalto, HEO I, 88.