John metropolitan of Amastris (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St. John Prodromos blessing and holding a scroll. Inscription in two columns: |ι̅ω|ο-|δ : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ἰω(άννης) ὁ Πρ(ό)δ(ρομος). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
κ̅ερ,θ,
Ι̅μητ,ο,
πολητι
ταμαστ
αρδου
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Ἰω(άννῃ) μητ(ρ)οπολήτι τ(οῦ) Ἀμαστράρδου
Obverse
Bust of St. John Prodromos blessing and holding a scroll. Inscription in two columns: |ι̅ω|ο-|δ : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ἰω(άννης) ὁ Πρ(ό)δ(ρομος). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
κ̅ερ,θ,
Ι̅μητ,ο,
πολητι
ταμαστ
αρδου
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Ἰω(άννῃ) μητ(ρ)οπολήτι τ(οῦ) Ἀμαστράρδου
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4812 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 24.0 mm; field: 19.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 12.4a. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Ἰωάννῃ μητροπολήτι τοῦ Ἀμαστράρδου.
Lord, help John, metropolitan of Amastris.
Bibliography
- Byzance et la mer: La marine de guerre, la politique et les institutions maritimes de Byzance aux VIIe–VXe siècles
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles
- Byzantine Lead Seals, vol. 2
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
- Paphlagonien und Honorias
- Die Städte Kleinasiens im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium
- Selections from a Private Collection of Byzantine Bullae
Commentary
This seal and BZS.1955.1.4813 are made from the same boulloterion.
In the second line (reverse), the engraver has mistakenly placed an abbreviation mark after the letter Ο. A second declension, masculine form, Ἄμαστρος, is found as a variant spelling among the Notitiae episcopatuum (see the “Index grec” in Darrouzès’ Notitiae, Ἄμαστρος, s.v.). The engraver may have had this variant in mind and, unfamiliar with third declension endings, created a hybrid, imposing a second declension genitive form on the standard third declension spelling, Ἀμάστριδος. Or perhaps it was just a mistake, a transposition of letters.