Bardas imperial spatharios and strategos of Thrace (ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Wreath border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
ΒΡΔ
ΒΣΠΘ
ΣΤΡΤΙΤ
ΘΡΑΚΙ
Βάρδᾳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατιγῷ τῆς Θρᾴκις
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Wreath border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
ΒΡΔ
ΒΣΠΘ
ΣΤΡΤΙΤ
ΘΡΑΚΙ
Βάρδᾳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατιγῷ τῆς Θρᾴκις
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.718 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 38.0 mm; field: 29.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 71.23a. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Βάρδᾳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατιγῷ τῆς Θρᾴκις.
Theotokos, help your servant Bardas imperial spatharios and strategos of Thrace.
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)
- Overstruck Seals in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Open in Zotero)
- De Thematibus (Open in Zotero)
- “Thrakien” und “Thrakesion” (Open in Zotero)
- Die zweihundertjährige Reform (Zu den Anfängen der Themenorganisation im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert) (Open in Zotero)
- Ανίχνευση τοπογραφική της ανατολικής Θράκης (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- La Thrace Orientale et La Mer Noire: Géographie Ecclésiastique et Prosopographie (VIIIe-XIIe Siècles) (Open in Zotero)
- Constantini Porphyrogeniti De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
It is possible, but less likely, to read τῶν Θρᾳκησίων. Remnants of the original strike of specimen (a) are visible only on the reverse. They read ΘΕ.|ΤΡ.|Α|σ.πο, to be reconstructed, with many reservations, as follows: Θεοδώρῳ/οδοσίῳ/οδούλῳ πατρικίῳ, βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Πελοποννήσου or Νικοπόλεως or even Μεσοποταμίας.