Basil imperial spatharios and xenodochos of Loupadion (ninth/tenth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V). In the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Border of dots.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+.ΣΗΛ
ΕΙΣΠΘ
Ρ,ΣΞΕΝΟΔ
ΟΧΟΥΤΛ
ΠΔΙ
[Β]ασηλείῳ β(ασιλικῷ) σπαθαρ(ίῳ) (καὶ) ξενοδόχου τοῦ Λουπαδίου
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V). In the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Border of dots.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+.ΣΗΛ
ΕΙΣΠΘ
Ρ,ΣΞΕΝΟΔ
ΟΧΟΥΤΛ
ΠΔΙ
[Β]ασηλείῳ β(ασιλικῷ) σπαθαρ(ίῳ) (καὶ) ξενοδόχου τοῦ Λουπαδίου
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.738 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 25.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 55.3. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Βασηλείῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ ξενοδόχου τοῦ Λουπαδίου.
Mother of God, help your servant Basil imperial spatharios and xenodochos of Loupadion.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Zacos-Veglery read (πρωτο)σπαθαρίῳ, but the reading β(ασιλικῷ) σπαθαρίῳ proposed by Seibt (ByzSl 36 [1975] 211) is supported by the remains of the letter that starts with an upright line. Note the syntactical disconnection: the phrase starts in the dative and continues in the genitive for no apparent reason.
Loupadion/Lopadion (modern Ulubad) was found to the south of the Marmara sea, on the Rhyndakos river, commanding an important bridge of the road leading from Kyzikos to the east. It had a xenodocheion, the existence of which is known to us from several sources, including many seals (cf. Sig., 246, 381; Zacos, Seals II, nos. 111, 266). Our seals show that the city was administered by an archon and that a kommerikarios probably taxed merchandise in the ninth century.