N., imperial spatharios and strategos of Hellas (eighth/ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (of indeterminate type); visible in the lower quarters: ΔΛ. One eight-rayed star in each quarter (traces visible at upper left). Wreath border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription. Wreath border.
Β/Σ
Θ /ΣΤ
Τ/ελλ
δοσ
...ῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Ἑλλάδος.
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (of indeterminate type); visible in the lower quarters: ΔΛ. One eight-rayed star in each quarter (traces visible at upper left). Wreath border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription. Wreath border.
Β/Σ
Θ /ΣΤ
Τ/ελλ
δοσ
...ῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Ἑλλάδος.
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.832 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 8.57. |
Translation
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ ...ῳ βασιλικῷ σπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Ἑλλάδος.
Lord or Mother of God, help your servant N. imperial spatharios and strategos of Hellas.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Le Peloponnese byzantin jusqu’en 1204 (Open in Zotero)
- Du stratège de thème au duc: chronologie de l’évolution au cours du XIe siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Hellas und Thessalia (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
This specimen must have belonged to the same owner as BZS.1955.1.833 and BZS.1955.1.834, for they seem to be exact copies of each other (from different boulloteria) with one essential difference: the present specimen has eight-rayed stars on the obverse, while BZS.1955.1.833 and BZS.1955.1.834 seem to have simple pellets. BZS.1955.1.833 is also the work of an unskilled craftsman.