Gregory protokentarchos of Nicaea (eighth/ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V). In the quarters: ΤΔ|ΛΣ. Wreath border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
..ΙΓΟΡΙ
.ΠΡΟΤ
.ΕΝΤΡΧ
.ΙΚΕΣ
Γριγορίῳ προτωκεντάρχῳ Νικέας
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V). In the quarters: ΤΔ|ΛΣ. Wreath border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
..ΙΓΟΡΙ
.ΠΡΟΤ
.ΕΝΤΡΧ
.ΙΚΕΣ
Γριγορίῳ προτωκεντάρχῳ Νικέας
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.1575 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 28.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 59.6. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Γριγορίῳ προτωκεντάρχῳ Νικέας.
Mother of God, help your servant Gregory, protokentarchos of Nicaea.
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
- Byzantine Lead Seals, vol. 1
- Documents de sigillographie byzantine: La collection C. Orghidan
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin
- Sceaux byzantins du musée de Constantinople
- Fiscalité et exemption fiscale à Byzance (IXe-XIe s.)
- Constantini Porphyrogeniti De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae
- De Thematibus
- Byzantine Lead Seals, vol. 2
- La géographie ecclésiastique de l'empire byzantin, vol. 2, Les églises et les monastères des grands centres byzantins
- Die Städte Kleinasiens im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert
Commentary
Laurent lists other seals of protokentarchoi. This officer is not mentioned in Philotheos, but he appears in narrative sources in the tenth century and is commonly mentioned in eleventh-century documents. Our seal constitutes the earliest mention of the title. Because of its formulation, we assume that this was the protokentarchos of the theme of the Opsikion, who was attached to the city of Nicaea. Note other seals of protokentarchoi whose authority was defined by the name of an entire theme, such as Hellas and Chaldia (Sig., 166; Ebersolt, Sceaux, no. 483; BZS.1951.31.5.2301). In the tenth century the theme of Thrakesion had six protokentarchoi (Cer., 663). See N. Oikonomides, Fiscalité et exemption fiscale à Byzance (IXE-XIe s.) (Athens, 1996), 279-280.