N., protospatharios and strategos of Nikopolis (ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram with the letters Θ and Φ (this last is probably due to a mistake of the engraver) in the center, Κ at the left and Β at the bottom. In the quarters the usual four syllables, [Τ]Σ|[Δ]Λ, but engraved in reverse. Wreath border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ .....
Reverse
At least five inscribed lines, followed by a row of pellets. Border of dots.
....
ΑΣΠΑΘΑ
.ΙΚΣΤΡΑ
..ΓΝΙΚΟΠ
ΟΛΕΣ
..... πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Νικοπόλεως
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram with the letters Θ and Φ (this last is probably due to a mistake of the engraver) in the center, Κ at the left and Β at the bottom. In the quarters the usual four syllables, [Τ]Σ|[Δ]Λ, but engraved in reverse. Wreath border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ .....
Reverse
At least five inscribed lines, followed by a row of pellets. Border of dots.
....
ΑΣΠΑΘΑ
.ΙΚΣΤΡΑ
..ΓΝΙΚΟΠ
ΟΛΕΣ
..... πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Νικοπόλεως
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.4832 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 25.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 2.8. |
Translation
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ ..... πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Νικοπόλεως.
Lord or Mother of God, help your servant N. protospatharios and strategos of Nikopolis.
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)
- Die sphragistischen Quellen zum byzantinischen Thema Nikopolis (Open in Zotero)
- Les sceaux byzantins de la Collection Henri Seyrig (Open in Zotero)
- De Administrando Imperio (Open in Zotero)
- Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Imperio (Open in Zotero)
- Nikopolis und Kephallenia (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Nikopolis I: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Nicopolis (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
There are important differences between the obverse and reverse dies of the boulloterion used on this seal. The obverse is anachronistic, decorated as it is with a wreath border and employing a beta of double loop form at the bottom of the cruciform monogram. The general design of the obverse (when contrasted with the reverse) suggests that we may have here a case where an official had to replace the obverse die of his boulloterion, but resided at a place where no competent engraver was available and so had to employ a craftsman unaccustomed to carving seal dies. To perform this task, the craftsman took a model produced at an earlier time which most probably did not contain the words ΤΩΣΩ|ΔΛΩ. He copied the cruciform monogram from his model without realizing how it read (for this reason he engraved an uninterrupted vertical line forming a useless Φ, cf. Seyrig, no. 270, then copied the syllables of the quarters required by the new fashion (which were probably given to him on a piece of paper) without realizing that the die should be engraved in negative to give the correct results.
At the beginning of the reverse, Seibt proposed Ἀνδρέᾳ. The poor remnants of the first letter of line 1 could well have formed an Α, but could as well have formed almost any other letter of the alphabet that does not have a round or an extremely narrow bottom (e.g., Ο,Φ). The first letter of line 2 is a very clear Α followed by an abbreviation sign that can stand only for (πρωτο)-. We consider it impossible to reconstruct the owner's Christian name from these paltry remnants.