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Constantine V and Leo IV (751–75)

 
 

Obverse

Cross potent on four steps. Circular inscription. Wreath border.

EO............ACIS

En on[om(ati) tu p(at)r(os) (καὶ) tu y(io)u (καὶ)] tu agiu b(ne)u(mato)s.

Reverse

Inscription of six lines. Indeterminate border.

.OS
AI
OSSLEOP
ISOIASI
LISRO
AIO

[C]onstantinos (καὶ) Leon pistoi basilis Romaion.

Obverse

Cross potent on four steps. Circular inscription. Wreath border.

EO............ACIS

En on[om(ati) tu p(at)r(os) (καὶ) tu y(io)u (καὶ)] tu agiu b(ne)u(mato)s.

Reverse

Inscription of six lines. Indeterminate border.

.OS
AI
OSSLEOP
ISOIASI
LISRO
AIO

[C]onstantinos (καὶ) Leon pistoi basilis Romaion.

Accession number BZS.1958.106.589 (formerly DO 58.106.589)
Diameter 33.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 6, no. 33.1; Zacos–Veglery, no. 36c. The example published by Seibt, Bleisiegel, no. 16 (751–ca. 770) is perhaps a late eighth-century forgery.

Translation

En onomati tu patros καὶ tu yiou καὶ tu agiu bneumatos Constantinos καὶ Leon pistoi basilis Romaion.

Constantine and Leo, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, faithful basileis of the Romans.

Commentary

At the end of the circular inscription on the obverse the letter G appears as C, and the abbreviation for PNEUMATOS appears as bUS instead of PNS (see also BZS.1958.106.581, where bU is interpreted as a retrograde PN). Zacos and Veglery (no. 36b) attribute to Constantine V and Leo IV a seal on which PNEUMATOS is abbreviated PNS.

In addition, note S as an abbreviation for καί, as well as the reverse inscription, in which the Greek is expressed in Latin letters. bASILIS is the Latin equivalent of the Greek βασιλεῖς.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 6, Emperors, Patriarchs of Constantinople, Addenda (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
  • Die byzantinischen Bleisiegel in Österreich, Vol. 1, Kaiserhof (Open in Zotero)