Elinagos (?) magistros and katepano of Taron (?) (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St. Nicholas blessing and holding a book. Inscription visible at right: αο|σ : [ὁ (ἅγιος) Νικόλ]αος. No visible border.
Obverse
Bust of St. Nicholas blessing and holding a book. Inscription visible at right: αο|σ : [ὁ (ἅγιος) Νικόλ]αος. No visible border.
Reverse
Inscription of which four lines remain. No visible border.
.λιν
γ,μγ,
τρ,Sκτ
πν,τ.
τρ,.
[Ἐ]λινάγ(ῳ) μαγ(ί)[σ]τρ(ῳ) (καὶ) κατ[ε]πάν(ω) τ[οῦ] Ταρ(ώ)[ν]
Accession number | BZS.1947.2.197 |
---|---|
Diameter | 26.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 76.3. |
Translation
Ἐλινάγῳ μαγίστρῳ καὶ κατεπάνω τοῦ Ταρών.
Elinagos, magistros and katepano of Taron.
Bibliography
- De Administrando Imperio (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Although the final line of the reverse could possibly be restored as Ταρ[σ(οῦ)], the reading Ταρών has been adopted on the basis of the abbreviation sign following ταρ and the space for one more letter that one has to count at this spot — if the place name was Ταρσοῦ, one would have expected an abbreviation like ταρσ,.— The proposed name for the owner is very uncommon; our reading is based on the remains of the letters that appear on the lead as well as on the text of Skylitzes, informing us about a Bulgarian chieftain, Ἐλίναγος Φραντζῆς, whom Basil II would have appointed patrikios and settled in Thessaloniki (cf. V. Laurent, “Σφραντζῆς et non Φραντζῆς” BZ 44 [1951] 374-376). It was not uncommon that such chieftains, once taken into the imperial service, be appointed to administrative positions along the eastern frontier (cf. e. g. the case of Aaron: Kühn, Armee, 184, 194, 201, 204). And it would be quite normal if, on such an occasion, they received a promotion (from patrikios to magistros).