Romanos imperial protospatharios and strategos of Mesopotamia (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
St. Sophia represented as an empress, wearing a crown and dress reminiscent of a simplified loros but different from it. Her hands are open before her, in a gesture similar to the Virgin’s. On either side a vertical inscription: η|α|γ-.|ο|φ : ἡ ἁγ(ία) [Σ]οφ(ία). Circular inscription within a border of dots:
...Rοηθε..σ...λ
[Κύριε] βοήθε[ι τ]ῷ σ[ῷ δού]λῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+ρομα
.Rαˊσπα
θ,Sστρατ
.γμεσ.
..τα
Ῥομα[ν]ῷ β(ασιλικῷ) (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) στρατ[η]γῷ Μεσ[οπο]τα[μ(ίας)]
Obverse
St. Sophia represented as an empress, wearing a crown and dress reminiscent of a simplified loros but different from it. Her hands are open before her, in a gesture similar to the Virgin’s. On either side a vertical inscription: η|α|γ-.|ο|φ : ἡ ἁγ(ία) [Σ]οφ(ία). Circular inscription within a border of dots:
...Rοηθε..σ...λ
[Κύριε] βοήθε[ι τ]ῷ σ[ῷ δού]λῳ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+ρομα
.Rαˊσπα
θ,Sστρατ
.γμεσ.
..τα
Ῥομα[ν]ῷ β(ασιλικῷ) (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) στρατ[η]γῷ Μεσ[οπο]τα[μ(ίας)]
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1218 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 24.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 55.13. See also N. Oikonomides, "Η αυτοκράτειρα Αγία Σοφία," in Θυμίαμα στη μνήμη της Λασκαρίνας Μπούρα (Athens, 1994) 235-38. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Ῥομανῷ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ Μεσοποταμίας.
Lord, help your servant Romanos, imperial protospatharios and strategos of Mesopotamia.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- De Thematibus (Open in Zotero)
- De Administrando Imperio (Open in Zotero)
- Constantini Porphyrogeniti De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae (Open in Zotero)
- Überlegungen zur Vorgeschichte des Thema Mesopotamien (Open in Zotero)
- Silk Trade and Production in Byzantium from the Sixth to the Ninth Century: The Seals of Kommerkiarioi (Open in Zotero)
- Η Μικρά Ασία των θεμάτων. Ἐρευνες πάνω στην γεωγραφική φυσιογνωμία και προσωπογραφία των βυζαντινών θεμάτων της Μικράς Ασίας (Open in Zotero)
- Molivdovuli na Damjan Dobromirduk na Trakija i Mesopotamija (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Η αυτοκράτειρα Αγία Σοφία (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
This representation of St. Sophia is quite uncommon, because this saint was not an empress. Moreover, on the present seal, the saint’s crown and dress bring to mind sixth-century models, particularly the portrait of empress Theodora in the mosaic of San Vitale of Ravenna. Oikonomides supposes that this might be a representation of empress Sophia of the sixth century, much remembered for her piety, who could somehow have been identified with St. Sophia the Wonderworker (18 December). For a detailed treatment, see Oikonomides, loc. cit.