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N. Blax, protospatharios and judge of Mesopotamia (eleventh century)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of St. Nicholas blessing and holding a book. Vertical inscription on either side: .|α|γι|ο,-κ : [ὁ] ἅγιο(ς) [Νι]κ[όλαος]. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of five preserved lines. Border of dots.

σ..
ρ,κριτ,
μεσοπ,
τμ,το
Rλκ,

....(πρωτο)σ[παθα]ρ(ίῳ), κριτ(ῇ) Μεσοπ(ο)ταμ(ίας) το Βλακ(ί)

Obverse

Bust of St. Nicholas blessing and holding a book. Vertical inscription on either side: .|α|γι|ο,-κ : [ὁ] ἅγιο(ς) [Νι]κ[όλαος]. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of five preserved lines. Border of dots.

σ..
ρ,κριτ,
μεσοπ,
τμ,το
Rλκ,

....(πρωτο)σ[παθα]ρ(ίῳ), κριτ(ῇ) Μεσοπ(ο)ταμ(ίας) το Βλακ(ί)

Accession number BZS.1951.31.5.1228
Diameter 28.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 4, no. 55.6. Noted in PBW : Anonymous 20269.

Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore.

Translation

....πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ, κριτῇ Μεσοποταμίας το Βλακί.

... N. Blax, protospatharios and judge of Mesopotamia.

Commentary

The family name is clearly spelt and need not be linked with other possibilities.

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)
  • Sceaux byzantins des Musées d’Antioche et de Tarse (Open in Zotero)