Kosmas bishop of Proussa (eleventh century)
Obverse
Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
..Ε
ΟΗΘ.
ΤΣ
ΔΛ,
[Κ(ύρι)]ε βοήθ[ι] τῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ)
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
ΚΟΣΜΑ
ΕΠΙΣΚΟ
ΠΠΡ
ΣΗΣ
Κοσμᾷ ἐπισκόπῳ Προύσης
Obverse
Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
..Ε
ΟΗΘ.
ΤΣ
ΔΛ,
[Κ(ύρι)]ε βοήθ[ι] τῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ)
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
ΚΟΣΜΑ
ΕΠΙΣΚΟ
ΠΠΡ
ΣΗΣ
Κοσμᾷ ἐπισκόπῳ Προύσης
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1833 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 26.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 67.2. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθι τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Κοσμᾷ ἐπισκόπῳ Προύσης.
Lord, help your servant Kosmas, bishop of Proussa.
Bibliography
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Proussa (modern Bursa at the foot of Mount Olympus in Bithynia), a suffragan of Nikomedeia (but situated in the Opsikion theme), was represented at the Council of Nicaea in 325 and is mentioned as such in all notitiae until the twelfth century. In early times, it was also called Θεούπολις: cf. Zacos-Veglery II, no. 1096. After its conquest by the Turks in 1326, it became a metropolis (about 1359). See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 273; Janin, Grands centres, 174-75; ODB III, 1750.
We note that St. Michael is usually represented on the seals of the bishops of Proussa, allowing us to hypothesize that the episcopal church of the city may have been dedicated to the Archangel. Cf. SBS 4 (1994) 22.