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Phloulis (?) imperial protospatharios and judge of the Anatolikoi (tenth century)

 
 

Obverse

Eight-ray monogram with Χ at the center and the following letters at the ends (from the top clockwise): ΡΔΤΦΣΗΕ. We propose Χριστὲ φήδου; see the commentary. Border of dots.

Χριστὲ φήδου

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.

ΛΟΥΛΙ
ΑΣΠΑΘ.
ΡΗΟΥΚΕΚΡ
ΙΤΟΥΤΟΝ
ΑΝΑΤ.

Φλούλι (?) βασιλικοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρήου κε κριτοῦ τον Ἀνατολικῶν

Obverse

Eight-ray monogram with Χ at the center and the following letters at the ends (from the top clockwise): ΡΔΤΦΣΗΕ. We propose Χριστὲ φήδου; see the commentary. Border of dots.

Χριστὲ φήδου

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.

ΛΟΥΛΙ
ΑΣΠΑΘ.
ΡΗΟΥΚΕΚΡ
ΙΤΟΥΤΟΝ
ΑΝΑΤ.

Φλούλι (?) βασιλικοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρήου κε κριτοῦ τον Ἀνατολικῶν

Accession number BZS.1951.31.5.1889
Diameter 22.0 mm; field: 18.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 3, no. 86.35a.

Translation

Χριστὲ φήδου Φλούλι (?) βασιλικοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρήου κε κριτοῦ τον Ἀνατολικῶν.

Christ, spare Phloulis (?) imperial protospatharios and judge of the Anatolikoi.

Commentary

The eight-ray monogram of the obverse is typical of the second half of the tenth century; this can be seen from the seals found at the Byzantine administrative building of Preslav that date shortly after 971 (published by Jordanov, Preslav). We analyze it as Χριστὲ φείδου (=Christ, spare [the owner]) because (a) this takes into consideration all the letters of the monogram (with one spelling mistake, φήδου instead of the correct φείδου, but such errors are common on seals); (b) the name of Christ is read on the arms of a across; (c) the verb φείδομαι is normally construed with genitive, the case in which the inscription of the reverse is written out.

The reading of the owner's name is problematic particularly because between Λ and Ο the seal is broken at the exit of the channel, and one has the impression that one more, probably interlinear, sign existed there; a superscript dash or a small Τ? 

The name Phloulis is not Greek, as far as we can tell. It appears as Phloulianos in Konstantopoulos, Stamoules, no. 52; cf. Laurent, Corpus II, no. 931. Moreover, a 10th century seal has been discovered in Preslav with the inscription Ἰω(άννῃ π(ατ)τρικίῳ) Τ( )  .ΛΟΥΛΟ = τ[οῦ] Λούλο(υ) as proposed by the editor or τ(ῷ) [Φ]λούλο? See Jordanov, Preslav, no. 79.

Bibliography

  • 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)
  • Pechatite ot strategii︠a︡ta v Preslav, 971-1088 (Open in Zotero)
  • Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα. Ἡ συλλογὴ Ἀναστασίου Κ. Π. Σταμούλη (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
  • Documents de sigillographie byzantine: La collection C. Orghidan (Open in Zotero)
  • Sceaux byzantins du Musée National de Varsovie (Open in Zotero)
  • Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)