Leo kouboukleisios and dioiketes of Sinope [and Ionopolis?] (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of a beardless saint (Eleutherios) holding a martyr's cross in his right hand. Vertical inscription: α|γ-λ|θε|ι : [Ὁ] ἅγ[ιος Ἐ]λ[ευ]θέ[ρ]ι[ος]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
λεο.
κRκλ.
..διυκη
..σινοπ.
ινπ΄.
– –
Λέο[ν(τι)] κουβουκλ[ησ(ίῳ) (καὶ)] διυκη[τῇ] Σινόπ[ης (καὶ)] Ἰνουπ(ό)[λ(εως)].
Obverse
Bust of a beardless saint (Eleutherios) holding a martyr's cross in his right hand. Vertical inscription: α|γ-λ|θε|ι : [Ὁ] ἅγ[ιος Ἐ]λ[ευ]θέ[ρ]ι[ος]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
λεο.
κRκλ.
..διυκη
..σινοπ.
ινπ΄.
– –
Λέο[ν(τι)] κουβουκλ[ησ(ίῳ) (καὶ)] διυκη[τῇ] Σινόπ[ης (καὶ)] Ἰνουπ(ό)[λ(εως)].
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1994 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 17.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 31.1. |
Translation
Λέοντι κουβουκλησίῳ καὶ διυκητῇ Σινόπης καὶ Ἰνουπόλεως.
Leo, kouboukleisios and dioiketes of Sinope and of Ionopolis.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Paphlagonien und Honorias (Open in Zotero)
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
- The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos (Open in Zotero)
- Η Μικρά Ασία των θεμάτων. Ἐρευνες πάνω στην γεωγραφική φυσιογνωμία και προσωπογραφία των βυζαντινών θεμάτων της Μικράς Ασίας (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The title κουβουκλήσιος indicates that Leo was a cleric. The end of the inscription could contain a second place-name or the family name of Leo. We propose καὶ Οἰνουπόλεως in view of the port of Ionopolis (Inebolu) to the west of Sinope (cf. Belke, Paphlagonien und Honorias, [Vienna, 1996] 219-21), but a restoration τῷ Οἰνουπολίτῃ, indicating a person originating from Ionopolis, would be equally probable.
Sinope (the modern Sinop) is a port located on the Black Sea to the west of the Halys River. It is listed as a suffragan bishopric of Amaseia until the early fourteenth century. See ODB III, 1904; Bryer-Winfield, Pontos, 69-88; Mikra Asia them., 152-153; Laurent, Corpus V/1, 307. List of bishops in Fedalto, HEO I, 82-3.