Pantherios imperial protospatharios and strategos of the Thrakesioi (tenth century)
Obverse
Partial remains of a cross with fleurons. Circle of pellets within a double border of dots. No epigraphy visible.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+π
ηρι.
αθˋS
ιγ,τ
ησ
Π[ανθ]ηρί[ῳ β(ασιλικῷ)? (πρωτο)σπ]αθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) [στρατ]ιγ(ῷ) τ(ῶν) [Θρᾳκ]ησ[ίων]
Obverse
Partial remains of a cross with fleurons. Circle of pellets within a double border of dots. No epigraphy visible.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+π
ηρι.
αθˋS
ιγ,τ
ησ
Π[ανθ]ηρί[ῳ β(ασιλικῷ)? (πρωτο)σπ]αθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) [στρατ]ιγ(ῷ) τ(ῶν) [Θρᾳκ]ησ[ίων]
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.2861 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 26.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 2.49. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Πανθηρίῳ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ στρατιγῷ τῶν Θρᾳκησίων.
Pantherios, imperial protospatharios and strategos of the Thrakesioi.
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)
- Constantini Porphyrogeniti De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Praetorians: An Administrative, Institutional, and Social Survey of the Opsikion and Tagmata, c. 580-900 (Open in Zotero)
- Theophanis Chronographia (Open in Zotero)
- L’histoire et la géographie de la région de Smyrne entre les deux occupations turques (1081-1317), particulièrement au XIIIe siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- “Thrakien” und “Thrakesion” (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The proposed restitution of the reading of this seal is not as uncertain as it may appear. The combination of the letters ησ occurs in the names of three themes, Θρᾳκησίων, Θρᾴκης (excluded since it would require more letters to complete the final line) and Πελοποννήσου (excluded because it requires too many letters at the end of line 3 and is not preceded by the article). The owner could be the same Pantherios named on BZS.1955.1.1601, BZS.1958.106.4164, and BZS.1951.31.5.374.