Eugenios hypatos and komes tes kortes of Thessalonica (eighth/ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (of indeterminate type); discernible in the quarters: Δ.. No visible border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει [τῷ σῷ] δού[λ]ῳ
Reverse
Inscription in four lines. Wreath border.
ΕΝΥΠ
ΚΟΤΚΟΡΤ
.ΕΣΑΛΟ
ΝΗΚ
[Εὐγ]εν(ίῳ) ὑπ(άτῳ) (καὶ) κό(μητι) τ(ῆς) κόρτ(ης) [Θ]εσαλονήκ(ης)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (of indeterminate type); discernible in the quarters: Δ.. No visible border.
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει [τῷ σῷ] δού[λ]ῳ
Reverse
Inscription in four lines. Wreath border.
ΕΝΥΠ
ΚΟΤΚΟΡΤ
.ΕΣΑΛΟ
ΝΗΚ
[Εὐγ]εν(ίῳ) ὑπ(άτῳ) (καὶ) κό(μητι) τ(ῆς) κόρτ(ης) [Θ]εσαλονήκ(ης)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.856 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 28.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 18.27. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε or Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Εὐγενίῳ ὑπάτῳ καὶ κόμητι τῆς κόρτης Θεσαλονήκης.
Lord or Mother of God, help your servant Eugenios hypatos and komes tes kortes of Thessalonica.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Silk Trade and Production in Byzantium from the Sixth to the Ninth Century: The Seals of Kommerkiarioi (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Bleisiegel in Berlin (West) (Open in Zotero)
- Le kommerkion d’Abydos, Thessalonique et le commerce bulgare du 9e siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Recherches sur les douanes à Byzance: L’octava, le "kommerkion" et les commerciares (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Les plus anciens recueils des miracles de Saint Démétrius et la pénétration des Slaves dans les Balkans (Open in Zotero)
- L’éparque de Thessalonique: les origines d'une institution administrative (VIIIe-IXe siècles) (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The combination of the title of hypatos with that of komes tes kortes is not without parallels. Cf. Zacos-Veglery, no. 1422. The komes tes kortes (count of the tent) was a kind of chief-of-staff of the thematic strategos (Listes, 341). This seal, clearly earlier than the second quarter of the ninth century, would show that the theme of Thessalonica may have existed well before the dates that were mentioned below. But this is a hypothesis and cannot be considered a secure conclusion, as it is not impossible that even before the creation of the theme, the commander of Thessalonica had his own korte ("tent," staff) with its komes.