Basil metropolitan of Tyre, protothronos and oikonomos of the patriarchate of Antioch (eleventh century)
Obverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
Κ̅ΕΟ
ΗΘΕΙ.Σ
Λ̅ΑΣΙΛΙ
ΜΡΟΠ /ΤΥ
Ρ.Υ
Κ(ύρι)ε βοήθει [τ]ῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ) Βασιλἰ(ῳ) μ(ητ)ροπο(λίτῃ) Τύρ[ο]υ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, decoration below. Border of dots.
ΑˊΘΡΟΝ
ϗΟΙΚΟΝΟΜ
ΤΠΡΙΑΡΧ
ΑΝΤΙΟΧ̅Ι
(πρωτο)θρόνῳ (καὶ) οἰκονόμ(ῳ) τοῦ π(ατ)ριαρχ(είου) Ἀντιοχί(ας)
Obverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
Κ̅ΕΟ
ΗΘΕΙ.Σ
Λ̅ΑΣΙΛΙ
ΜΡΟΠ /ΤΥ
Ρ.Υ
Κ(ύρι)ε βοήθει [τ]ῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ) Βασιλἰ(ῳ) μ(ητ)ροπο(λίτῃ) Τύρ[ο]υ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, decoration below. Border of dots.
ΑˊΘΡΟΝ
ϗΟΙΚΟΝΟΜ
ΤΠΡΙΑΡΧ
ΑΝΤΙΟΧ̅Ι
(πρωτο)θρόνῳ (καὶ) οἰκονόμ(ῳ) τοῦ π(ατ)ριαρχ(είου) Ἀντιοχί(ας)
| Accession number | BZS 1951.31.5.863 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 39.0 mm; field: 28.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 16.1; Laurent, Corpus 5.2, no. 1533. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Βασιλἰῳ μητροπολίτῃ Τύρου, πρωτοθρόνῳ καὶ οἰκονόμῳ τοῦ πατριαρχείου Ἀντιοχίας.
Lord, help your servant Basil metropolitan of Tyre, protothronos and oikonomos of the patriarchate of Antioch.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 5: The East (continued), Constantinople and Environs, Unknown Locations, Addenda, Uncertain Readings (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The metropolitanate of Tyre was established at the Council of Chalcedon in 451; the metropolitan of Tyre later came to be ranked first among those under the authority of the patriarch of Antioch, as indicated by the epithet protothronos, which appears on our seal below. See Laurent, Corpus 5.2:365; Zacos, Seals II, no. 441; ODB 3:2134; list of metropolitans in Fedalto, HEO 2:708–9.
On this seal, the small, superscript omicron after the Π on line 4 of the obverse stands over an abbreviation mark, creating a misleading resemblance to the letter Ρ.