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Theodore or Theodosios bishop of Trebizond (tenth century)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of St. Theodore (or Theodosios) wearing a cloak and holding a martyr's cross before him in his right hand. Inscription in two columns: ο|θε|ο-δ|ο : Ὁ (ἅγιος) Θεόδο(ρος) or Θεοδό(σιος). Circular inscription, beginning at seven o'clock. Border of dots.

..γεθεοδορετσδ

[Ἅ]γ(ι)ε Θεόδορε β(οήθει) τῷ σ(ῷ) δ(ούλῳ)

Reverse

Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.

+θεο.
.επισ
..πτρα
.εζντ

Θεο[δ]ώ[ρ]ῳ (or Θεοδοσίῳ) ἐπισ[κό]πῳ Τρα[π]εζοῦντ(ος)

Obverse

Bust of St. Theodore (or Theodosios) wearing a cloak and holding a martyr's cross before him in his right hand. Inscription in two columns: ο|θε|ο-δ|ο : Ὁ (ἅγιος) Θεόδο(ρος) or Θεοδό(σιος). Circular inscription, beginning at seven o'clock. Border of dots.

..γεθεοδορετσδ

[Ἅ]γ(ι)ε Θεόδορε β(οήθει) τῷ σ(ῷ) δ(ούλῳ)

Reverse

Inscription of four lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.

+θεο.
.επισ
..πτρα
.εζντ

Θεο[δ]ώ[ρ]ῳ (or Θεοδοσίῳ) ἐπισ[κό]πῳ Τρα[π]εζοῦντ(ος)

Accession number BZS.1955.1.4683
Diameter 27.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 4, no. 39.3a.

A similar seal in the Vienna Collection, from a different boulloterion, was published by Laurent, "Succession épiscopale," 81-84 (= Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 660).

Translation

Ἅγιε Θεόδορε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεοδώρῳ or Θεοδοσίῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Τραπεζοῦντος.

St Theodore, help your servant Theodore (or Theodosios), bishop of Trebizond.

Commentary

This seal and BZS.1951.31.5.3220 come from the same boulloterion.

The date of the seal to the late tenth century seems secure. It would appear, in accordance with Laurent, that the owner used the title ἐπίσκοπος (and not μητροπολίτης) in the sense “bishop” of the metropolis. Note that the engraver has also omitted the verb βοήθει in the invocation of the obverse.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
  • Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
  • Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
  • Die Städte Kleinasiens im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert (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)
  • The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos (Open in Zotero)
  • Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey (Open in Zotero)
  • Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
  • La succession épiscopale du siège de Trébizond au Moyen Age (additions et corrections) (Open in Zotero)