Niketas bishop of Servia (eleventh century, second half)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans. Sigla: : Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Indeterminate border.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. No visible border.
ΣΦΡΑΓ
ΝΙΚΙΤΑΣ
ΕΡΙΕΠ
ΙΣΚΟΠ
Σφραγὶς Νικίτα Σερβίου ἐπισκόπου
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans. Sigla: : Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Indeterminate border.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. No visible border.
ΣΦΡΑΓ
ΝΙΚΙΤΑΣ
ΕΡΙΕΠ
ΙΣΚΟΠ
Σφραγὶς Νικίτα Σερβίου ἐπισκόπου
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.5020 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 16.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 25.2. |
Translation
Σφραγὶς Νικίτα Σερβίου ἐπισκόπου.
Seal of Niketas bishop of Servia.
Bibliography
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα. Ἡ συλλογὴ Ἀναστασίου Κ. Π. Σταμούλη (Open in Zotero)
- Μελέται περὶ τῆς διοικητικῆς διαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς ἐπαρχιακῆς διοικήσεως ἐν τῷ βυζαντινῷ κράτει (Open in Zotero)
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 2, Siegellegenden von Ny bis inklusive Sphragis (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The reverse inscription is a twelve-syllable verse. Laurent rightly noted that the singular form, τὸ Σέρβιον, must be of popular origin.
Servia (modern Servia), southwest of Berroia, was established as a suffragan see of Thessalonica by the turn of the tenth century (Darrouzès, Notitiae, 278), if not earlier (see DO Seals 1, no. 25.1); cf. Laurent, Corpus V/3, 84-85. A strategos was also set up in Servia shortly before 1001; cf. Kekaumenos, 174, 433-35; Konstantopoulos, Stamoules, no. 85; Zakythinos, Mélétai 17 (1941) 226-27.