Marianos imperial protospatharios and doux of Calabria (eighth/ninth centuries)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. No visible border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription in four lines. No visible border.
μρην
β//σπ/S
δουκικλ
ρισ
Μαριανῷ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ δουκὶ Καλαβρίας
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. No visible border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription in four lines. No visible border.
μρην
β//σπ/S
δουκικλ
ρισ
Μαριανῷ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ δουκὶ Καλαβρίας
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.2323 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 32.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 4.4. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Μαριανῷ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ καὶ δουκὶ Καλαβρίας.
Theotokos, help your servant Marianos imperial protospatharios and doux of Calabria.
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)
- La dominazione bizantina nell’Italia meridionale dal IX al XI secolo (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The reading of the first name is not certain.
Calabria became a duchy around the middle of the seventh century (cf Falkenhausen, Dominazione, 7) and continued to be so through the first half of the ninth century, subordinate to the strategos of Sicily, who was in control of the eastern portion of the island; both the doux and strategos appear in the Uspenskij Taktikon (842-843).
After the fall of Taormina in 902, the strategos of Sicily moved to Calabria but kept his traditional name, although in the narrative sources he is called strategos of Calabria. This title appears in official sources by the mid-tenth century (Listes, 356; Falkenhausen, Dominazione, 30), though doukes of Calabria were still appointed in the late ninth–early tenth century, as can be seen from BZS.1955.1.1389 and BZS.1958.106.3191.