Pothos imperial protospatharios epi tou Chrysotriklinou, judge, anagrapheus and exaktor of Kos, Leros, and the Cycladic Islands (eleventh century)
Obverse
Inscription of five lines followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
.ΘΚΕ
Ο..ΠΟ
Θ,ΑΣΠ
Θ,ΕΠΙΤ.
ΛΚΡΙΤΗ
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Πόθῳ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χρυσοτρικλίνου, κριτῇ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
αναγρ
..ε..κτ,
.ο.λε
ρ,κ.κλα
δ,νησ,
ἀναγραφεῖ καὶ ἐξάκτωρι Κώου, Λέρου καὶ Κυκλάδων νήσων
Obverse
Inscription of five lines followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
.ΘΚΕ
Ο..ΠΟ
Θ,ΑΣΠ
Θ,ΕΠΙΤ.
ΛΚΡΙΤΗ
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Πόθῳ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χρυσοτρικλίνου, κριτῇ
Reverse
Inscription of five lines followed by an ornament. Border of dots.
αναγρ
..ε..κτ,
.ο.λε
ρ,κ.κλα
δ,νησ,
ἀναγραφεῖ καὶ ἐξάκτωρι Κώου, Λέρου καὶ Κυκλάδων νήσων
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.4258 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 29.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 42.1. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Πόθῳ βασιλικῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χρυσοτρικλίνου, κριτῇ, ἀναγραφεῖ καὶ ἐξάκτωρι Κώου, Λέρου καὶ Κυκλάδων νήσων.
Theotokos, help Pothos imperial protospatharios epi tou Chrysotriklinou, judge, anagrapheus and exaktor of Kos, Leros, and the Cycladic Islands.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor (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)
- Molivdovuly grečeskogo Vostoka (Open in Zotero)
- Corinth, Vol. 12, The Minor Objects (Open in Zotero)
- Patmiakē Vivliothēkē: ētoi neos katalogos tōn cheirographōn kōdikōn tēs Hieras Monēs Hagiou Iōannou tou Theologou Patmou (Open in Zotero)
- Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
It is clear that on this specimen the term Cyclades meant today's Dodecanese.
The Cyclades appear as a geographic/administrative entity in the late seventh century with two seals of kommerkiarioi (687/89, 696/97: Zacos-Veglery, nos. 163 [= our no. 42.5], 196). The name was later replaced by ton Neson, which appears on seals of kommerkiarioi of the early eighth century. The fiscal entity of the Cyclades (subordinate to Samos?) is still attested in the 9th century (DO Seals 2, no. 42.6), and the maritime theme of the Cyclades was formed after 949 and before the Taktikon of the Escorial (971-975; Listes, 361). We have some seals of strategoi and judges (Zacos, Seals II, nos. 287, 799, 992; Lihačev, Molivdovuly, 111; Corinth, no. 2752; on the contrary, Corinth, no. 2704, belongs to a strategos of Hellas; information kindly provided by A. Dunn). Other eleventh-century officials of this theme are mentioned in the documents of Patmos. Then the administrative unit of the Cyclades disappears in the twelfth century. Before that, in all cases where the term is used in an administrative context, Cyclades seem to mean the ancient province of Nesoi, centered in today's Dodecanese extending all the way to Lesbos (AnalBoll 18 [1899] 212).