Imperial kommerkion of the province of the Anatolikoi (736/737)
Obverse
Half-length figures of Leo III (left) bearded, and Constantine V, beardless, holding between them a long cross set on a ball; both wear chlamys and a crown with a cross. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Border of dots.
..
.σιληκ
νκομμε
ρκιντν
επρχιν
τνντο
λικε
Τῶν βασιληκῶν κομμερκίων τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν τῶν Ἀνατολικῶν. Ἰνδικτιὼν εˊ.
Obverse
Half-length figures of Leo III (left) bearded, and Constantine V, beardless, holding between them a long cross set on a ball; both wear chlamys and a crown with a cross. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Border of dots.
..
.σιληκ
νκομμε
ρκιντν
επρχιν
τνντο
λικε
Τῶν βασιληκῶν κομμερκίων τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν τῶν Ἀνατολικῶν. Ἰνδικτιὼν εˊ.
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.682 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 34.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 86.37. |
Translation
Τῶν βασιληκῶν κομμερκίων τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν τῶν Ἀνατολικῶν. Ἰνδικτιὼν εˊ.
(Seal of) the imperial kommerkia of the eparchiae of the Anatolikoi. Indiction 5.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Documents de sigillographie byzantine: La collection C. Orghidan (Open in Zotero)
- Sceaux byzantins du Musée National de Varsovie (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The identification of the emperors proposed by Zacos-Veglery poses no problem. At the end of the last line, Zacos-Veglery read an alpha and so dated the seal to 732/733; the letter is faint, but we discern a lunate shape, very similar to the Ε of line 3, with its lower end stopping almost at the vertical. There cannot be any doubt here concerning the meaning of the term Anatolikoi = the theme of that name. Cf. DO Seals 3. 86.16.