Kosmas imperial vestitor and dioiketes of Nikomedeia (ninth/tenth century)
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.874 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 26 mm |
| Condition | Poorly printed on the sides |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 83.1. |
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V). In the quarters: ΤΣ|..Λ. Wreath border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
+ΚΟΣΜΑ
.ΕΣΤΙΤ.Ρ,
.ΔΙΟΚΗ.Η
ΝΙΚ /Μ.
Κοσμᾷ βασιλικῷ βεστίτωρι (καὶ) διοικητῇ Νικομηδείας
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Κοσμᾷ βασιλικῷ βεστίτωρι καὶ διοικητῇ Νικομηδείας.
Mother of God, help your servant Kosmas, imperial vestitor and dioiketes of Nikomedeia.
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.874 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 26 mm |
| Condition | Poorly printed on the sides |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 83.1. |
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
- Le livre du préfet; ou, L’édit de l'empereur Léon le Sage sur les corporations de Constantinople
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Die Städte Kleinasiens im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert
Commentary
Nikomedeia (modern Izmit) was the traditional capital of Bithynia and of the "theme" of Optimatoi, a center of fiscal administration, agricultural produce, and trade. Situated on the shores of the gulf of Astakenos, in the immediate vicinity of Constantinople, the city received many foreigners and merchants (including the ones importing sheep for provisioning Constantinople; Book of the Prefect XV, 3); hence it had several private hospices and an imperial one (no. 83.4).
Nikomedeia was an ecclesiastical metropolis and always occupied the seventh hierarchical position even though the number of its suffragans fluctuated.
See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 268-69; Brandes, Städte, 123-33; ODB III, 1483-84.