The imperial kommerkia of the strategia of the Thrakesioi (741/742)
Obverse
Busts of two bearded emperors, holding a staff cross with rectangular basis between them. Wreath border.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Wreath border.
τν
βασιλικ
νκομμερκ
ιντησστ
ρατιγιαστ
νθρακισ
ινι
τῶν βασιλικῶν κομμερκίων τῆς στρατιγίας τῶν Θρακισίων. Ἰ(νδικτιὼν) ι´.
Obverse
Busts of two bearded emperors, holding a staff cross with rectangular basis between them. Wreath border.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Wreath border.
τν
βασιλικ
νκομμερκ
ιντησστ
ρατιγιαστ
νθρακισ
ινι
τῶν βασιλικῶν κομμερκίων τῆς στρατιγίας τῶν Θρακισίων. Ἰ(νδικτιὼν) ι´.
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1737 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 40.0 mm; field: 34.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 2.31; see also Zacos-Veglery, no. 261. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
τῶν βασιλικῶν κομμερκίων τῆς στρατιγίας τῶν Θρακισίων. Ἰνδικτιὼν ι´.
(Seal of) the imperial kommerkia of the strategia of the Thrakesioi. Indiction 10.
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)
- Constantini Porphyrogeniti De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Praetorians: An Administrative, Institutional, and Social Survey of the Opsikion and Tagmata, c. 580-900 (Open in Zotero)
- Theophanis Chronographia (Open in Zotero)
- L’histoire et la géographie de la région de Smyrne entre les deux occupations turques (1081-1317), particulièrement au XIIIe siècle (Open in Zotero)
- “Thrakien” und “Thrakesion” (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Zacos-Veglery rightly identified the emperors as Leo III and Constantine V and dated the seal to the indictional year 741/742, at the time of the revolt of Artabasdos when the theme of Thrakesion sided with Constantine V. We consider this date secure because: (a) the present seal must be dated after 730/731, when the seals of "imperial kommerkia" replace those of kommerkiarioi; (b) Constantine V is known to represent himself with his deceased father on coins and seals and to have added the portrait of his son Leo IV as soon as he made him co-emperor in 751; as Leo IV is not represented on this specimen, it will have been struck between 741 and 751, more precisely, in 741/742, the year coinciding with the tenth indiction.