Costantinakios kommerkiarios of Didymoteichon (ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type VIII); in each of the quarters, a cross. Indeterminate border.
Κύριε βοήθει
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
ΚΟΣΤΑ
..ΙΝΑΚ/ ΚΟ
ΜΕΡΚ/ΤΔ
ΙΔΥΜΟΤ/
Κοστα[ντ]ινακ(ίῳ) κομερκ(ιαρίῳ) τοῦ Διδυμοτ(είχου)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type VIII); in each of the quarters, a cross. Indeterminate border.
Κύριε βοήθει
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
ΚΟΣΤΑ
..ΙΝΑΚ/ ΚΟ
ΜΕΡΚ/ΤΔ
ΙΔΥΜΟΤ/
Κοστα[ντ]ινακ(ίῳ) κομερκ(ιαρίῳ) τοῦ Διδυμοτ(είχου)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1782 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 29.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 50.1. See also Zacos-Veglery, no. 1438. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Κοσταντινακίῳ κομερκιαρίῳ τοῦ Διδυμοτείχου.
Lord, help Costantinakios kommerkiarios of Didymoteichon.
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)
- A Collection of Dated Byzantine Lead Seals (Open in Zotero)
- Western Thrace in the Early Christian and Byzantine Periods: Results of Archaeological Research and the Prospects, 1973–1987 (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- La région des Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles: étude de géographie historique (Open in Zotero)
- Les Rhodopes dans la deuxième moitié du XIIIe s: prosopographie (Open in Zotero)
- Les Rhodopes au XIVe siècle. Histoire administrative et prosopographie (Open in Zotero)
- Didymoteichon: Geschichte einer byzantinischen Festung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Zacos-Veglery incorrectly read lines 1-2 as: Κονσταντίνο βασιλικῷ κομερκιαρίῳ. The obverse decoration, basically a "Jerusalem cross," has a parallel on the seal of Antonios I Kassimatas, patriarch of Constantinople from 821 to 837 (Oikonomides, Dated Seals, no. 45). Since the beta at the base of our specimen's monogram has two loops, we may date this bulla to the first half of the ninth century. We recall here the dated seals of kommerkiarioi of Adrianoupolis: DO Seals 1, no. 44.5 and 44.6. These seals and the specimen here point to established trade along the Hebros river in the ninth century.