Theophilos metropolitan of Ankyra (late twelfth century)
Obverse
St. Peter on the left and St. Paul on the right facing, meeting each other, and clasping hands. Incsription in column at left: |.ε|τ|ρ, : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) [Π]έτρ(ος). Inscription at right: |πα|υ|λ, : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Παῦλ(ος). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
κ̅εβ,θ,
τσδ
.εοφι μ̅ρ̅ο
.ολιτ,αγ
..ρ.
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σῷ δού(λῳ) [Θ]εοφίλ(ῳ) μ(ητ)ρο[π]ολίτ(ῃ) Ἀγ[κύ]ρ(ας)
Obverse
St. Peter on the left and St. Paul on the right facing, meeting each other, and clasping hands. Incsription in column at left: |.ε|τ|ρ, : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) [Π]έτρ(ος). Inscription at right: |πα|υ|λ, : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Παῦλ(ος). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
κ̅εβ,θ,
τσδ
.εοφι μ̅ρ̅ο
.ολιτ,αγ
..ρ.
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σῷ δού(λῳ) [Θ]εοφίλ(ῳ) μ(ητ)ρο[π]ολίτ(ῃ) Ἀγ[κύ]ρ(ας)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.3333 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 29.0 mm; field: 20.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 2.3. Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 339. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεοφίλῳ μητροπολίτῃ Ἀγκύρας.
Lord, help your servant Theophilos, metropolitan of Ankyra.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
- Die Städte Kleinasiens im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Galatien und Lykaonien (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Laurent dated this seal to the early eleventh century. We place it in the late twelfth, because we find the letter B with two complete loops, that reappears at this time, as well as the ligature in a form absent from the 1030s to the third quarter of the 1170s or so. It is not certain whether Theophilos ever set foot in his see (which was then occupied by the Turks and was empty of Christians) or he was a titular metropolitan, living in Constantinople.