Basil hypatos and protonotarios of Sicily (ninth century)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Wreath border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription in four lines. Wreath border.
ΒΑΣΙ
ΛΕΙΥΠΑ
ΑΝΟΤΤ
ΣΙΚΕΛ
Βασιλείῳ ὑπά(τῳ) (καὶ) (πρωτο)νοτ(αρίῳ) τ(ῆς) Σικελ(ίας)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ΤΣ|ΔΛ. Wreath border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription in four lines. Wreath border.
ΒΑΣΙ
ΛΕΙΥΠΑ
ΑΝΟΤΤ
ΣΙΚΕΛ
Βασιλείῳ ὑπά(τῳ) (καὶ) (πρωτο)νοτ(αρίῳ) τ(ῆς) Σικελ(ίας)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.527 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 22.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 5.5. See also Zacos-Veglery, no. 1771. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Βασιλείῳ ὑπάτῳ καὶ πρωτονοταρίῳ τῆς Σικελίας.
Theotokos, help your servant Basil hypatos and protonotarios of Sicily.
Bibliography
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- 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)
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Storia della Sicilia, Vol. 3, La Sicilia fra Roma e Bisanzio (Open in Zotero)
- L’amministrazione del tema de Sicilia (Open in Zotero)
- La Sicile byzantine: État de recherches (Open in Zotero)
- Une source peu étudiée de l’histoire de la Sicile au haut Moyen-Age: La sigillographie byzantine (Open in Zotero)
- Une liste arabe des stratèges du thème de Sicile (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- Theophanes Continuatus, Ioannes Cameniata, Symeon Magister, Georgius Monachus (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Zacos-Veglery read the final line (rev.) as σακέλλης, but although the second letter is by no means clear, its general shape more closely approximates an Ι than does an Α. Moreover, the reading τῆς σακέλλης would not make sense because precisely at that time, all protonotarioi of the themes were subordinate to the imperial sakelle or sakellion: this is stated by Philotheos in Listes, 121, line 6. A seal of the same type that belonged to a Basil protonotarios of Sicily was found in Syracus (Sig., 215, note 2, no. 10, and Borsari, Amministrazione, 157, no. 16). This Basil was a β(ασιλικὸς) βεστ(ίτωρ) (not βέστης, as this appears in both editions) and could possibly be identical to the owner of our seal at an earlier stage of his career.