John Doukitzes, hypatos and strategos of Kastoria (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God holding the medallion of Christ before her. Sigla preserved at right: ΘΥ̅: [Μ(ήτη)ρ] Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Border of dots.
ΘΚΕ̅,Θ,
ΤΣΔΛ,
Ι̅ΥΠΑΤ
ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓ,.
.ΑΣΤΟΡΙ.
.ΔΚ.
ΤΖ.
Θ(εοτό)κε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ) Ἰω(άννῃ) ὑπάτῳ (καὶ) στρατηγ(ῷ) [τ(ῆς) Κ]αστορί[α(ς) τ]ῷ Δουκ[ί]τζ(ῃ)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God holding the medallion of Christ before her. Sigla preserved at right: ΘΥ̅: [Μ(ήτη)ρ] Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of seven lines. Border of dots.
ΘΚΕ̅,Θ,
ΤΣΔΛ,
Ι̅ΥΠΑΤ
ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓ,.
.ΑΣΤΟΡΙ.
.ΔΚ.
ΤΖ.
Θ(εοτό)κε β(οή)θ(ει) τῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ) Ἰω(άννῃ) ὑπάτῳ (καὶ) στρατηγ(ῷ) [τ(ῆς) Κ]αστορί[α(ς) τ]ῷ Δουκ[ί]τζ(ῃ)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.845 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 29.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 23.1. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Ἰωάννῃ ὑπάτῳ καὶ στρατηγῷ τῆς Καστορίας τῷ Δουκίτζῃ.
Mother of God, help your servant John Doukitzes, hypatos and strategos of Kastoria.
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)
- Cinq études sur le XIe siècle byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Μελέται περὶ τῆς διοικητικῆς διαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς ἐπαρχιακῆς διοικήσεως ἐν τῷ βυζαντινῷ κράτει (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The owner appears to have been active in the middle of the eleventh century; see PBW : Ioannes 20128. At some point he seems to have been promoted from hypatos to patrikios and even later to have become the katepano of Edessa mentioned in the will of Boilas (1059): see Polemis, Doukai, 35 (we have doubts concerning the hypothesis that this might be the future caesar John Doukas) and 207; and Lemerle, Cinq études, 40.
Modern Kastoria, near the homonymous lake, in Greek Macedonia, a city famous for its numerous churches dating from the ninth century on. The town was held by the Bulgarians from 998 to 1018. As early as the reign of Michael VII, Kastoria, situated to the west of Berroia, was governed by a strategos (ὁ ἐν Καστορίᾳ στρατηγῶν: Skylitzes Cont., 164; Zakythinos, Mélétai 17 [1941] 225-26). In the mid-twelfth century Andronikos Komnenos exercised authority in the region as doux of Niš, Braničevo, and Kastoria (ibid.). Our seal, DO Seals 1, no. 23.2 would indicate that someone during the eleventh century there was also an otherwise unknown episkepsis in or around Kastoria.
Although the town is first mentioned as a see (in a datable context) in Basil II's decree of 1020 organizing the church of Achrida and its dependencies, it seems clear from Basil's intention to maintain the status quo as it existed before his conquests that Kastoria was already the site of a bishopric during the time of the first Bulgarian Empire (Laurent, Corpus V/2, 327).