Leo dioiketes and kommerkiarios of Adrianoupolis (ninth century, first half)
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ..Σ|ΔΛ. Indeterminate border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει [τῷ] σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
ΛΕΟΝΤΙ
ΔΙΟΙΚ/ ΚΟΜ
ΕΡΚ/ Α.ΡΙΑ/
ΠΙΝΔ/Β̄
Λέοντι διοικ(ητῇ) (καὶ) κομερκ(ιαρίῳ) Ἀ[δ]ρια(νου)πό(λεως). Ἰνδ(ικτιὼν) βˊ
Obverse
Cruciform invocative monogram (type V); in the quarters: ..Σ|ΔΛ. Indeterminate border.
Θεοτόκε βοήθει [τῷ] σῷ δούλῳ
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Wreath border.
ΛΕΟΝΤΙ
ΔΙΟΙΚ/ ΚΟΜ
ΕΡΚ/ Α.ΡΙΑ/
ΠΙΝΔ/Β̄
Λέοντι διοικ(ητῇ) (καὶ) κομερκ(ιαρίῳ) Ἀ[δ]ρια(νου)πό(λεως). Ἰνδ(ικτιὼν) βˊ
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.995 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 32.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 44.6. See also Zacos-Veglery, no. 2103b. The authors published a similar seal (no. 2103a) but from a different boulloterion. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Λέοντι διοικητῇ καὶ κομερκιαρίῳ Ἀδριανουπόλεως. Ἰνδικτιὼν βˊ.
Theotokos, help your servant Leo dioiketes and kommerkiarios of Adrianoupolis. Indiction 2.
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)
- Le kommerkion d’Abydos, Thessalonique et le commerce bulgare du 9e siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Armenian Miniature Paintings of the Monastic Library at San Lazzaro (Open in Zotero)
- Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum (Open in Zotero)
- Μελέται περὶ τῆς διοικητικῆς διαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς ἐπαρχιακῆς διοικήσεως ἐν τῷ βυζαντινῷ κράτει (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- La Thrace Orientale et La Mer Noire: Géographie Ecclésiastique et Prosopographie (VIIIe-XIIe Siècles) (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
As Zacos and Veglery note, on epigraphic grounds, the seal should be dated to the first half of the ninth century; the exact date might have been 808/9, 823/4, or 838/9. However, since the seal is aniconic and representative of the transitional type in which the decoration of the obverse with imperial portraiture is replaced by inscriptions, it is likely, as Zacos-Veglery suggest, that it derives from the end of the period when dated seals were issued; thus it should probably be assigned to 838/9.