George, from Ephesos (twelfth century)
Obverse
Inscription of four lines preceded by a cross of dots between two pellets. Border of dots.
··
πρξεισ
σφργιζ
συνγρφ...
γεργι.
Πράξεις σφραγίζω σὺν γραφ[αῖς] Γεωργί[ου]
Reverse
Inscription of four lines preceded by a row of pellets. Border of dots.
···
πτρισ
εινεφε
..στησ
σισ
οὗ πατρίς ἐστιν Ἔφε[σο]ς τῆς Ἀσίας
Obverse
Inscription of four lines preceded by a cross of dots between two pellets. Border of dots.
··
πρξεισ
σφργιζ
συνγρφ...
γεργι.
Πράξεις σφραγίζω σὺν γραφ[αῖς] Γεωργί[ου]
Reverse
Inscription of four lines preceded by a row of pellets. Border of dots.
···
πτρισ
εινεφε
..στησ
σισ
οὗ πατρίς ἐστιν Ἔφε[σο]ς τῆς Ἀσίας
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.1797 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 19.0 mm; field: 13.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 14.11. See also Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 1826. |
Translation
Πράξεις σφραγίζω σὺν γραφαῖς Γεωργίου, οὗ πατρίς ἐστιν Ἔφεσος τῆς Ἀσίας.
I seal the acts along with the writings of George, who hails from Ephesos in Asia.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- De Thematibus (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Les évêchés suffragants d’Ephèse aux 5e-13e siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Ephesos in byzantinischer Zeit (Open in Zotero)
- Drei byzantinische Bleisiegel aus Ephesos (Open in Zotero)
- Die Städte Kleinasiens im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert (Open in Zotero)
- Un grand mystique byzantin: vie de Syméon le Nouveau Théologien (949-1022) (Open in Zotero)
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 2, Siegellegenden von Ny bis inklusive Sphragis (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The inscription consists of two dodecasyllabic verses. One may wonder whether this indication of origin does not in fact cover a family name, Ἐφέσιος, which seems to be attested around the year 1000: Vie de Syméon le Nouveau Thólogien, ed. I. Hausherr (Rome, 1928), 44.
The ancient city of Ephesos was abandoned in the seventh century in favor of the security of the inland fortress of Theologos, where the famous basilica (and major pilgrimage center) of St. John the Evangelist stood (near modern Selçuk). The name (Ἅγιος) Θεολόγος, Theologo, Ayasoluk was currently used when speaking of the medieval town and its administrators, such as the commander of the fortress, the paraphylax, or the archon (eighth/ninth century: Zacos-Veglery, no. 2282A) and the (undoubtedly naval) droungarios (ninth century: ibid., 2561A; Konstantopoulos, no. 135). But the old name, Ephesos, also survived in civil administration: Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos informs us that the theme of Samos, which is first attested at the very end of the ninth century, had control over the tourma of Ephesos (Ἐφέσιον: De Them., chap. XVI, line 14), while we have mentions of tax collectors (dioiketes) of Ephesos (ActaSS November III, 540; Zacos-Veglery, no. 2487). We have the impression that Theologos was the local usage, while Ephesos came from the learned circles of Constantinople and was the name that prevailed alone in the ecclesiastic administration.
Ephesos was a major metropolis, with no less than 39 suffragans attached to it at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, claiming to preserve the remains of the Apostle John (whose representation appears on the obverse on some seals of metropolitans). It is mentioned in all notitiae.
See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 178; Culerrier, Suffragants d'Ephèse; ODB I, 706; W. Seibt, "Drei byzantinische Bleisiegel aus Ephesos," Litterae numismaticae vindobonenses Roberto Goebl dedicatae (Vienna, 1979), 145-54; W. Brandes, "Ephesos in byzantinischer Zeit," Klio 64 (1982) 611-22; Brandes, Städte, 83-85.