u/Tenmokuzan

I had already presented this seal some time ago, but the title of pinkernès had escaped me at the time. Its discovery considerably changes the significance of the piece and therefore deserves to be brought back into the spotlight.

This seal belonged to a man who held three important titles within the Byzantine Empire: patrikios, droungarios tou ploimou, commander of the imperial fleet stationed at Constantinople, and pinkernès, a court dignity originally associated with the office of imperial cupbearer.

The patrikios was a high honorary dignity, inherited from the Roman patricius. During the 9th and 10th centuries, it was granted in particular to important governors and generals. Although prestigious, it was relatively common and is therefore not the most exceptional element of this seal.

The droungarios tou ploimou was the commander of the imperial fleet based at Constantinople. The position grew in importance during the 9th century and became, by the 10th century, one of the principal positions in the naval command structure. Several prominent figures held the office, including Romanos Lekapenos, before his accession to the imperial throne.

Since this seal can be dated to the late 10th or early 11th century, its owner still held this position at a time when the droungarios tou ploimou occupied a major position within the imperial navy. He can therefore be compared to what we would today call a Grand Admiral, although this is a modern approximation and not a literal translation of the Byzantine title.

The pinkernès originally referred to the cupbearer responsible for serving wine to the emperor or empress. Over time, the term also became a prestigious dignity of the imperial court. This position was particularly associated with eunuchs, who held numerous offices within the imperial palace.

It is above all this latter dignity that makes the seal exceptional. The title of pinkernès is extremely rare in sigillography, and its presence on the seal of a man who was simultaneously a senior commander of the imperial fleet and a court dignitary is particularly remarkable.

The owner of the seal was named Andronikos. A parallel to this seal is preserved in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, providing a valuable point of comparison for this exceptional piece.

Reconstructed reading

Θ(εοτό)κε β(ο)ήθ(ει) τῷ σ[ῷ δ]ούλῳ Ἀν[δ]ρονίκ(ῳ) [π(ατ)]ρικίῳ [πι]γκέ(ρνι) (καὶ) [δ]ρουγγα[ρ(ίῳ)] [τ]ῶν πλο[ΐμ(ου)].

Literal translation:

“Mother of God, help your servant Andronikos, patrikios, pinkernès and droungarios of the fleet.”

The Zoste Patrikia (ζωστή πατρικία) was the highest and only specifically female dignity in the Byzantine court. Attached to the empress as her chief lady-in-waiting, she held an exceptionally high rank in the imperial hierarchy, positioned between the kouropalates and the magistros. Her insignia consisted of ivory tablets.

The title is attested from at least the 9th century, with the first known holder being Theoktiste, mother of Empress Theodora. The title literally means “girded patrician lady” and may have referred to her ceremonial role at the empress's side.

The dignity remained in use until the 11th century before gradually disappearing from the sources. On seals, it is often abbreviated simply as Zoste (Ζωστή)

Obv : Bust of the Virgin holding the medallion of Christ before her. Inscription: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ.

Rev : ΘΚΕR,Θ, / ΤΗΣΙΔ(ΟΥ)Λ /ΕΙΡΙΝΙ (Αχ) / ΚΑΙΖΟΣ / -ΤΗ-

Rev : Θ(εοτό)κ[ε β(οή)θ(ει)] τῇ σῖ δούλ(ῃ) Εἰρίνι (μονα)χ(ῇ) καὶ ζοστῇ

The Imperial Monastery of Lakape is a Byzantine institution that is relatively poorly known from written sources, yet exceptionally well documented through sigillographic evidence. The only secure textual reference to the monastery appears in a novel of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (963–969), which mentions Armenian lands that had been granted to the “Imperial Monastery of Lakape.” This source indicates that the monastery already possessed a sufficiently substantial landed estate to be affected by imperial policies concerning military lands.

Apart from this reference, the monastery virtually disappears from the narrative sources. Its seals therefore constitute the principal body of evidence for reconstructing its history. They reveal a particularly active institution between the mid-tenth and the late eleventh century.

The seals of Epiphanios (who is also known through two parallel specimens) provide the only sigillographic evidence for an hegoumenos, that is, an abbot, of the Imperial Monastery of Lakape. To date, Epiphanios remains the only superior of this monastery attested by sigillographic sources.

Κ(ύρι)ε β[(οή)θ(ει) τ]ῷ σῷ δ[(ούλῳ) Ἐπ]ιφαν(ίῳ) [μ]ονα[χ(ῷ)] / [Κ]ουβουκ(λεισίῳ) [(καὶ)] ἡγουμ(ένῳ) [τ(ῆς)] β(ασιλικῆς) μον(ῆς) [Λα]κάπ[ας]

I’d like to present an interesting seal (even for numismatists!), as it belonged to a chrysoteles. The chrysoteles was a provincial fiscal officer responsible for the assessment and supervision of monetary taxes (paid in gold), attached to the financial administration of the genikon. Here, the name is no longer legible, but this chrysoteles was associated with the themes of the Armeniakoi and probably Koloneia. The reading of the second theme is less certain, though the geographical proximity of the two themes tends to support this hypothesis.

On the obverse, Saint George is depicted, surrounded by a circular inscription forming an invocative formula.

The Greek reading: … Χρ[(υ)σω]τελ(οῦς) Ἀρ[μεν]ιακ(ῶν) καὶ Κολ[ων(ίας)] (?) τῷ …

Close advisor to Basil II (976–1025) and later a key supporter of Romanos III (1028–1034), John the Orphanotrophos became one of the most powerful and feared figures at the Byzantine court during the eleventh century. Rewarded with the prestigious title of parakoimomenos, reserved for the emperor’s closest attendants, he gradually transformed his influence into a true family power base.

Ambitious and a remarkably skilled political operator, John secured the highest offices of the Empire for his brothers, including two who, like himself, were eunuchs. His rise reached its peak when one of his brothers ascended the throne as Michael IV (1034–1041). Yet behind the emperor stood John himself, regarded by many contemporary chroniclers as the true ruler of the Empire.

But this spectacular dominance came to a sudden end. When his nephew Michael V came to power, John was overthrown and disgraced. The male members of his family were mutilated in order to eliminate any potential political threat, while John himself was blinded and exiled to the island of Lesbos, where he died in 1043.

By way of explanation, the orphanotrophos was the director of the great imperial orphanage (orphanotropheion) of Constantinople, a charitable institution placed under the direct patronage of the Byzantine emperors. The title of parakoimomenos, literally “the one who sleeps beside [the emperor],” designated one of the highest dignitaries of the imperial court, often entrusted with the Empire’s most sensitive affairs.

+KЄ R,Θ, / TⲰ CⲰ Δ૪ / .Ⲱ MON./X, S OPΦA/NOTPO/.

Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θει τῷ σῷ δού(λῳ) Ἰω(άννῃ) μοναχ(ῷ) (καὶ) ὀρφανοτρόφ(ῳ)