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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Severus Alexander, post: 7751751, member: 84744&quot;]That protospatharios seal is fantastic!!</p><p><br /></p><p>I don&#039;t collect seals, but this one came in a group lot, unidentified:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1327368[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>It sat unidentified (beyond my amateurish attempts) for several years, until [USER=84047]@Voulgaroktonou[/USER] gave me a hand with it.&nbsp; Turned out the guy was archbishop of Ephesus and therefore super important!&nbsp; Also the list of metropolitan archbishops of Ephesus is incomplete in the 10th and 11th centuries, so this seal adds a previously unknown name to history.&nbsp; I am now definitely seeing the attraction of seals! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[Edit: with Pavlos&#039;s help, we now know who this is!&nbsp; Not unknown to history at all, see below.]</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s my writeup on it:</p><p><br /></p><p>Byzantine lead seal: Constantine [Edit: actually Kyriakos], Archbishop/Metropolitan of Ephesos and Synkellos, c. 11th century. 23mm, 12.05g.</p><p>Obv: +KEA?…; Facing bust of John the Theologian, raising right hand in benediction and holding Gospels in left, Iω / O/ ΘЄ/OΛ… in left and right fields.</p><p>Rev: Κυρια / Κω Αρχιε / Π[ις]κοπω ε/Φε κ’ συγ/[κ]ελλω (Lady, help Constantine [Edit: Kyriakos], Archbishop of Ephesus and Synkellos)</p><p>Unpublished(?)</p><p><br /></p><p>This important seal is a significant piece of history, in that it attests to a previously unknown Archbishop and Metropolitan of Ephesos from the 11th century by the name of Constantine. Despite the dwindling importance of Ephesos commercially, due to its silted-up port, its religious significance was of the highest order. Each metropolitan was an autonomous head of their diocese, with the Patriarchate of Constantinople having the status of “first among equals.” The metropolitan/archbishop of Ephesos placed third in order of precedence (after the metropolitan of Caesarea), which means the owner of this seal was a man of considerable importance. (It is the position that emperor Michael VII occupied after he was deposed in 1078.) In addition, he held the office of Synkellos (literally “same cell,” as in brother monks), an honour given by the emperor himself; thus Constantine was a powerful individual in the secular hierarchy as well.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ephesos would be captured by the Seljuq Turks in 1080, but the title of archbishop retained its significance.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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