| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 5266 Price realized: 900 CHF (Approx. 1,023 USD / 950 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Philaretos Brachamios, kouropalates and doux (of Antioch), circa 1070-1080. Seal (Lead, 25 mm, 13.26 g, 12 h). Θ Θ/Є/O-Δ/Ⲱ/P/O, Saint Theodore, nimbate, standing facing, holding spear in his right hand and resting his left on shield. Rev. ΦIΛA/[PЄ]TO K૪/POΠAΛ/ATH Δ૪ / O RPA' in five lines. Konstantopoulos 387γ. Seibt, Philaretos Brachamios, p. 287. Stavrakos 43. Some scrapes, otherwise, very fine. From a Swiss collection, formed before 2005. Philaretos Brachamios was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who rose to fame in the wake of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, a disastrous defeat that led to the loss of most of eastern Asia Minor by the central Byzantine government. However, a series of local Byzantine military commanders continued to fight the Seljuks in the late 11th century, the most successful of which was Philaretos, who controlled large parts of Cilicia, Armenia and Syria as a semi-autonomous warlord. His main strongholds were the important cities of Melitene and Antiochia, the latter of which was lost to the Seljuks in 1086, just twelve years before it was captured by the knights of the First Crusade in1098. Philaretos is not mentioned much in historiographical sources, but a number of seals attest his cursus honorum. Our seal dates to the 70s of the 11th century, as it does not mention the higher court dignities. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
