| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 5299 Price realized: 950 CHF (Approx. 1,080 USD / 1,003 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: (Theodoros) Chetames (Thoros, son of Hetoum), anthypatos, circa 1050-1070. Seal (Lead, 23 mm, 12.83 g). O / A/Γ/I-O-C - [ΘЄOΔPⲰ,] Saint Theodore, nimbate, standing facing, holding spear in his right hand and resting his left on shield. Rev. NЄMOIC / [TH]N XAPIN / A[N]ΘVΠATⲰ / XЄTAMH ('May you bestow grace on the anthypatos Chetames') in four lines, topped by cross; above and below, elaborate decorations. Wassiliou-Seibt, Corpus 1468. Zacos II, 114 corr. (reading corrected by Werner Seibt in BZ 93 [2000], 397 [1536]). Some flatness, otherwise, very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. The Armenian officer Theodoros Chetames is mentioned by Michael the Syrian as the first commander of Melitene. He was installed in 1074 by the 'generalissimus', Philaretos Brachamios, amidst the chaos of the aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert, during which he bore the Byzantine court dignity of kouropalates. Two decades later, in 1094/95, Theodoros was appointed commander of Edessa by the Seljuk sultan, Tutus, before gaining control of the city for himself (see the seal in Leu Web Auction 9 (2019), 1363), fighting off a Turkish siege in the process. In 1098, a small army of Crusader knights arrived in Edessa, headed by Baldwin of Boulogne. They were welcomed into the city as allies, and Theodoros adopted Baldwin as his son and heir. However, events turned against him, and he was killed in a revolt, perhaps at the instigation of Baldwin, who thus secured Edessa as his own realm. Our seal must date from the start of his career, as anthypatos is a modest court rank. Interestingly, a seal of Theodoros Chetames mentioning the even more modest rank of patrikios appeared in Leu Web Auction 17 (2021), 3298. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
