Seals of the Personages from the Alexiad Found in Veliki Preslav
Abstract
The study involves two groups of seals: 1) seals of the individuals who can be identified as the Alexiad personages: Alexios Komnenos as sebastos and megas domestikos (the first group) and emperor (the second one); his brother Adrianos Komnenos as protosebastos (the first group), protosebastos and megas domestikos of all the West (the second one) and individual (the third one); Nikephoros Diogenes as an individual; Gregory Mavrokatakalon as patrikios and strategos (the first group), anthypatos and kouropalates (the second one) and kouropalates (the third one); kouropalates Constantine Antiochos; protonobelissimos and doux Constantine Oumbertopoulos; Michael Manastras (Monastras) as protobestiarios (the first group) and individual (the second one); 2) seals found in Preslav and dated to the 1080-1090s which owners names were not noted in the Alexiad. The fact that they were found in Preslav could be connected to the military campaign against the Pechenegs and the Battle of Dristra in summer of 1087, when the garrison was left in Preslav to supply the troops with food and ammunition. It was the chief of the garrison to whom the personages under consideration (more than 20) wrote. Seals which datings can be attributed to the time after 1087 are absent in Preslav. The Byzantine administration was probably evacuated from Preslav after the disaster at Dristra (1087).
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