Johannes Komnenos, kouropalates (father of Alexios I Komnenos), 1057-1067. Seal (Lead, 27 mm, 17.44 g, 12 h). [Θ ΓЄⲰP]-Γ/I/[OC] Nimbate facing bust of Saint George, holding a spear transversely over his left shoulder, and resting a shield on his left arm . Rev. KЄ ROHΘ, / TⲰ CⲰ Δ૪Λ, / IⲰANNH K૪/POΠAΛAT[I] / TⲰ KOMN[H]/NⲰ in six lines, star above and the last line flanked by decorations. Stavrakos 129. Zacos/Veglery 2681. A very interesting seal belonging to a key figure in Byzantine history, and therefore of great historical interest. Scrape on obverse and along the edges, otherwise, very fine.

John Komnenos was the younger brother of the Emperor Isaac I Komnenos (1057-1059). He was a renowned general, serving as supreme commander of the army under his brother. After the abdication of Isaac, John retreated from public life and died in 1067, not knowing that he would become the progenitor of an imperial dynasty that would rule the Byzantine empire for a century, and the Empire of Trebizond for another two-and-a-half, when his son Alexios I Komnenos succeeded to the throne in 1081. His granddaughter, Anna Komnene, daughter of Alexios, became a major writer with her "Alexiad", describing the history of the empire during her father's reign