Alousianos (son of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Vladislav), anthypatos patrikios and strategos of Taras and Larissa, before 1041. Seal (Lead, 30 mm, 14.53 g, 12 h). ...-ΛΕHM, Nimbate bust of Saint Pantaleon facing, holding medical instruments. Rev. +AΛ૪C[I]/AN' ANΘV[Π] / ΠPI S CT[PA]/T,Γ, TA... / ΛAP, in five lines. Apparantly unpublished. An important seal of great historical interest. Minor areas of flatness and with some marks and scratches, otherwise, fine.

Alousianos, a son of the last Bulgarian tsar Ivan Vladislav, entered into the service of the Byzantine emperor together with his brothers. Three of his seals are known, to which our example can be added as a fourth. The three known seals are as follows: 1) patrikios and strategos of Theodosioupolis (Cheynet, Pouvoir et contestations à Byzance (963-1210) p. 49, no. 45); 2) anthypatos patrikios and strategos of Melitene (unpublished, cited in Wassiliou-Seibt, Sammlung Boersema p. 41) and 3) magistros, vestes and strategos of Telouch (Wassiliou-Seibt, Sammlung Boersema no. 6). Our seal belongs to the early stages of his career and mentions a new command on the eastern frontier. It is perhaps not coincidental that all the seals of Alousianos mention commands in the East - far from his ancestral home and center of influence. As for the dating of this seal, in the year 1041, Alousianos joined the rebellion of Peter Delyan, who had proclaimed himself Bulgarian tsar. However, Alousianos proceeded to blind Delyan and turned him over to the Byzantine emperor. As a reward, he received the rank of magistros. This means our seal must be dated to the years before the rebellion Peter Delyan, as it does not yet attest this higher dignity. Later, the family name Alousianos appears on several seal types belonging to the descendants of the Bulgarian prince.