Philaretos Brachamios, sebastos and grand domestikos, 1070-1080. Seal (Lead, 25 mm, 9.13 g, 12 h). O / A/ΓI/O'... Saint Theodore, nimbate, standing facing, holding spear in his right hand and resting his left on shield. Rev. [+KЄ R,Θ, / ΦIΛAPЄTⲰ / C]ЄRACT[Ⲱ / S] MЄΓAΛⲰ Δ/MЄCTIKⲰ T[Ⲱ / R]PAXAM, in six lines. Cf. Seibt, Philaretos Brachamios, p. 290 and Theodoridis 41 (apparently the same legend, but with slightly differing breaks and abbreviations). Struck on the usual short flan, otherwise, very fine.


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 from 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 in 1098. Philaretos is not mentioned much in historiographical sources, but a number of seals attest his cursus honorum. Our seal dates to the 1070s: it mentions Philaretos as the supreme commander (of the eastern regiments), but does not yet name his highest court dignity of protosebastos, awarded to him by the emperor Alexios I Komnenos.