Ioannikios, grand oikonomos of Hagia Sophia, 11th-12th centuries. Seal (Lead, 23 mm, 11.05 g, 12 h). +TON / IⲰANNI/KION Ⲱ ΛO/ΓЄ CKЄ/ΠOIC ("O Word, may you protect Ioannikios")
in five lines, decorations above and flanking the last line.
Rev. ЄKKΛH/CIAC CHC / TON MЄΓA, / OIKONO/MON ("grand oikonomos of your Church") in five lines, decorations above and flanking the last line. Cheynet, Istanbul 6.10. Laurent, Corpus V/1, 58. An extremely rare seal of a major official of the Hagia Sophia. Good very fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005.
Hagia Sophia stands as the largest, best-preserved, and most renowned Byzantine church ever constructed. Commissioned by Justinian I (527-565), its architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles pushed the boundaries of ancient architecture, creating the world's largest interior space and pioneering the use of fully supported pendentive domes. Over nearly fifteen centuries, Hagia Sophia has undergone extensive renovations and endured political transformations, including repairs after earthquakes and the addition of four imposing minarets following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. These alterations have significantly altered its appearance from its original completion in 537. Nevertheless, this magnificent structure retains its splendor and grandeur, still boasting the world's fifth-largest church dome. Ioannikios, in his role as oikonomos, held crucial responsibilities for the daily administration of the church and its vast estates, making him a highly significant figure.
