Philaretos Brachamios, kouropalates, with authority over the East without a commander, 1070-1080. Seal (Lead, 29 mm, 19.36 g, 11 h). O / A/ΓI/O/C - ΘЄ/OΔ/ⲰP/O, Saint Theodore, nimbate, standing facing, holding spear in his right hand and shield in his left.
Rev. +ΦIΛA/PЄTO’ K૪/ΠAΛ’ S VΠЄP/ЄX૪' AKЄΦ/AΛH ANAT' / O RPAX, in six lines. Unpublished in the standard references. A highly interesting seal of the great historical importance for the study of the troubled 1070s and 1080s. Very fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005.
Many seals are known of the famous Byzantine general of Armenian descent, Philaretos Brachamios. These seals offer insight into his stellar career, beginning as a modest taxiarch in the mid-11th century and rising to become the de facto ruler of the eastern empire as protosebastos under Alexios I Komnenos after 1081. However, it is very rare to find a new seal type for this intriguing historical figure, let alone one with an entirely unknown legend.
Our exceptional new seal for Philaretos Brachamios likely dates to the middle of his career, as indicated by his court rank of kouropalates. However, the second part of the legend is highly unusual: it proclaims his 'supreme authority over the East without a commander' (literally, ἀκεφάλης, 'headless'). While this phrase is exceptional, it is not entirely unparalleled. A seal of the Norman adventurer Hervé (Erbebios) features the same phrase. Seibt (in SBS 10, pp. 89–96) places this seal in the aftermath of the disastrous Battle of Manzikert in 1071, when the Byzantine emperor was captured, his second-in-command fled, and the Byzantine forces were left in disarray. Hervé, one of the few Byzantine commanders still active in the East, must have stepped in to take control of the situation.
Interestingly, Philaretos Brachamios is absent from sources about this time, and there is no evidence he participated in the Battle of Manzikert. He reappears around 1072 or 1073, promoted to the rank of kouropalates, after which he rapidly gains control over vast territories in the East, first as doux of Antioch, later as domestikos, and eventually as stratopedarches of the East. The sources depict Philaretos as a semi-autonomous warlord during this period. Our seal, however, suggests that Philaretos was already at the center of power shortly after Manzikert. Given the similarity in phrasing, it is likely he took on this 'authority' from Hervé under unknown circumstances. In any case, Hervé disappears from history around this time, while Philaretos' career begins to surge.
