★ A very interesting seal of Belisarios ★

Belisarios, 6th-7th centuries. Seal (Lead, 20 mm, 6.29 g, 12 h). Saint Theodore, nimbate, standing facing, holding a spear in his right hand, and resting his left hand on shield. Rev. Cruciform monogram BEΛICAPIOV. Unpublished in the standard references. An interesting seal with an extremely rare, early depiction of St. Theodore. Very fine.

From an important collection of Roman and Byzantine seals, tesserae and amulets, formed before 2021.

It is tempting to attribute our seal to the most renowned general in Byzantine history, Belisarius, who reclaimed much of the former Western Roman Empire for Emperor Justinian I (527–565). While the depiction of a martial saint - an extremely rare choice for this period - may suggest that the seal's owner was a military figure, the absence of any titles or offices makes a definitive identification challenging. In any case, the personal name itself is very rare. Apart from the famous general, we know of only a former tribune from Beroea, Macedon, and a banker in Egypt who shared this name (PLRE Belisarius 2 and 3). Additionally, Zacos and Veglery have published a seal with the same monogram, though featuring the Mother of God on the obverse (no. 1117).