Byzantine lead seal of Philaretos Brachamios,
proedros and doux of Edessa
(11th cent.)
Obverse: St. Theodore standing, facing, wearing military dress, holding spear in right hand, resting left on shield, sigla, O ΑΓΙΟC[ΘΕΟ]-ΔΩΡΟCOΤΗΡΩΝ = Ὁ ἅγιος Θεόδωρος ὁ Τήρων (Saint Theodore Tiron), all within dotted border.

Reverse: Inscription in 5 lines, ΦΙΛΑΡ/ΕΤΟ,ΠΡΟΕΔΡ,ΔΟΥΞΕ/ΔΕCΙ,ΟR/ΡΑΧΑ, = Φιλάρετος πρόεδρος καὶ δοὺξ Ἐδέσσης ὁ Βραχάμιος (Philaretos Brachamios, proedros and doux of Edessa), dotted border.

A very interesting and historically important seal!

Philaretos Brachamios (Varazhnuni), Romanos IV's strategos, doux and, according to Anna Komnene (An. Komn., Alexias, 2:64.5-8), domestikos, was -if we believe MICHAEL I THE SYRIAN (Chronique, transl. Chabot 3:173)- an Armenian robber from the village of Shurbaz; thus his identification as a Byzantine general is questionable. After Romanos IV's blinding, Philaretos became independent ruler of Tarsos, Antioch, Edessa, Melitene, and some other eastern centers. Greek, Syriac, and Armenian traditions all charge Philaretos with cruelty and greed: he allegedly confiscated the riches of Antiochene magnates and distributed them among his suppporters. After Nikephoros Ill's accession to the throne, Philaretos acknowledged his allegiance to the Byzantium and was proclaimed kouropalates and domestikos ton scholon of the East; in 1084 he surrendered Antioch to the Turks. He disappeared thereafter from the scene, but an anonymous Syriac chronicle mentions the sons of Philaretos domestikos, "Christians" (i.e., Orthodox) who ruled over Maras and Black Mountain (A.S. Tritton, H.A.R. Gibb, JRAS [Jan. 1933] 72O. The family is not known after the 11th C., except in 1171 when Brachamioi served as messengers in negotiations between Manuel I and the Armenians.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Cheynet-Vannier, Etudes 57-74. Adontz, Etudes 147- 52. V.A. Arutjunova-Fidanjan, Armjane-chalkidonity na vos- tocnych granicach Vizantijskoj imperii (Erevan 1980) 152-69. C.J. Yamiey, "Philaretos: Armenian Bandu or Byzantine General?" REArm n.s. 9 (1972) 331-53; Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, p. 319.

Condition: Very Fine

Weight: 14,3 gram
Diameter: 25,1 mm