The magic of small objects:
Byzantine seals and coins
Postgraduate Programme — Level 7
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion, students will be able to:
1)
Demonstrate specialised and systematic knowledge of Byzantine sigillography and numismatics, including their historical development, typologies, and administrative functions.
2)
Critically understand the role of seals and coinage as instruments of imperial authority, communication, and economic regulation within the Byzantine state.
3)
Acquire advanced familiarity with key corpora, reference works, and digital databases (e.g. Dumbarton Oaks Seal and Coin Catalogues, Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Corpus of Byzantine Seals).
4)
Situate sigillographic and numismatic evidence within broader political, economic, and social structures of the Byzantine Empire.
COURSE SYLLABUS
13 Modules
Week 01 | Introduction to Byzantine Sigillography: Methods and Sources
Definition of sigillography as a historical discipline. Relationship between seals, written sources, and material culture. Introduction to corpora (DO Seals Catalogue, PmbZ, PBW). Methodological tools and interdisciplinary approaches.
Week 02 | History of Seals and Sigillographic Research
Development of the discipline from antiquarian collections to modern scientific cataloguing. Key scholars. Evolution of typologies and classification systems.
Week 03 | Seals and Byzantine Administration
Seals as instruments of bureaucratic control and imperial authority. Chancery practices, authentication, official correspondence. Administrative hierarchy and titulature.
Week 04 | Typology, Materiality, and Iconography of Seals
Physical characteristics of seals (lead, shape, inscriptions). Religious and imperial iconography. Evolution from Late Antiquity to the Palaiologan period.
Week 05 | Prosopography and Identity through Seals
Seals as sources for reconstructing individuals, offices, and careers. Use of sigillographic data in prosopographical research (PmbZ, PBW). Case studies of officials, families, and regional elites.
Week 06 | Seals in Context: Communication, Space, and Society
Circulation of sealed documents. Regional variation and frontier administration. Seals in diplomacy, ecclesiastical structures, and everyday governance.
Week 07 | Introduction to Byzantine Numismatics: Systems and Methodology
Definition and scope of numismatics. Overview of Byzantine monetary system from Constantine I to 1453. Sources: coin finds, hoards, mint outputs, catalogues.
Week 08 | Monetary History and Imperial Reform
Evolution of Byzantine coinage systems. Major reforms (Constantine, Anastasius, Alexios I Komnenos). Structure of gold, silver, and copper currency.
Week 09 | Mints, Circulation, and Economic Networks
Production centres, mint organisation, and regional circulation. Archaeological evidence from hoards and excavation contexts. Monetary integration of the Mediterranean economy.
Week 10 | Coin Iconography and Imperial Ideology
Coins as political and ideological media. Imperial portraiture, Christological imagery, and legitimacy. Communication of power through monetary iconography.
Week 11 | Coins in Society: Economy, Exchange, and Everyday Life
Role of coinage in taxation, trade, and rural economy. Market systems, wage payments, and fiscal structures. Interaction between monetary and non-monetary economies.
Week 12 | Late Byzantine Numismatics and the End of the Monetary System (13th–15th c.)
Study of the transformation of Byzantine coinage in the Palaiologan period after 1204. Analysis of monetary fragmentation following the Latin conquest, regional imitations, and the reduced gold standard.
Week 13 | Presentation of students’ essays
Essays presentation
ASSESSMENT
Student Evaluation
20%
Seminar Participation
20%
Primary Source Analysis
20%
Public presentation
40%
Research Essay
Workload — ECTS Distribution
250 Hours Total
Lectures
22
Seminar discussions
14
Primary source workshops
20
Study and analysis of bibliography
40
Student presentations
20
Independent study
60
Essay writing
74
Course Total
250
Recommended Bibliography
Suggested bibliography:
- Cheynet, J.-Cl. “Introduction à la Sigillographie byzantine.” In La société byzantine. L’apport des sceaux I, 1–82. Paris, 2008.
- Cotsonis, J. “The Contribution of Byzantine Lead Seals to the Study of the Saints (Sixth–Twelfth Century).” Byzantion 75 (2005): 383–497.
- Nesbitt, J., N. Oikonomides, E. McGeer, and C. Morrisson, eds. Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art. Vols. I–VI. Washington D.C., 1991–2009.
- Jordanov, I. Corpus of the Byzantine Seals from Bulgaria. I. Byzantine Lead Seals with Geographical names. Sofia, 2003.
- Koltsida-Makri, I. Βυζαντινά μολυβδόβουλλα συλλογής Ορφανίδη/Νικολαΐδη Νομισματικού Μουσείου Αθηνών. Athens, 1996.
- Konstantopoulos, K. M. Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα τοῦ ἐν Ἀθήναις Νομισματικοῦ Μουσείου. Athens, 1917.
- Laurent, V. Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin. II: L’administration centrale. Paris, 1981.
- Laurent, V. Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin. V: L’église, parties 1–3. Paris, 1963–1972.
- Laurent, V. Documents de sigillographie byzantine. La collection C. Orghidan. Paris, 1952.
- Laurent, V. Les sceaux byzantins du Médailler Vatican. Vatican, 1962.
- Nesbitt, J. “Overstruck Seals in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection: Reused or Counterstamped?” SBS 2 (1990): 67–93.
- Oikonomides, N. A Collection of Dated Byzantine Lead Seals. Washington D.C., 1986.
- Oikonomides, N. “Τὰ βυζαντινὰ μολυβδόβουλλα ὡς ἱστορικὴ πηγή.” Πρακτικὰ τῆς Ἀκαδημίας Ἀθηνῶν 62 (1987): 1–18.
- Oikonomides, N. “The Usual Lead seal.” DOP 37 (1983): 147–157.
- Seibt, W. Die byzantinischen Bleisiegel in Österreich. 1. Teil: Kaiserhof. Vienna, 1978.
- Wassiliou-Seibt, A.-K., and W. Seibt. Die byzantinischen Bleisiegel in Österreich. 2. Teil: Zentral- und Provinzialverwaltung. Vienna, 2004.
- Šandrovskaja, V. S. “Die byzantinischen Bleisiegel als Kunstwerke.” In Metallkunst von der Spätantike bis zum ausgehenden Mittelalter, edited by A. Effenberger, 48–55. Berlin, 1982.
- Šandrovskaja, V. S., and W. Seibt. Byzantinische Bleisiegel der staatlichen Eremitage mit Familiennamen. 1. Teil. Sammlung Lichačev – Namen A bis I. Vienna, 2005.
- Seibt, W. “Die Darstellung der Theotokos auf byzantinischen Bleisiegeln, besonders im 11. Jahrhundert.” SBS 1 (1987): 35–56.
- Sode, Cl. Byzantinische Bleisigel in Berlin II. Bonn, 1997.
- Stavrakos, Ch. Die byzantinischen Bleisiegel mit Familiennamen aus der Sammlung des Numismatischen Museums Athen. Wiesbaden, 2000.
- Karagiorgou, O., P. Charalampakis, and Ch. Malatras, eds. TAKTIKON. Studies on the Prosopography and Administration of the Byzantine themata. Athens: Research Centre for Byzantine and Post-byzantine Art, 2021.
- Tsougkarakis, D. Εισαγωγή στη βυζαντινή Σφραγιδογραφία. Athens, 1999.
- Wassiliou-Seibt, A.–K. Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden. Teil 1–3. WBS 28/1. Vienna, 2011–2025.
- Zacos, G. Byzantine lead Seals. II, edited by J. Nesbitt. Bern, 1984.
- Zacos, G., and A. Veglery. Byzantine Lead Seals. Vol. I. Basel, 1972.
- Grierson, P. Byzantine Coinage. Washington D.C., 1999.
- Grierson, P. Byzantine Coins. London/Berkeley, 1982.
- Morrisson, C. “Money.” In Economic History of Byzantium (EHB), edited by A. E. Laiou, ch. 42. Washington D.C., 2002.
- Morrisson, C. “The Sixth Century.” In Economic History of Byzantium (EHB), edited by A. E. Laiou, ch. 16. Washington D.C., 2002.
- Morrisson, C. “Money, coins and the economy.” In The Byzantine World, edited by P. Stephenson, 34–47. London/New York, 2010.
- Grierson, P., and M. F. Hendy. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection. Vols. I–V. Washington D.C., 1966–1999.
- Georganteli, E. “Numismatics.” In Oxford Handbook of Byzantium, edited by E. Jeffreys, J. Haldon, and R. Cormack, 157–75. Oxford, 2008.