Aposachles (Abusahl) Senacherim, kouropalates

Aposachles (Abusahl) Senacherim, kouropalates, circa 1060-1080. Seal (Lead, 29 mm, 14.40 g, 12 h). IC - XC / Δ/H/[M]H/TP/[IOC] - Θ / Θ/... Saint Demetrios, on the left, and Saint Theodore, on the right, both raising their hands in supplication towards medallion of Christ. Rev. +KЄ R,Θ, / AΠOCAXΛH | K૪P,ΠAΛ,TH / TⲰ / CЄNA/XЄPH (\'Lord, help Abu Sahl, kouropalates\') in six lines. W. Seibt: The Sons of Senek\'erim Yovhannēs, the Last King of Vaspurakan, as Byzantine Aristocrats, in: Revue des Études Arméniennes 37 (2016-2017), p. 123-124, fig 4. Zacos Sale II (Spink 132, 25 May 1999), 121. A historically interesting seal of a late Byzantine Armenian prince. Some flatness, otherwise, very fine.


From a European collection, acquired before 2021.

Aposachles or Abusahl was an Armenian prince and one of the sons of Senek\'erim Yovhannēs (Sennacherib-John), the last Artsruni King of the small kingdom of Vaspurakan, located to the south and southeast of Lake Van. He was named after his grandfather, King Abusahl Hamazasp, who ruled in 958/9-968/9. In 1022, Abusahl\'s father, Yovhannēs, was forced to cede his kingdom to the Byzantine Empire after he made the unfortunate choice of joining the anti-Byzantine alliance of the Georgian King Georgi I (998/1002-1027). Although the king is not attested on seals, his wife, Chususa, and his sons, David, Atom, Aposachles, and Constantine, all appear in the sigillographic record with Byzantine court titles, giving evidence of their elevated status in the Byzantine aristocracy. Our seal mentions the court dignity of kouropalates, which represented the middle stage of Abusahl’s career. His known seals attest his advance from magistros to proedros, to kouropalates, and eventually to nobellisimos (cf. this sale, 3140 and Seibt pp. 119-133).

Leu Web 20 Lot 3142
15.07.2022