★ Byzantine lead seal of Michael krites (?) ton Anatolikon ★

Byzantine lead seal of Michael krites (?) ton Anatolikon (ca 11th cent.)
Obverse: Inscription in 4 lines, ending in decorative pattern, Θ(ΕΟΤΟ)ΚΕ ΒΟ/ΗΘΕΙ ΤΩ/CΩ ΔΟΥΛ[Ω]/ΜΙΧΑΗ[Λ] = Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Μιχαὴλ (Mother of God, help your servant Michael), all within dotted border, only in traces visible now.

Reverse: Inscription in 4 lines, ending in decorative pattern, [ΚΡΙΤ]/Η? ΤΟΝ/ [Α]ΝΑΤΟ/[ΛΙ]ΚΟΝ = κριτῇ (?) τῶν Ἀνατολικῶν (krites of the theme of Anatolikon), all within dotted border.

Concerning the themes of Asia Minor, one of which was the Anatolikon, what is clear is that at some point in the mid-7th century, probably in the late 630s and 640s, the Empire's field armies were withdrawn to Anatolia, the last major contiguous territory remaining to the Empire, and assigned to the districts that became known as the themes. Territorially, each of the new themes encompassed several of the older provinces, and with a few exceptions, seems to have followed the old provincial boundaries. The first four themes were those of the Armeniacs, Anatolics and Thracesians, and the Opsician theme. The Armeniac Theme (Θέμα Aρμενιακών, Thema Armeniakōn), first mentioned in 667, was the successor of the Army of Armenia. It occupied the old areas of the Pontus, Armenia Minor and northern Cappadocia, with its capital at Amasea. The Anatolic Theme (Θέμα Ανατολικῶν, Thema Anatolikōn), first mentioned in 669, was the successor of the Army of the East (Ανατολή, Anatolē). It covered southern central Asia Minor, and its capital was Amorium. Together, these two themes formed the first tier of defence of Byzantine Anatolia, bordering Muslim Armenia and Syria respectively.
Bibliography: Haldon, John F. (1990), Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture, Cambridge University Press; Haldon, John F. (1999), Warfare, state and society in the Byzantine world, 565–1204, Routledge; Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, pp. 89-90.

Condition: Very Fine

Weight: 8.92 gr
Diameter: 26 mm