Under the Banner of the Seals:

Organized and conducted by:
Univ. Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Kyriaki WASSILIOU-SEIBT
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki / Austrian Academy of Sciences

Cultural aspects, history, society, and economy of Egypt from the late Roman to the early Arab period are presented through clay seals (sometimes attached to papyri) from the inventory of the Papyrus Collection at the Austrian National Library (Vienna). Some of the exhibited objects bear witness to the transformation of the pagan heritage and their adaptation to Christianity, while others shed light on the living space of the Copts. The Arab conquest of Egypt (Alexandria was seized in 642) did not initiate an abrupt linguistic, religious, and cultural break, but rather a gradual convergence of the local conditions and the existing administrative structures. Among the highlights of the exhibition is the seal of the conqueror of Egypt, Amr b. al-As, depicting a bucking bull. This specimen, attached to a papyrus (dating from 643),
confirmed to the Pagarch of Herakleopolis the reception of hay and grain for the sustenance of horses and men.

The diversity of Byzantine habitat in the capital (Constantinople) and beyond, as well as administrative structures, aristocracy, society and the Church are presented by selected lead seals from the private collection of Univ. Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Kyriaki Wassiliou-Seibt. These seals, particularly due to their analytical inscriptions, are important sources for the reconstruction of social and historical-geographical microstructures of the Byzantine Empire. The respective seal owners were officials of the state and church administration, and members of the aristocracy. Some of them have a migrant background. Several exhibits are unpublished unique pieces, such as the seals of the otherwise unknown Apoalim (Greek rendering of the Arabic Abu Halim) protospatharios epi tou Chrysotriklinou (c. mid-11th century), or of the Patriarch of Antiocheia, Anastasios (559-570), and of the otherwise unattested Methodios, Bishop of Konstanteia (today Simeonovgrad/Bulgaria) (late 10th/early 11th c.).