Introduction. In the period from the 10th to the beginning of the 13th centuries on the territory of historical Alania (the east of Krasnodar Krai – the northern regions of Chechnya), the Christian church flourished. The material evidence of religious life in this territory is the data of staurography – namely, the finds of reliquary crosses, pectoral crosses, quadrifolia. The choice of the subject of personal piety was determined not only by the assortment of local craft workshops and the directions of trade relations, but also by the taste and capabilities of each person. Therefore, the study of this category of finds makes the historical and social portrait of the early Christians of the North Caucasus more prominent. Methods. As a result of the baptism of the Alans in the 10th century and the establishment of the Alan Diocese with its center in Nizhny Arkhyz (914), crosses of Byzantine provincial and ancient Russian origin are becoming widespread on the territory of Alania. With the spread of Christianity, imitative and imitation types of crosses appear in the local Alan environment, the finds of which have not yet been found outside the Caucasus. To date, there are more than 120 crosses-encolpia, pectoral crosses and quadrifolia of the 12th – 13th centuries known on the territory of historical Alania. In this regard, the discovery of each new cross is of outstanding interest. Analysis. Currently, to the body of crosses originating from the territory of Alania, we can add the finds of four more interesting specimens found in recent years in the eastern regions of Krasnodar Krai, the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic, the south of Stavropol Krai, and the north of the Chechen Republic. The first cross is the front leaf of the reliquary cross with the image of the Crucifixion, dates from the 11th – 12th centuries and belongs to the Byzantine crosses of the Balkan (?) origin. Such crosses are quite common, being one of the first in Old Rus, made by visiting craftsmen. The second cross – the reverse leaf of the reliquary cross with the image of the Virgin the Sign. Only two similar instances are known. These crosses were made by local (or visiting) craftsmen in Alania according to numerous Byzantine samples and date back to the 12th century. The third cross is one-sided, with the image of an unknown saint (St. Nicholas?). Crosses of a similar shape are known, but with the image of the Crucifixion. These crosses were made in the local, Alan environment and date back to the 12th – 13th centuries. The fourth cross is one-sided, silvered, with the image of the Crucifixion. As analogies, seven one-sided crosses identical in shape and composition from the territory of the Northern and Western Pre-Caucasus are given. In Alania, these crosses were in use from the middle or the second half of the 10th century to the turn of the 11th – 12th centuries. Different versions of the image of Christ are explained by the presence of several local workshops, as well as different craft and artistic traditions. Results. The presented finds of crosses not only add to the evidence of the Christianization of Alania in the 11th – 12th centuries, but also provide valuable information about the nature of the local, imitative Byzantine originals of the production of objects of personal piety.
Abstract. Leo Sgouros is one of the Byzantine magnates who ruled in the northeastern Peloponnese in the late 12 th -early 13 th centuries. The paper discusses the separatist activity of the Leo Sgouros which allowed him in a short time to create ephemeral 'state' in the South of Thessaly, Boeotia, Attica, Corinth and the Argolid. In order to give legitimacy to his authority Leo Sgouros married the daughter of the deposed Emperor Alexios III. But his way from separatism to Imperial idea was interrupted by the clash with the knights of the Latin Empire who have predetermined his defeat. Among the reasons for the defeat we can name the enmity with the clergy and nonpossibility of joining with other governors in fighting the crusaders. According to later legend, Leo Sgouros died, throwing himself with his horse from the cliff of the Acrocorinth fortress, besieged by the crusaders. According to another version, Leo Sgouros died under the walls of his native city Nauplius. The study examined the seal of the Leo Sgouros with a rare title of sebastohypertatos (higher sebastos), and similar seal which was reused by John Branas. Data analysis suggests that such a contradictory personality as Leo Sgouros' may be characterized not only as an ambitious tyrant and the defender of Byzantine Hellenism. The Annex contains information about the seven of Sgouros names that have become known in recent years by virtue of the monuments of sphragistics.Key words: History of Byzantine Empire (Byzantium), Peloponnese, Leo Sgouros, Byzantine seals, molybdoboulloi, prosopography. ЛЕВ СГУР -ТИРАН И ПАТРИОТ. ПРАВИТЕЛЬ СЕВЕРО-ВОСТОЧНОГО ПЕЛОПОННЕСА В НАЧАЛЕ XIII ВЕКА Виктор Николаевич ЧхаидзеИнститут археологии РАН, г. Москва, Российская Федерация Аннотация. Лев Сгур -один из византийских магнатов, правивший в северо-восточном Пелопонне-се в конце XII -начале XIII века. В работе рассмотрена деятельность Льва Сгура, позволившая ему в короткие сроки создать государственное образование на территории южной Фессалии, Беотии, Аттике, Коринфе и Арголиде. Однако пройти путь от сепаратизма к общеимперской идее Льву Сгуру не удалось -столкновение с Латинской империей предопределило его поражение. Среди причин можно назвать и вражду с духовенством и не возможность объединения с другими правителями, ведущими борьбу с кре-стоносцами. В исследовании рассмотрен моливдовул Льва Сгура с редким титулом севастоипертата (выс-ший севаст), а также аналогичная печать, повторно использованная Иоанном Враной для своей коррес-понденции. Анализ данных показывает, что такая противоречивая личность как Лев Сгур, может характе-ризоваться не только как амбициозный тиран, но и последний защитник византийского эллинизма. В при-
Introduction. Matarcha was the cathedral city of the Diocese of Zichia of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It was a major religious and missionary center in the Northwestern Pre-Caucasus. The priests of this autocephalous archdiocese took an active part in the church life of the Byzantine Empire. In this context, among the most important sources on the history of the Byzantine Matarcha, a special place is occupied by the monuments of Byzantine sphragistics. Methods. The paper examines three Byzantine church seals of the 11th–12th centuries, discovered during the research of the Taman settlement (medieval Matarcha was the center of the diocese of Zichia of the Patriarchate of Constantinople). The owners of the seals were: deacon Michael, monk Ignatius and nun Euphemia. Analysis. The article provides information about the previously known 19 seals belonging to the church hierarchs of Zichia and other representatives of the clergy. Similar finds of seals in the Crimean urban centers (Cherson and Sughdea) are indicated. Results. The few details that relate to the ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Zichia emphasize the exceptional value of each new find of seals, and the evidence of direct contacts and established correspondence between the Orthodox clergy once again shows that, in addition to the cleric – deacon, the monastic brotherhood also played a significant role in the development of relations between the church and society. To a certain extent, this could also be facilitated by the trips of the city’s residents to pilgrimage sites, as evidenced by the brought relics, the finds of which are known.
The review contains the analysis and evaluation of the monograph by N. A. Alekseenko devoted to the seals of officials of Byzantine Cherson of the 8 th -11 th centuries.
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