★ Very important ★

Byzantine Pb Seal (24.85g, 28mm) John Makrembolites (?) patrikios and strategos (eleventh century)
Obverse: St. Theodore standing, holding a spear in his right hand and a shield with his left. Inscription on either side: ὁ ἅγιος Θεόδωρος. Border of dots.
Reverse: Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Ἰω(άννῃ) π(ατ)ρι(κίῳ) (καὶ) σταρτηγὸς τῷ Μακρεμβολίτῃ. (?)
Makrembolites or Macrembolites (Μακρεμβολίτης), was the name of a prominent Byzantine aristocratic family. It was especially active in the 11th–13th centuries, when it produced several high-ranking members of the civil bureaucracy and one empress, Eudokia Makrembolitissa. The Makrembolitai apparently originated in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople: the first confirmed member of the family lived there, and the surname appears to be derived from Makros Embolos, "Long Portico", a district of the city.
The first influential members of the family were John Makrembolites, brother-in-law of Patriarch Michael I Kerularios. His daughter, Eudokia Makrembolitissa, married Constantine Doukas and became empress when he ascended the throne as Constantine X (1059–1068); after his death, she ruled as regent for her minor sons until she remarried to Romanos IV Diogenes (1068–1071).
The family remained prominent under the Comneni as high-ranking civil officials: Theodore Makrembolites was bishop of Methymna in the early 12th century; Demetrios Makrembolites was an envoy of the Second Crusade in 1146–47; John Makrembolites was megas droungarios tes viglas in 1157; Eumathios Makrembolites was eparch of the city later in the century; and Theophylact of Ohrid records that another member of the family was archon of Prespa.