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A newly found seal of prince Rostislav-Gabriel
The work is dedicated to identifying the Christian name of Prince Rostislav Vladimirovich (CA. 1038-1067/8), ruler the Matarcha-Tmutarakan in 1064-1067/8. In 2016 in Belarus (territory of Polotsk Principality) was found a seal with an image of Annunciation on the obverse and legend "Virgin Mary, save Gabriel Rostislav" on the reverse . It follows that the holder of the seal carries two names: non-Christian Rostislav and Christian Gabriel, and therefore, he chose for his seal the iconography of the Annunciation, and the inscription on the reverse emphasizes the role of the Archangel Gabriel. Based on data from sphragistics and anthroponymy, it can be assumed that the newly discovered seal clearly shows that Rostislav Vladimirovich's Christian name was Gabriel, not Michael, as previously thought. It is believed that this name appears in the Rurikids dynasty through connections with Bulgaria, from where the name David appears to come from Rus, and the name Gabriel was borne by Gabriel-Radomir-Roman, king of Bulgaria in 1014-1015