Insigna of power

In Byzantium

Byzantine imperial insignia were mentioned in numerous treatises and took a variety of forms, ranging from mosaics, frescos, and illuminated manuscripts, to coins. The insignia appear to have three origins: the first was a direct inheritance from the Roman magistrature, especially the consuls. Another came from the East: with the conquest of the Persian Empire, Byzantium recuperated some of its customs and conventions—for example, the word basileus (great king) replaced the Latin word imperator. The third source was a new development related to the Christian influence within the Empire.

One of the main insignia was the use of the colour purple. This came in many shades, but its purest form was reserved for the Emperor. There was even a special purple-tiled room in the Imperial Palace in Constantinople where the legitimate children of reigning emperors were normally born: it was called the Purple Chamber, and those born within this room were called Porphyrogenitus. From the start of the tenth century, this privilege conferred them with imperial legitimacy. The symbolic power of purple even extended to the feet, with purple slippers. However, purple wasn’t the only colour: it was traditionally believed that an angel brought Constantine his imperial clothes, and that they were, consequently, white.

The imperial costume was really quite complex, and depended on the circumstances and a complicated ceremony: it changed at certain stages of ceremonies and receptions. Usually the outer clothing was the divetesion, a tunic girded at the waist with a belt; the chlamys, a long sleeveless coat, pinned to the right shoulder with a fibula, was the most striking Roman legacy. It was sometimes replaced by the skaramangion, a pleated tunic of Persian origins that was girded at the waist. This was acceptable when the Emperor was not attending a ceremony, particularly during the banquets that followed his departure from the palace. Officers were also entitled to wear it, but the colour purple was restricted to the Emperor. Over this he could wear a sagion, a Roman military cloak, which was blue or more often purple, and enhanced with gold embroidery or pearls. But the most distinctive aspect of the clothing, that can be seen in many representations, was the loros—a long scarf several metres long, that was turned up with precious stones, and folded several times over the upper body. Part of it hung down in front, and the other part came from behind over the right shoulder, and folded over the chest to hang over the left shoulder. For Constantine Porphyrogenitus, it was symbolic of the Cross. The Emperor was often represented wearing the loros over the divetesion.

Of course, the imperial insignia par excellence was the crown, which was often called stemma, and became increasingly complex over time. Constantine adopted the diadem, which served as a model that evolved until the twelfth century. It was made up of plates, adorned with precious stones, which were linked together to form a circle—this was topped with a cross and adorned with pendulia in precious stones that fitted around the sovereign’s head and came down to the shoulders. In the late era, the kamelaukion developed, which was a crown with a gold top that covered the head. In fact, the Emperors had a choice of crowns that they wore, depending on the ceremonies—a special dignitary called the praipositos, the court eunuch, was entrusted with crowning and uncrowning the Emperor. The Empresses wore similar, but simpler crowns with triangular shaped plates that fitted around the head. The coronation in Hagia Sophia was the final step in imperial proclamation, and stressed the Emperor’s humility before God. During the high and middle Byzantine eras, the Emperors removed their crowns as a sign of repentance and when entering a church. Under the Palaeologi (1258–1453), they only took them off for communion.

The crown was also a diplomatic instrument. To seal an alliance with a neighbouring Christian prince, the Emperors sent them a crown—Byzantine goldsmithing in this art was highly prized. This was especially true of the Hungarian king, Etienne I.

Other insignia appeared that were widely represented, especially on coins. This was the most common and standard form, as it was used daily by imperial subjects. The Emperor carried an orb in his right hand, which symbolized both the Empire’s universality and the particularly Christian character of ecumenicity—the Emperor symbolically held the earth in his hands. In his left hand, he held a large patriarchal cross with two crossbars and eventually a lower crosspiece at its foot. Sometimes, the Emperor held only one of these symbols, or the cross and the orb exchanged hands. When there were co-Emperors, the secondary Emperor wore a slightly shorter crown and adorned with less pendulia, and sometimes the chlamys replaced the loros.

Other less tangible and more symbolic imperial insignia arose from the behaviour adopted in the Emperor’s presence, which was designed to show the distance that separated the sovereign from his subjects and visitors. In the hall where the ambassadors were received, a machine raised the throne several metres off the ground. During the main ceremonies or assemblies where imperial orders were given, silence (silention) was de rigueur. Everyone was expected to remain silent, and the Emperor didn’t speak directly to his subjects; he whispered instead into the ear of an officer, who repeated the words out loud. Furthermore, as a mark of humility, and as part of the heritage of the imperial Roman cult, subjects performed proskynesis, which involved prostrating themselves at the Emperor’s feet.

M.K.