Flags of the Byzantine Empire
The Imperial Standard of Constantine the Great
Hung in the Cretan Naval Museum, the flag above is attributed to the imperial standard of Constantine the Great; the emperor moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople and Christianized the Empire.
Data
Proportions:
2" x 3"
Date Used:
306-337
Flag of the Byzantine Empire After 395 A.D.
The flag above is labeled "After 395". The thin diagonal rays extending from the upper left and right corners of the cross and the Greek letter Ρ above the cross, all in white, form the Chi Rho chrismon; the symbol is an abbreviation for Χριστός, Christ.
Data
Proportions:
2" x 3"
Date Used:
395-1096
Standard Flag of Nikephoros II Phokas
Like the other flags shown before, this flag depicts the Chi Rho chrismon, but has a blue field in the background as opposed to a red one. This is the banner attributed to Nikephoros II Phokas, who conquered Cilicia, part of Syria, and Cyprus, and was eventually assassinated and succeeded by his nephew, John I Tzimiskes, who ruled from 969 to 976.
Data
Proportions:
2" x 3"
Date Used:
963-969
Imperial Flag of the Byzantine Empire
The flag above is attributed to the imperial standard of the Byzantine Empire. The double-headed eagle represents the Empire's interests in the conquests of both the territories of Christendom and Asia. Later, this flag would be used for Mt. Athos and the Greek Orthodox Church.
Data
Proportions:
2" x 3"
Date Used:
476-1204 and 1204-1458
Standard of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos Dynasty
The banner shown is the imperial standard attributed to the final dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, the Palaiogoi. This would be the flag most citizens of the Byzantine Empire recognized until the fall of Constantinople and later the Morea, Athens, and the Peloponnese.
Data
Proportions:
1" x 1"
Date Used:
1261-1460
The Book of all Kingdoms, a 14th-century book written by a Castillian Friar, lists this as the "Flag of the Empire of Constantinople" (The Byzantine Empire). The friar illustrates this flag with 113 images, but lacks much description.
Data
Proportions:
1" x 1"
Date Used:
1261-1460
Variations of the Byzantine Flag in the Book of All Kingdoms
This flag was labeled as the "Flag of Salonica, the real Greeks and the Empire of the Greeks". Later, as recorded by pseudo-Kodinos, the flag was found to be the naval ensign of the Byantine Empire under the previous dynasties.
Data
Proportions:
1" x 1"
Date Used:
1265-1444
Sources
