The coronation was the main symbolic act of accession to the throne of a Byzantine emperor, co-emperor, or empress. Founded on Roman traditions of election by the Senate or acclamation by the army, th
Mosaic of Emperor Justinian I in coronation dress, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
Anachronistic depiction of a coronation by being raised on a shield, from the Madrid Skylitzes. The crowned figure is meant to be Michael I Rhangabe, although there is some debate concerning the identity of the two figures, as the scene appears to be drawn from a lost original source. It has been proposed that the image depicts the coronation of a co-emperor (left) by a senior emperor (right).
The coronation of the young Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos as Byzantine co-emperor in 908. Miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes chronicle. c. 12th–13th century
The Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople (modern Istanbul) was the main coronation church of the Byzantine emperors, from the mid-7th century to the end of the Empire
Justinian I
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Justinian I, also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii. This ambition was expressed by the
Coronation of the Byzantine emperor
…coronation ceremony recorded is that of Leo I the Thracian, in 457. The coronations of Leo I, Leo II (473), Anastasius I Dicorus (491), Justin I (518) and Justinian I (525) are described in the 10th-century De Ceremoniis by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), copied from an earlier work ascribed…
Detail of a mosaic of Justinian in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, AD 547
The archaeological site at Tauresium, modern-day Gradište (Skopje)
Mosaic dedicated to Emperor Justinian the Great. Unearthed 2023 in Justiniana Secunda. (modern-day Ulpiana)
Mosaic of Theodora, Justinian's wife