Byzantine Heraldry - Military Flags and Insignia

Military Flags and Insignia

The Late Roman army in the late 3rd century continued to use the insignia usual to the Roman legions: the eagle-tipped aquila, the square vexillum, and the imago (the bust of the emperor on a pole). In addition, the use of the draco, adopted from the Dacians, was widespread among cavalry and auxiliary units. Few of them seem to have survived beyond the 4th century, however. The aquila fell out of use with the breaking up of the old legions, the imago was abandoned with the adoption of Christianity, and only the vexillum and the draco are still occasionally attested in the 5th century and beyond. Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) inserted the Chi-Rho emblem in Roman military standards, resulting in the so-called labarum. In iconographical evidence, this commonly takes the form of the Chi-Rho embroidered on the field of a vexillum, but literary evidence suggests also its use as a symbol at the head of a staff. The labarum, although common in the 4th and 5th centuries, vanishes entirely in the 6th, and reappears only much later in altered form as part of the imperial regalia.

In the late 6th-century Stratēgikon attributed to Emperor Maurice, two kinds of military flags appear: the triangular pennon or phlamoulon (φλάμουλον, from Latin: flammula, "little flame"), and the larger bandon (βάνδον, from Latin and ultimately Germanic bandum). The pennons were used for decorative purposes on lances, but the Stratēgikon recommends removing them before battle. According to literary evidence, they were single or double-tailed, while later manuscript illuminations evidence triple-tailed phlamoula. The bandon was the main Byzantine battle standard from the 6th century on, and came even to give its name to the basic Byzantine army unit (bandon or tagma). Its origin and evolution are unknown. It may have resulted from modifications to the draco or the vexillum, but it appears in its final form in the Stratēgikon, composed of a square or rectangular field with streamers attached.

According to the Stratēgikon, the colours of the standard reflected a unit's hierarchical subordination: the banda of the regiments of the same brigade (moira, droungos) had a field of the same colour, distinguished by a distinctive device, and the regiments of the same division (meros or tourma) of the army had the same colour on their streamers. Each moira and meros also had their own flag, as well as the army's commanding general (stratēgos). These were on the same pattern but of larger size, and possibly with more streamers (the Stratēgikon depicts flags with two to eight streamers). Maurice further recommends that the flag of the centre meros, led by the deputy commander (hypostratēgos), should be more conspicuous than those of the other merē, and that the flag of the commanding general (or the emperor, if he was present) should be the most conspicuous of all. In addition, the Stratēgikon prescribes a separate standard for the baggage train (touldon) of each moira. The standards were not only used for distinguishing units, but also as rallying points and for conveying signals to the other formations. In the Byzantine navy, likewise, each ship had its own standard. As with their land counterparts, they were also used to convey signals. In the 10th century, the cross became a more prominent symbol, and was often used as a finial instead of a spear point. Under Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969) large crosses of gold and jewels were used as standards, perhaps carried on a pole or otherwise displayed on the flags. In addition, the use of pieces of the True Cross is often mentioned in military parades.

In the late Byzantine period, the writer Pseudo-Kodinos records the use of the Palaiologan "tetragrammic cross" (see above) on the imperial ensign (Greek: βασιλικόν φλάμουλον, basilikon phlamoulon) borne by Byzantine naval vessels, while the navy's commander, the megas doux, displayed an image of the emperor on horseback.