ABSTRACT
In court acclamations, panegyrics and other literary works, Byzantine emperors were often compared to Moses, David, Solomon or Constantine and the wisdom by which they govern was thus praised. It is indeed essential to remember the importance of the element of light in all glorifications of the emperor in Byzantium. Studies in imperial ideology offer ample evidence for a whole system of ideas based on light symbolism, structure inherited from Hellenistic and Eastern monarchies and applied to the new political philosophy of Christianity. The most impressive portrait of Dusan is preserved in the narthex of Lesnovo dating from 1349. The panel representing the mystical investiture of the imperial couple and their son is situated above the family panel of the ktitor Despot Jovan Oliver and immediately under the vault occupied by the vision of the prophet Ezekiel on the shore of the river Chobar.
