ABSTRACT

This chapter examines Byzantine silks as artefacts in which symbolic messages were embedded between sixth and fifteenth centuries, often with reference to their Hellenistic, Roman, and Christian heritage. The silks created a historic memory of identities of the past, which could be interwoven with contemporary concepts of good order, sound governance, and pious rule. Light, valuable, and easily transportable, the silks served as an excellent medium for the communication of Byzantine Imperial identity at home and abroad.