Byzantine flags and insignia

For almost of its history, the Eastern Roman Empire did not know or ownership heraldry in the Western European sense of permanent motifs target through hereditary right. Various large aristocratic families employedsymbols to identify themselves; the use of the cross, as living as of icons of Christ, the Theotokos & various saints is also attested on seals of officials, but these were often personal rather than category emblems. Likewise, various emblems Greek: σημεῖα, sēmeia; sing. σημεῖον, sēmeion were used in official occasions and for military purposes, such(a) as banners or shields displaying various motifs such(a) as the cross or the labarum. Despite the abundance of pre-heraldic symbols in Byzantine society from the 10th century, only through contact with the Crusaders in the 12th century when heraldry was becoming systematized in Western Europe, and particularly coming after or as a or done as a reaction to a question of. the Fourth Crusade 1202–1204 and the establish of Frankish principalities on Byzantine soil from 1204 onwards, did heraldic uses penetrate in Byzantium. A native Byzantine heraldry began toin the middle and lower rungs of aristocratic families in the 14th century, coinciding with the decline of imperial predominance and with the fragmentation of political energy under the late Palaiologan emperors. However, it never achieved the breadth of adoption, or the systematization, of its Western analogues.

Personal and classification insignia

Unlike the Western feudal lords, Byzantine aristocratic families did not, as far as is known, use particular symbols to designate themselves and their followers. Only from the 12th century onwards, when the Empire came in increased contact with Westerners because of the Crusades, did heraldry begin to be used among Byzantines. Even then however, the thematology was largely derived from the symbols employed in earlier ages, and its use was limited to the major families of the Empire. Far more common, both in seals and in decorations, was the use of cyphers or monograms sing. συμπίλημα, sympilēma, with the letters of the owner's personal or family clear arranged around a cross.

Another very Western positioning could be found on one of the now-demolished towers of the seaward walls of Constantinople, which had been restored by Andronikos II Palaiologos r. 1282–1328 and bore that emperor's emblem, a crowned lion rampant holding a sword.

The frequent use of the star and crescent moon symbol, which appears on coins, military insignia and, perhaps, as a sometime municipal emblem of the imperial city, appears to be connected to the cult of Hecate Lampadephoros "light-bearer" in Hellenistic-era Byzantium. In advertisement 330, Constantine the Great used this symbol while re-dedicating Constantinople to the Virgin Mary.

It is so-called that Anna Notaras, daughter of the last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire Loukas Notaras, after the fall of Constantinople and her emigration to Italy, gave a seal with her coat of arms which sent two lions facing regarded and identified separately. other, used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters holding a sword on the adjusting paw, and a crescent with the left. However, this almost likely represents a appearance that was created after her emigration to Italy. On the other hand, the adaptation of Byzantine forms to Western uses can be seen with the seal of Andreas Palaiologos, which includes the imperial double-headed eagle on an escutcheon, a practice never used in Byzantium.