Royal armband

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A king's armband ( Greek  διάδημα - diadema " forehead band", also ταινία; Latin: taenia ) was one of the essential insignia of lordly dignity and power in Greek and Roman antiquity - especially in Hellenistic times .

Bust of the Seleucid King Antiochus III. (ruled 223–187 BC)

etymology

Coin portrait of the Bactrian king Diodotus I (r. Approx. 255–239 ​​BC)

The Greek-Latin word for front bandage is διάδημα (= diadema ) and is derived from the Greek dia-dein "to bind around". Accordingly, it literally means “something around”; there is also an etymological relationship with the word demos ('band'). The word diadema is first proven by Xenophon in his description of the Persian royal robe .

materials

Although there are no longer any antique royal ties, if you follow the illustrations, only woven (possibly braided) fabric or leather ribbons knotted behind the head come into question as materials; mostly the ends of the tape flutter loosely in the wind. The ancient sources are silent on the question of whether they were colored, possibly gold-interwoven ribbons; some modern authors speak of colorless white silk ribbons . In any case, the royal bandages of the Hellenistic period differ significantly from the rarer metal, sometimes pearl and gemstone-set tiadas and the crowns that only appeared in late antiquity . The fabric pendilies on episcopal mitres and papal tiaras probably develop from the loose ends of the ribbon (see web link).

origin

Coin of the Indo-Greek King Antialkidas (ruled approx. 110–95 BC) - the headband and riding on an elephant are signs of his rulership.
Coin portrait of the Mauritanian king Juba II. (R. 25 BC to 23 AD)

The origin of the headband as a sign of royal power is ultimately not entirely clear. While some researchers derive it from the Olympic athletes' armbands, others see Achamene - Persian origins, which were adapted from Alexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC) and later adopted by other rulers of the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

Occurrence

Depictions of kings with forehead bandages ( diadems ) appear mainly on coins from the Hellenistic period, but they can also be found on kings' busts from the same period. In the Roman Empire they are largely unknown - instead there is sometimes a laurel wreath ; In late antiquity ( Diocletian , Constantine , Theodosius ), headbands - now set with pearls or gemstones - reappear briefly as insignia of the dignity of rulership, but are gradually being replaced by crowns .

Egypt and Kingdom of Aksum

Some Egyptian pharaohs and the later rulers of the Aksumite Empire were represented with a more elaborate form of the ruler's or king's armband.

literature

Web links

Commons : Diadems  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Abeler: Crowns. Sign of rulership of the world. 3rd improved and enlarged edition. Orb-Verlag Pies, Wuppertal 1976, p. 16.