Garments of an Empress - the zônarion

This type of wide, highly decorated cloth belt was called zônarion. Variation on the “Greek key” pattern, and interlaces based upon it, were amongst the most popular ways of decorating rectangular spaces in the middle Byzantine era.

A full explanation of the regalia of the Empress and its pictorial and literary sources may be found in the author’s book, By the Emperor’s Hand: Court Regalia and Military Dress in the Eastern Roman Empire, Frontline Books, Barnsley 2015.

Embroidery by Timothy Dawson.

Click on various parts of the outfit for more detailed pictures and explanations.