Did Roman Emperors Wear Crowns

Through a millennium and a half of the Empire's history the customs have undergone a lot of transformations. In this video I do my best to explain how the laurel wreath of the republic became a royal diadem of Eastern Roman emperors.

[@hueylongdong347]

The evolution from the Late Republic to the Early Empire and later to the Late Empire and finally to the Byzantine Empire is incredibly fascinating. It's so cool to see how minor changes over time to the things like crowns completely transform their depictions, making them completely unrecognizable when you compare the Republic and Byzantines.

[@legatusmatheus9815]

Republic Era Rome and Late Eastern Rome are so far apart the term Byzantine got invented.

[@MrPanos2000]

@@legatusmatheus9815 The term Byzantine was not created for Academic reasons lol. It is well known today that it originates from contemporary propaganda rhetoric

[@theculturedjinni]

They still kept the fact that they were not kings though kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4bahXilhZacqq8

[@fatihilhan8495]

"The true Roman Emperor did not need a special hat to legitimize himself." This sums it up perfectly!

[@marseldagistani1989]

They needed the Praetorian Guard, Butt load of cash, and The backing of the army

[@randomguy6152]

@@marseldagistani1989 they didn't need the praetorian guard the praetorian guard was just there

[@randomguy6152]

@@marseldagistani1989 literally the 1st emperor to have the praetorian guard after the emperor who created them had issues with the guard I don't think any emperor enjoyed the guard besides for the few emperor's who reformed the guard

[@randomguy6152]

@Jotaro97 not that they supported the losers but really the guard was just so trash from sipping on wine in rome they couldnt compete with the real armies constantly fighting barbarians on the frontline, they legit controlled the emperor without even being a skilled unit

[@Felzorful]

@@marseldagistani1989 But doesn't every person need that to gain real power in are world? What shows that you are worthy to follow is that your smart enough to gain that cash and maintenance it and to confide the army that they stay loyal to you.

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

The romans had a long-lasting hatred for monarchs the principate still portrayed itself as a republic. It all changed in the age of the Dominate, though.

[@RomabooRamblings]

I think it changed more gradually than people think. The 3rd century was very transformative in this regard.

[@WarThunderers]

coins of valentinian the great call him the restorer of the republic still

[@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl]

@@WarThunderers Republic at that point lost its original meaning and becam to mean the state

[@Krafanio]

@@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl Yeah was pretty much saying restorer of the empire or* like Aurelian "restorer of the world".

[@user-wp4oh3zn5e]

The papacy itself was a monarchy centered in Rome and lasted for more then ten centuries. It was another Kingdom (the Kingdom of Italy) that abolished It in 1870. So Republicanism in Rome Is recent in 2000 Years. In 1946 the majority of citzens voted in Rome to keep the monarchy.

[@youvebeengreeked]

*”I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.”* - *”The city has fallen, and I still live.”* - Epic story.

[@Michael_De_Santa-Unofficial]

Agustus and Constantine XI were absolute gigachads.

[@youvebeengreeked]

@@Michael_De_Santa-Unofficial Amen, bro.

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

Sigma quotes from sigma ultrachads

[@tylerellis9097]

The Funny thing about the Crown of Hungary is that' it's just a 11th century Byzantine Vice Empress Crown with minor fancy additions to showcase Imperial superiority over the Hungarians with the Emperor (Constantine) and Empresses (Zoe/Theodora) shown as the spiritual mothers and father. I support the theory by Timothy Dawson that the Monomachus crown is just a Triumphal Armband. It perfectly matches the description of it in de ceremonies, versions of it appear in Byzantine art on the arm and there's no known depiction or description of it as a crown in 1000 years of Byzantine history. . Shame you didn't go over other Crowns like the Crested Toupha(Triumphal Crown). Out of all Byzantine crowns it remained the most consistent throughout their entire history and personally is my favorite Roman crown with its Crest of Horsehair or Peacock feathers adorned with Jewels and pearls. Heck there was 4 Stemmas (Red, White, Blue and Green) all worn for different occasions. Great Vid thou, Crowns period are such an underrated ignored topic, and Byzantine crowns look very cool.

[@RomabooRamblings]

I thought that if I went into detail on Byzantine crowns the video would be too skewed towards it. It would've been 5 minutes from laurel wreath to Constantine's diadem and 20 minutes of gushing over fancy crowns. So I decided to just do a quick recap. I actually found an academic journal article on _Empress'_ crowns and wanted to cover it, but, as I've said, it should be a separate video. Your comment gets to a topic of the depth of the detail in the videos, which is something I want to balance in my videos. I am going to make a community post with my thoughts on it and will probably include a poll, so be sure to check it :) And I am very glad you liked the video!

[@JustGeridan]

Could you do a video about the evolution of Roman coinage? It's always struck me how the coins from the height of the empire were so detailed, while in later centuries they become more and more degraded.

[@RomabooRamblings]

Thats going to be a long one, but someday I will

[@AncientNumis]

@@RomabooRamblings I’m looking forward to that too! Would be cool to see

[@ivonahora]

@@RomabooRamblings hey, we coinage nerds endured (enjoyed, even) lindybeige's nearly-one-hour-long video on the history of English currency; so, as long as it seems like a good use of your time, go for it! (Pretty please)

[@makutas-v261]

Extremely based showing Constantine XI in thumbnail for Roman emperor

[@MegaTang1234]

What about the color purple and the purple cloak. whenever I hear someone being proclaimed emperor they usually say "he donned the purple and was proclaimed emperor" or "He was born in the purple and was next in line". Was purple always royal color to the romans?

[@RomabooRamblings]

Good question. Short answer: the purple cloak was worn by the consuls, it was generaly a symbol of high status, because the puple dye was very expensive. Naturally, the puple cloak was adopted by the emperors, who held all sorts of republican high offices. "Born in the purple" refers to an actual room with purple adornments, built during the reign of Constantine V. In this room, the children of the emperor were delivered.

[@DISTurbedwaffle918]

Purple expensive. Important people have money. Important people wear purple. Very important people wear a LOT of purple. It's one of the reasons the Catholic Church uses Violet vestments to signify times of penance, as it is through penance and humility that one attains the Kingdom of God.

[@VojislavMoranic]

@@DISTurbedwaffle918 It is also why Orthodox priests wear black. To flex on heretic papists.

[@theculturedjinni]

You are awesome! One addition is that we should also remember that roman emperors were never considered being kings or "rex" and having a golden non-leaf crown was associated with kingship such as Tarquinus the tyrant.

[@RomabooRamblings]

Thanks! I actually though about that, but couldn't find any attestations any of the 7 kings wore a metal crown.

[@user-rq2ly4bf1w]

The origins of the ever rising stronghandedness of the later Roman Empire actually stem from the Crisis of the Third Century and only ever sped up during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine who wished that their subjects see them as untouchable monarchs (Dominus/Δεσπότης) rather than weak first citizens (princeps/πρῖγκεψ). Elaborate headgear and signatures were employed during Constantine's reign to portray the Imperator as divine. Later during Justinian's reign, the crown of the Sassanid King was borrowed by Justinianus I so that he would appear more godlike.

[@cerberus6654]

That was brilliant. I have long wondered about the evolution of the wreath to the full on Western European crown but you've tied it together perfectly! Liked and subscribed.

[@sergeyrodionov9417]

Dude great content! You sure deserve to have a lot more subs

[@JustGeridan]

Thank you, this is one of those questions that is really interesting but I wouldn't have thought to ask it.

[@shieldmaidenarreh4265]

Authority is firm by action, not by symbols of headwear.

[@mikehawk2003]

6:36 There is also the Votive Crown of Leo VI the Wise (not to be confused with Leo IV who had a legend about wearing the votive crown of Maurice then dying of a fever) in Venice although compared to the Hungarian crown it is very obscure. Also, there is the crown of Nikephoros II Phokas in Mount Athos.

[@RomabooRamblings]

I read about Nikephoras Phokas crown on Mount Athos, but I am not sure if its authentic. It looks like a golden Orthodox mitre.

[@ash9280]

It should be noted that the position of the Roman emperor was initially was supposed to be more of a vague position that was more of a generic strongman with some supposed "democratic" overtones than a straight up king. Even though, the republic was effectively dead, its symbols, and ideals still carried weight on an ideological level. So, you still had to carry the fig leaf of democracy even as the emperor at first.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

“Any man who needs a hat to say I am the King, is no true king.”

[@johntitor1256]

"But what if it's a really cool hat?"

[@faisalkamal4319]

​@@johntitor1256you can wear it

[@victord4662]

It's good that the emperors started wearing those lovely hats. They surely shielded them from the moon people's fearsome gaze

[@sethguest781]

Well, most Roman emperors I've seen had a non-natural golden laurel crown on their heads, I thought mainly that's what was used to signify the ruler's divinity and providence of their gods.

[@NaneRulz]

Happens I was looking for this specific topic on the internet not long ago, and wasn't successful in finding something satisfactory, Just in time! Thanks for this great content!

[@RomabooRamblings]

Did you find the answers in the video?

[@NaneRulz]

@@RomabooRamblings Exactly! I was wondering if there was an evolution regarding crowns. Got the false impression that the first emperors would use laurels and eventually would transition to these spiky crowns later (a counter example, would be Nero). Would like to know at what point the emperors started to use jewelry on their crowns, which is characteristic of the eastern roman emperors. Planning to do something regarding the hairstyles of the emperors?

[@RomabooRamblings]

@@NaneRulz that's a very cool topic, but I need to see what kind of research is there

[@Testimony_Of_JTF]

Nice video

[@mukkaar]

Overall, I think it was just mostly about public opinion. Republic was foundation of the Rome, and even when republic fell, people wanted to at least keep the illusion. Especially emperors :D

[@dontmintme]

I looooove this channel

[@Apaurie]

The influence of oriental customs is impossible to deny. The dress code we can see in 3rd century came from Persia/Syria. Calling Augustus a Dominus would have caused some demonstrating in the street of Rome and nothing during Late empire.

[@imperiumbrasiliae]

The kings of tonga thailand bhutan and the sultans of brunei and malaysian states like johor also wear crowns but only in a coronation i think the king of bhutan wears his more frequently the crown of tonga isn't worn frequently because it's heavy 4 pounds 12 ounces heavy

[@RomabooRamblings]

googled the Crown of Tonga: great classic design. He should wear it more often, get some neck workout.

[@imperiumbrasiliae]

@@RomabooRamblings to be honest every monarch should wear their crown keep those jewels gathering dust is such a waste and about the neck exercise in my opinion there should be one in every gym

[@ozgurceltikci9106]

The larger and more elaborate the headgear, the smaller and less stable the realm! Facts!

[@ShahanshahShahin]

Cyrus, Darius, Shapur, Khosrow, Samudragupta and Suleiman Disagree

[@ozgurceltikci9106]

@@ShahanshahShahin It was more of a Roman thing tbh.

[@AncientNumis]

This is a very interesting topic, and a lovely video! It’s very interesting how much coinage can tell us about certain aspects of history. So glad I found out about your channel, and I’ve subscribed :)) Do you think you might be interested in some sort of a collab video sometime? I could maybe help with some ancient coin stuff, although i mean you’re probably more knowledgeable than me! It still could be fun though to try something like that, what do you think?

[@RomabooRamblings]

Sure, sounds like an awesome idea :)

[@mouljasoy4563]

i appreciate a Romaboo my favorite crown is probably Justinian's, i would love to hear yours

[@RomabooRamblings]

The crown of Nikephoras Phocas is an interesting case. There is a famous design that is used in the chronicles illustration, but there is also a golden archbishop mitre that is kept on mount Athos, that is supposedly one of his crowns. I wonder how much truth is in this telling.

[@giannhspalaskas832]

@@RomabooRamblings I;ve visited Mt Athos(Agio Oros as we call it(holy mountain) and there are several crowns and diadems surviving in cases....One particular if i recall was the crown of Patriarch Athanasios the second who died in the sack of 1453

[@vaidyasantosh8559]

Thks 4 info

[@Caligulashorse1453]

Those crowns from hungry and Russia are super cool looking

[@abylaybissekenov1588]

What a based ppl these romans were

[@LordTelperion]

The Radiant Crown, or Solar Crown, is most intriguing.

[@Ennio444]

At 1:30 youre showing a solar crown in coinage. Arguably the solar crown, a hellenistic post Alexander symbol of divine royalty, is the origin of the western style of "pointy upwards bits" crowns.

[@Enzo012]

TLDR version They generally didn't, sometimes they did but they didn't have to.

[@Testimony_Of_JTF]

Did any of those reward crowns also come with other benefits or just the honor? By other benefits I mean money or rising the ranks of the military, etc.

[@godzilla964]

Roman emperors were stereotyped as wearing crowns in the design of an olive branch.

[@elshebactm6769]

🤠👍🏿

[@ddelarosa96]

What is the name of the movie you pulled the footage from?

[@RomabooRamblings]

It's an HBO series called Rome

[@RomabooRamblings]

And also "Alexander"

[@christos3280]

I see constantine, I click

[@Carlton-B]

Not all coins of Nero and other emperors had a radiate crown, just the dupondius. The reason was to distinguish it from the "as". The as, 1/4 a sestertius, was close in size to the dupondius, 1/2 a sestertius. the as was made of bronze, and the dupondius made of a type of brass, so a difference of color. This wasn't enough and they were mistaken for each other, since they otherwise looked the same (it seems the Romans never thought to put a mark of value on coins). By putting on a radiate crown, there was a noticeable difference. It had little to do with Nero's megalomania. Similarly, the double-denarius had a radiate crown to distinguish it from the denarius. The double-denarius, or Antoninianus, was 1 1/2 times the weight of a denarius, thus not twice as big, and they needed a way to distinguish the two. The diadem had been a mark of kinghood for centuries before the Romans used it. A double diadem meant "king of kings", i.e., imperial ruler with kings under them, so Persian and Parthian rulers used the double diadem. The Romans of the Dominate knew what they were doing when they put on a diadem, but the dislike for kings had dissipated by then - they just didn't call themselves king.

[@GoogleUserOne]

Didn’t it originate with Sargon? Then popularized through Hellenic culture through Cyrus?

[@wu1ming9shi]

It's quite interesting that until the end, they still were roman through and through in one way or another.

[@jhoughjr1]

that Russian crown looks good.

[@cristsan4171]

Gaius Julius Caesar worn his crown on his back.

[@hahuhihu7364]

What do you think about Constantin was he really christian or did he just use christianity to get him more popular among the people?

[@RomabooRamblings]

Constantine has probably shaped Christianity more than anyone since Saint Paul. He was most likely genuinly interested in Christianity due to the influence of his mother. Due to the decentralized nature of early Christianity it already had a whole bunch of different interpretations, so it's hard to judge anyone as "true Christian". I think Constantine held at least some Christian beliefs. He also sinned a lot, but that was the nature of his office. That is not to say that he didn't want to use Christianity as a unifying ideology for the Empire.

[@datoda3593]

@@RomabooRamblings By the time Constantine ruled the Emperor, the very little influence Christians had in the army and upper class was almost completely eradicated by Diocletian and his waves of persecutions. Rome was also not a democracy in the modern sense. The opinion of the lower class, the slaves and the women (who constituted the majority population and ABSOLUTE majority of Christians) had little to no political weight, thus the idea of Constantine converting to Christianity to become more popular is retarded. If anything he converted to Christianity not because of the benefits of it, rather despite the overwhelming risks it had with it. Legalizing and supporting Christianity, while the Elites are overwhelmingly pagan is a very risky thing to do.

[@stepanpytlik4021]

Not in its early days.

[@davidt6376]

They wore 🌿 😌 & Yes Some wore 👑 s

[@markcannon8522]

I don’t like Octavian or the Empire era but he did save a lot of people by seizing power, if not for the establishment of a central ruler there would have been an endless period of civil wars between commanders that would’ve resulted in the absolute destruction of the roman state.

[@shekelgangiv3411]

The Holy Roman Emperor got his authority from God through the Pope, not a hat

[@RomabooRamblings]

And this authority was conferred on him by placing a crown on his head. I am not questioning the legitimacy of the Holy Roman Emperor to govern his realm, I am simply conveying the difference in attitude towards coronation ceremony in ERE and HRE.

[@sultankebab1587]

@@RomabooRamblings but we both know that the ERE is the true heir of Rome.

[@MrPanos2000]

The Holy Roman Emperor got his authority from Western European Feudal system and his Frankish cronies in the Vatican

[@shekelgangiv3411]

@@MrPanos2000 ok

[@user-qw9et5dw8d]

Мажоры...

[@purvalama6540]

LONG LIVE WEED

[@bostontowny4life744]

Because the Eastern Roman Empire was not the Roman Empire. I mean come on... let's be real here. It may have initially been, but after a few hundred years of Eastern influence it was not the same thing. It's like saying that Cleopatra was a Greek queen. Like yea... technically, sure... but come on, she was an Egyptian. Actually Cleopatra probably had more in common with Greece than the Byzantine Empire had with Ancient Romans because Cleopatra's bloodline was at least... kept within the Greek family. The "Eastern" Romans mixed with the natives. The Romans of say, Julius Caesars day, would not have recognized the Eastern Romans of the year 900 to be true Romans, they would not have recognized them to be Roman at all.

[@Leonas_]

The Eastern Roman Empire is the Roman Empire and you can't change the FACT

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

"Byzantine Empire" is a term created by w*stoids because they knew that "schimatic greek kingdom" was the ONLY good place to live during Late Antiquaty and Early Middle Ages

[@British-Patriot]

The Eastern Roman Empire was literally the surviving part of the Roman Empire, so it is the Roman Empire.

[@roydemeoscat7205]

You are making historical videos and you can't even say Apollo? I trust nothing in your videos.

[@user-ll9hb3sd8h]

Little advice: When we refer to the Byzantines, their society or civilization in general is strictly monarchical and unlike the Romans of the West, the Romans of the East, including Syrians, Greeks, Egyptians, among others, had no shame in hiding or camouflaging their worship. and pleasure in monarchical government because of the great Hellenizations by the successors of Alexander whose governmental systems were imitated and adopted by the Byzantines, for them they were not simple decorations to denote a governor as it was with the more stoic and republican Romans, it was an accessory that denoted divinity and control over all things and living beings of creation. The Byzantine Empire did not depend on constitutions or institutions to exercise the power of an emperor, but depended on the Hellenistic or Orientalist concept of divine backing or government, "Basileus" being the literal translation of monarch, God on earth. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_bureaucracy_and_aristocracy

[@inhocsignovinces8957]

Greek nationalist spotted

[@user-rq2ly4bf1w]

What the heck does Hellenization have to do with the stronghandedness of the later Roman Empire? The transition from the Principate (Principatus) to the Dominate (Dominatus) actually happened during the Crisis of the Third Century, and only ever accelerated under Diocletian and especially Constantine. Nothing to do with Hellenization at all, unless you are trying to hint that the eastern Roman state was Greek like pretty most laughable Hellenists on KZbin.

[@user-ll9hb3sd8h]

@@user-rq2ly4bf1w Hellenization has a lot to do with everything, even more so if we talk about its area of influence, which was the eastern Mediterranean, only a Romanist would deny such a thing. The Byzantine Empire did not place its emperors or governors through republican or constitutional institutions as the ancient Romans had planned and structured their state. The Byzantines did it through divine support, a practice totally corresponding to the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean, including the various Hellenistic kingdoms and kingdoms of the east from which Rome first got its concept of deifying emperors.

[@user-rq2ly4bf1w]

@@user-ll9hb3sd8h The wearing of luxurious headgear by the Roman emperors has nothing to do with either the Greeks or with "Hellenization". That was my point. The video above even went kindly so far as to explain the true reasons of how the crown increasingly became accepted by the Romans. It has nothing to do with Hellenism. This stuff that you wrote above is just a Balkan nationalist moment. Come on, bro. How do you expect to be respected when you say nonsensical things? I mean it is not that hard for anyone to do research and find out for themselves how the Roman imperial crowns became commonplace. Learn real history and stop claiming stuff or Greece that Greeks were never responsible for.

[@user-ll9hb3sd8h]

@@user-rq2ly4bf1w Hahaha I think you don't like truth and facts at all. Kiddo Roma died a long time ago but no, it is not Balkan nationalism, it is simple and factual history. If Wikipedia is not enough for you, you also have the Britannica encyclopedia saying the same about Byzantium and the symbols of royalty, let's mention that it's funny that you write about nationalism with that name and that photo, please try to hide your ignorance from us through other arguments than simply saying that it is nationalism just becouse its not Roman. And I think the first comment I wrote about all of this proves my point very clearly, you don't have to respond to every comment that doesn't attribute something important to the Romans or Rome.