ANAX

we know at least for the Palaiologan period that the official flag of the state was red flag with golden cross and 4 B, each in every red corner of the flag, similar to that Thessalonian appears to the first post of this thread.

but you have right that there using alot for each purpose. [also double headed eagle is used] and crescent style emblems with some variations.

the imperial one flag [as i preserved in picture of Ioannes Palaiologos] has to do with the crescent and the star, and this has to do with the symbols of the capital of the Roman empire, of the city of Constantinople and derives from the older ones of the city of Byzantium.
ofcourse there specific ones for the Palaiologan navy [a blue with golden cross and in its nlue corner 2 vertical beams], for the army , and as Kirialax reffers ...we have quite a bit of information on their use in the military manuals, but almost nothing on what they depict other than that each meros needs to have distinctive flags...', and that continious as also to the late period.
the lacones / tsacones as also use some variations of the crescent and he star.
as also another symbol used for the state as also for the army, was the eagle, double headed to the late period.
i can bring you some flags even with the draco style even in late roman [14/15th century] army as you mention [for the earlier years standards symbol], but the most common motive of flags is the cross in different colors.

File:Byzantine imperial flag, 14th century.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Double-headed eagle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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ANAX

thank you for posting the Byzantine Constantinople, the Walls of the City and Adjoining Historical Sites
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the influence of the eastern culture theory, in my opinion, can be searched in the way of possible earlier interactions between ancient greece culture and eastern cultures, without not excluding the existence in parallel.

but the town of Byzantium have taken the influence direct from the greek culture. now if that culture on past has relations with easten ones or not, this is something need different search.

so in the years we search, there is not any source that shows the easten influence to the city of Byzantium, when we refer about the crescent and the star.
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what is very significant about the history, of the town and the crescent and the star, and not easily found to modern preservations of the subject , is that the first Greek inhabitans from Megara of the ancient town of Byzantium had left because they had taken part in the Ionian revolt against Persia, and went to the town Mesimbria in the Black Sea. Byzantium was rebuilt after the battle of Plataea the Lacedaemonians [=Lacones=people from Laconia, in south Greece] with the installation;[both Lacedemonians and Megaris spoken ancient greek Dorian DIALECT]
So , the town of byzantium, first made by megaris, but at 5th century bc , lacones came and have been inhabitans of the town of byzantium.
Devotion to Hecate was especially favored by the Byzantines > lacones inhabitans for her aid in having protected them from the incursions of Philip of Macedon. Her symbols were the crescent and star, and the walls of her city were her provenance. (but also the Dioscuri as also their sister Helene was local goddes of Lacedaimon [the territory of Laconia, with the most significant town Sparta at ancient years], and they also appeared with the crescent and the star in many reliefs)

lacones/spartans are relatives with ancient romans . in ancient times romans mixed with sabini which were becaming from laconia. Roman emperor Caracalla, in imitation of antiquity, composed 2 greek Lacedemonian lochi, a lochos λόχος named Pitanatis and a named Laconicos of Laconia. and also emperor has ordered to use their local type of arms and symbols. direct used them against Parthians.
Lacones in medieval period they also named as Tsacones, and the lacones=spartans of the roman army, were in majority non christians even to 10th century -they have churches from 500ad but people still believed to the old pagan relegion and symbols, and this is described from emperor Constantinos Porfirogenitos at the midle of 10 th century, and their neibors call them Hellenes still.(as they also speak even today -[ to some villages only though and only the old ones] the ancient spartan lamguage.)
so they had a special role in roman empire as soldiers as also as society.
to their paganism relegion those are symbols that used as symbols of Dioskouroi, (="sons of Zeus") or of Artemis (or Hecate). Dioskouroi, are local laconian but as you see they are represented to many coins.
even very later to the 17th century, Evliya Tselebi the Ottoman officer (about 1660-1670)that passed from their land he gave many informations about their strength, religion(they had a special christian typical, and on the past , as i reffered the Byzantine Romans called them Hellenes for their beliefs continuity to the ancient Greek relegion)
but they are faith to the emperor, and using the ancient crescent and star symbols to their shields.

in 13th century when romans=byzantines recaptured constantinople from latins in 1261, the first they did is to transfer lacones population from south of greece and elsewhere, because were excelent soldiers , marines and to to the navy, also the most poor send as guard to castles or cities and a part of roman emperor's bodyguards consisted by them.
but something very significant is that the emperor continiued the tradition of the empire, having the old population with their symbols , and returned them to their city, so continued the tradition to Constantinople's laconian as also used as imperial symbols. (lacones and ancient romans were relatives, as ancient romans have mixed with sabbini in latio area, and sabini became from laconia as i reffered) so with this action emperor symbolize the reborn of the empire from the authentic owners.
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in Constantinople at 1261+ the area that established the Tsacones/[lacones -Spartans] were near the sea ​​walls as the emperor Michail Palaiologos was afraid of an impending Latin attack by sea. He used them also to restore the town, as they are not only excelent soldiers who served to the navy and to the army as historian Pachymeres describe, but they are experienced restoring and making buildings,walls, castles, bridges monuments etc
(When Michael VIII entered the city, its population was 35,000 people, but he succeeded in increasing it to 70,000 people by the end of his reign)

a part of them consisted the Tsacones part of the Roman imperial guard which they were over the chest a 'epanoclivano' blue shirt with white lions looking against , and same as also appearing to the back side.

(to this picture the crescent in the shield appears upsidedown though the painted wall is damaged and dont look clear, make right clik and then open to the picture to see better what i mean)

as also Tsacones have in medieval time colonies to many places, such as to south Italy and Sicily (messina area and other), to thrace towns around Constantinople, in Asia minore, in Selge (near Atalia), in Piwe (Biga) etc
have a look also to this page http://www.historum.com/middle-easte...on-what-6.html
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ancient greek coin of the town of Buzantium.


as i also have mention before, Roman empire also use the symbol of the crescent and the star as an emperial flag, as a symbol of their capital and status, as symbol to high army field officers, so it has also an Roman imperial symbolism.
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now some pictures including roman symbols / emblems, to this one we can see both cross with 4b, double headed eagles , and an appearance of Saint Demetrios with a steady white lion [unfortunately it has been damaged some so we can not see if the lion holds a sword or not so to compare it with that of the walls] the mosaic icon is of 13/14th century but the metal revetment is of 15th century.

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The arrival of emperor Ioanis Paleologos in Italy.Scene from the bronze doors of st Peter's temple, Vatican made by Filarete at 1449. see the double headed eagles of the imperial ship.

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the lil as Roman imperial symbol.



the shield that carried on left, is possibly one of the emperor's which rides to the right side. 7th century st.Demetrius Thessaloniki, [emperor JUSTINIANUS II entrance to Thessaloniki].



14th + century the lil as army flag.
[from the Alexander romance , Hellenic institute Codex Gr. 5, Venice, f.27]
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the draco / griffin style in late Roman army [14th + century ] appearing as flag army.
symbol.
[from the Alexander romance , Hellenic institute Codex Gr. 5, Venice, f.36v]
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Jinit

Thank you Anax for sharing this pictures.

By the way I noticed that in the first 4 pictures the symbol is located on the right side of the face of the person. Is it releted to something in particular.

Another thing Byzantine empire Or the Eastern roman empire was the direct continuation of the Roman empire. So then why didn't they use the same flag as that of the roman empire? By using the roman flag it might even be a good propaganda for them to show the europe that they were the true inheritors of the roman empire...

ANAX

this you reffer are the shields of the saint warriors and it is usually at their left side, [the right part for us who see the pictures], but because the painter could not show to us the shield [as this should be hidden behind the body], usually they put the shield at the top right of the picture. so yes its not realistic, though anyone can understand [or at least the people of that period] that this is the shield.

there is no eastern empire. we use the word eastern Roman empire for geographical reasons. if someone use it in other purpose this is wrong.
what happen is that when for security reasons divided the Roman empire into 2 parts the western one did not survive and only the eastern survive.
(i use sometimes also together with the Roman the word Byzantine in brackets just because many people have learned from the school naming the late Roman empire as Byzantine, which also is an error. never excisted Byzantine, it is Roman.
the eastern romans or the Byzantines as by faulse by many call them today did call themselves Romans and not Byzantines. Maybe even Greeks and Romans to some texts which refer to descent, but the official name of the Empire stayed as Roman Empire until 1453, even the Nicaean Empire was called such.
Romans/romei are the citizens of a polyethnic greek speaking and christian [mainly from Justignian years*] culture Roman empire in which Hellenes/Greeks have major significant role described from the sources very clearly and specific.
for more please see my refer to http://www.historum.com/medieval-byz...culture-6.html and http://www.historum.com/european-his...antines-2.html )
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the using of emblems such as the eagle remains to the eastern geographically part, the emblems of notitia dignitatum to each part of the army still remained [have a look as an example to or more specific example to the tourmarchēs of the Theodosiakoi, the tourmarchēs of the Viktores still excisted at 10 th century ] and as also latin terms [which hellenized after the period of Heraclios when the official language became the greek, for example they say 'patricios', 'novelisimos', candidactos', etc]

there emblems that may have disappeared, but that happened to the late 4th century , for relegious reasons, as the christianity after Jiulianus affect very much to the overall culture of the Roman empire. but this is a personal aproach and perchaps i am not correct, i give an example, i dont see as symbol in later years the thunder of zeus that we see in old years to the legions shields, but from the other, we indeed see the draco griffin . so to this needed more research and more detailed approach, though it has nothing to do with the continuity of the empire.


as for the eagle remained as -eastern geographically- Roman symbol / emblem, see this that is believed that the eagle is part of the top of a captured in a battle Byzantine flag 7th century.
NMH received replica of Khan Asparuh's eagle



Roman(Byzantine) silk hanging of the 10th century is in Auxerre.


quiqly i will show you another example from the monastery of Kosmosotira or Viras, in northeast Greece.
The monastery was founded in 1152 by Isaac Comnenus sevastokrator, son of Alexios Komninos the First (1081-1118).
see the eagle.



single headed Roman eagle was also used also at the Palaiologan period, see

Suppedion of Michael VIII Palaiologos,on Cod. Monacensis graecus 442 fol. 174 r en Cod. Marcianus graecus 404 fol 100 r .

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Alexander the Great carried to heaven by two eagles

This Roman(Byzantine) silk hanging of the 10th century is in the Mainfränkisches Museum, Würzburg.
(rose green colorfull eagles is reffered as also to the epic poem Digenes Acritas as a decorated symbol to the cover of the horse of the heroe's father)
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KabukiSan

Wow! Really? I didn't know that.

KabukiSan

Hey Salah, attached are images of medieval Armenian flags and symbols, dating to the Bagratuni Dynasty during the 9-11th centuries. Its one the current Armenian coat of Arms. I don't know if this is Eastern enough for you though.



Here is the Flag of the Arshakuni Dynasty between 50 AD and 430AD;



More on wikipedia.
Here is a picture of a unique medieval Armenian craft called Khatchkar, or cross stones. They are everywhere in Armenia and are similar to Celtic Cross Stones. They have a look of medieval symbolism.

Jinit

Lol Thanks to you people I know more about the byzantine flags then the flags of my own country

Jinit

Yes not only they use the byzantine flag but they still maintained many of the old byzantine traditions like they still follow the byzantine time in which the day start at the sunset.

In a way Mount athos is like a living museum of byzantine culture.

bilbil

I agree,



This silk curtain is royal gift to King Otto III. Does the museum have information from which is obtained as a gift? Contemporaries of King Otto from the Balkan were Tsar Samuil and Basil.

SpyrosM91

and also there is the bamberg tapestry, with Tzimiskes that shows the "labarum"..