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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 4222929, member: 99554&quot;]The <i><b>Vexillum</b></i> was a Roman rectangular banner or flag that was attached to a horizontal pole. When it was ornamented with the Christogram (Chi-Rho), it was called a <i>Labarum</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080865[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Separate units of the Roman army had their <i><b>vexilla</b></i>, like cohorts, and if it disappeared&nbsp; during the war, they were disbanded. In ancient times, it was the banner of the infantry, and in imperial times - both infantry and cavalry; its red color evolved only within the tone: purple, scarlet, bright red, crimson .A rare monument, the painting of the rostrum in the pronaos of the Bela temple in Dura Europos, also represents a <i><b>vexillum</b></i> in red. Judging by the written sources, in the richest version it had an image of the emperor embroidered in gold or his name; the name and symbol (for example, the head of a bull) of the part to which the banner belonged was often indicated.</p><p>It is important that banners usually flutter from the wind, their fringe trembles - this is especially evident in the scene of Septimius Severus&#039;s appeal to the troops on his arch in Rome (203 AD) .</p><p>This is a “true unique” and only genuine example of a Roman military <i><b>vexillum</b></i> that has come down to us; it is also a very rare example of Roman painting on fabric. An almost square piece of linen, whose height is slightly greater than the width, with a fringe sewn from below, was once attached to a high pole or spear.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Vexillum-Pushkin_Museum_of_Fine_Arts.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Russia</p><p><br /></p><p>The accepted dating of the banner is the first half of the 3rd century.With a purple background, it represents Victoria, the golden goddess of victory, wearing a wreath, standing on a globe in a fluttering tunic and cloak. In both hands she holds victory signs: in her right - a laurel wreath with a medallion and fluttering ribbons, in her left - a palm branch. In the corners are placed the same gold filling ornaments - gammadia. This <i><b>vexillum</b></i> is a Roman military banner, widely known both from historical sources and in iconography. The most expressive banners are presented on the reliefs of the column of Trajan;&nbsp; on the base of the column of Antoninus Pius in Rome (after 161 AD) in the scene of a horse parade of officers; on the column of Marcus Aurelius, as, for example, in the episode of the passage through the river; on other reliefs of the emperor - with scenes of the triumphal entry into Rome, his acceptance of the defeated barbarians and sacrifice;&nbsp; on the honorary arch of Septimius Severus in Leptis Magna (203–204 AD) in many episodes, of which the emperor’s triumph scene is especially significant.</p><p><br /></p><p>Column of Trajan, Quirinal Hill Rome</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080886[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Temple of Hadrian, Campus Martius Rome</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080887[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Column of Marcus Aurelius, Piazza Colonna Rome</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080890[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The idea of fluttering, awe of the panel, as well as Victoria’s clothes and the ribbons of her laurel wreath, has deep meaning in the context, the origin of which is undoubtedly ritual: structurally, the banner reproduces the image of the sacred tree with a trunk and a living crown trembling in the wind. Before becoming a military symbol and sign, masts with a banner belonged to the sanctuary, the place of death and the resurrection of God, where they were installed at the ritual moment - on holidays: they are known in Egypt, in Crete-Mycenaean Greece. Their funerary context is evident in the archaic traditions of Asian peoples. That is why they are widely known in the eastern part of the empire in the temples of the gods they represent (sometimes replace statues, sometimes flank them).</p><p><br /></p><p>Now it would be interesting to see your own examples of <i><b>vexillum</b></i> on coins. Here are some of mine :</p><p><br /></p><p>Volusian</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080904[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Crispus</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080905[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Licinius II</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1080906[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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