There were also certain definite imperial insignia, such as the purple cloak, once the mark of a general in the field; the laurel wreath, which the Emperor habitually wore; the purple-striped toga and tunic; and the scarlet senatorial shoes.
The ceremonies of the inauguration naturally tended in process of time to develope. The election by the Senate, as has been remarked, became more and more of a form, and new customs gradually came into being. A considerable developement is noticeable in the account of the inauguration of Julian, though the whole ceremony in his case was under the circumstances somewhat informal and makeshift. It is the army which elects him. In spite of his protests he is acclaimed as Emperor; he is then elevated on a shield; and finally he is crowned, a torque serving temporarily to represent the diadem. Afterwards, we are told, he assumed a gorgeous diadem at Vienne[9]. The elevation on a shield, which henceforward always occurs in the inauguration ceremonies, appears for the first time at Julian’s accession to the imperial throne. It was a custom followed among the Teutonic tribes[10], and was doubtless introduced by the Teutonic soldiers who formed so important a part of the Roman armies at this time. The diadem, which is of oriental origin, was perhaps introduced by Aurelian. It seems to have been habitually used by Constantine, and there was a gradual advance during this period in the matter of ceremonial and the sumptuousness of the imperial vestments.
There is no sign, for some time after the acceptance of Christianity as the religion of the Empire, of any Christian influence on the rites of inauguration. It is not until the time of the Emperor Leo I that we meet with the coronation rite in the religious sense of the term. In the year 457 the Emperor Leo I was formally crowned and invested as Emperor with religious rites. Constantine Porphyrogenitus[11], to whom we owe so much of our knowledge of the court functions and ceremonial of the Byzantine period, describes the rite which took place at the accession of Leo. The new Emperor, accompanied by the high officials of the Empire, went down in state to the Hippodrome, in which was gathered together a vast concourse of people. Here he ascended a lofty tribunal in view of all the people and was greeted with acclamations. A maniakis (apparently a kind of fillet) is placed upon his head, and another in his hand, amid the cheers of the people. Then under the cover of a testudo, raised by the candidati, he is arrayed in the imperial vestments, and so shews himself to the people, with the diadem on his head and the imperial shield and spear in his hands. He is thereupon greeted with the ritual formula, Mighty and victorious and august, prosperously, prosperously. Many years, Leo Augustus, thou shalt reign. God will keep this realm, God will keep this Christian realm, and other such things. The Emperor then makes a speech to the people, and promises the customary Donative.
Nicephorus, Theodore the Reader, and Theophanes, assert that Leo was elected by the Senate, and that the diadem was set upon his head by the Patriarch Anatolius[12], but Constantine does not make any reference to any act of coronation by the Patriarch, and does not mention him at all, except as being among the high officials who accompanied the Emperor to the Hippodrome. Evidently as yet the Patriarch took no very public or prominent part in the ceremonial.
We are told more, however, in connection with the inauguration of the Emperor Anastasius I in 491[13]. On the death of Zeno, the choice of his successor to the Empire was left in the hands of the Empress Ariadne. The Senate summoned the Patriarch to exhort her to make a worthy choice, and she chose as Emperor Anastasius the Silentiary. After the funeral of Zeno, Anastasius takes up his position before the portico of the great Triclinium and the magistrates and Senate require of him an oath that he will retain no private grudge against anyone, and that he will rule the Empire well and justly. The Patriarch Euthymius then demands an oath in writing[14] that he will make no change in the Faith or Church, and that he shall sign the Chalcedonian dogmas. Anastasius then proceeds to the Hippodrome and enters the triclinium from which the Emperor is wont at race times to receive the adoration of the Senate. He is clothed in the golden-striped Dibetesion (a tunic reaching to the knees), girdle, greaves, and royal buskins, his head being uncovered. The military standards are in the meanwhile lying on the ground, to signify, apparently, the vacancy of the throne. The people acclaim him, he is raised on a shield, and a campiductor places a torque about his head. This last is perhaps a perpetuation of the makeshift coronation of Julian with a military torque. The standards are then lifted up, and people and soldiery together acclaim the Emperor. The Emperor re-enters the triclinium, and is invested with the regalia. The Patriarch says a prayer which is followed by the Kyrie eleeson, and then the Patriarch invests the Emperor with the imperial chlamys (the purple robe), and sets a gorgeous crown upon his head. After this the Emperor goes to the Kathisma and shews himself to the people, who greet him with the cry Auguste, Σεβαστέ. The Emperor then proceeds to address the people in a special ritual formulary, a book containing which is put into his hand for the purpose.
Emperor. It is manifest that human power depends on the will of the supreme Glory.
People. Abundance to the world! As thou hast lived, so rule. Incorrupt rulers for the world! and so on.
Emp. Since the most serene Augusta Ariadne with the assent of the illustrious nobles and by the election of the glorious Senate and mighty armies, and the consent of the sacred people, have advanced me, though unwilling and hesitating, that I should assume the care of the Empire of the Romans, agreeably to the clemency of the Divine Trinity....
Peo. Kyrie eleeson. Son of God, have mercy upon him. Anastasie Auguste, tu vincas! God will keep the pious Emperor. God gave thee, God will keep thee! and so on.
Emp. I am not ignorant how great a weight is laid upon me for the common safety of all.