Silk fabric allowed for the use of brilliant colors-jewel-like reds, blues, yellows, greens, and gold (the privilege of wearing purple was limited to emperors and empresses by law). The Emperor Justinian introduced the manufacture of silk to Constantinople in the sixth century. These brocaded fabrics gave a new stiffness and luminosity to garments-a departure from the soft wool and linen that characterized Roman drapery. Clothing artifacts reveal remarkably intricate, elaborate brocaded fabrics with jeweled surfaces. Most of our knowledge of Byzantine fashions comes from surviving mosaics and sculptures. As time passed, these eastern styles of costume began to assert themselves in the form of trousers, footwear, head coverings and, above all, decoration and jewelry. From the beginning, the fabrics and colors used were strongly influenced by Persian, Assyrian, Egyptian, and Arabian sources. The dalmatica evolved from knee-length in the early part of the empire (sixth to tenth centuries) to floor-length (tenth to thirteenth centuries), finally resembling a Turkish caftan in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The tunica (a universally worn loosely draped garment of undyed wool or linen), the dalmatic (a wide-sleeved over-robe of cotton, linen, or wool for the commoners, and silk for the wealthy), and the stola (a high-belted woman's garment constructed from a folded rectangle) were the basic foundations of Byzantine style. Until the sixth century, the Roman influence was still strong, with draped styles predominating the cut of dress. Included within Byzantine fashions are not only those styles worn in the city of Byzantium after it became the capital of the Roman Empire, but also clothing worn in regions that fell under its influence, such as Italy, Greece, and Russia. The Byzantine culture was a complex blending of east and west. This empire lasted for over 1,100 years-until 1453, the year of the death of Emperor Constantine XI and the fall of the empire to the Ottoman Turks.ĭuring this era, costume attained a richness of color, fabric, and ornament that far exceeded the greatest days of Rome. After the fall of Rome in the fifth century at the hands of the Germanic Goths, the eastern Byzantine Empire ruled alone. East and west, however, differed greatly, the eastern portion having a larger population and greater wealth. 364, Emperor Valentinian I divided the Roman Empire into two parts-east and west-with two emperors, to facilitate the management of the vast territory. The Byzantine Empire's thriving commercial trade led to immense wealth, its trade routes extending from Scandinavia and Russia to Armenia and Ethiopia. Constantine I was impressed by the city's strategic location, notably its command of the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black seas. 330, when Emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire to a city that became known as Constantinople, or Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul).
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