Byzantine regalia

thumb|upright|Relief carving of Darius the Great of [[Persia on his throne, holding a sceptre and lotus]] A sceptre (spelled scepter in American English) is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia, signifying sovereign authority.

globular object sometimes topped with a cross; Christian symbol of authority

150px|thumb|Hermes wearing a chlamys. Painting attributed to the [[Tithonos Painter, .]]

a crown used for the coronation of emperors

thumb|Emperor Nicephorus III and Empress Maria with the old male and new female styles The loros () was a long, narrow and embroidered cloth, which was wrapped around the torso and dropped over the left hand. It was one of the most important and distinctive parts of the most formal and ceremonial type of imperial Byzantine costume, worn only by the Imperial family and a few of the most senior officials. It developed out of the trabea triumphalis of the Roman consuls. There were different male and female versions. Byzantine sources speak of the "loros costume" as the loros dictated the rest of

thumb|The equestrian statue of Justinian from the Augustaion, wearing a toupha. thumb|The "Gunthertuch|Bamberger Gunthertuch", a [[Byzantine silk tapestry depicting an emperor on his triumphant return from a campaign. The tyche on the left offers a toupha.]] The toupha or toufa (, toûpha or τουφίον, touphíon) is a kind of ornamental crest or head-dress with a plumage of the feathers, hair or bristles of exotic animals, worn in classical antiquity as a triumphal decoration. In surviving depictions, it is most often seen on military helmets and emperors' crowns.

thumb|Byzantine Emperor Alexander (Byzantine emperor)|Alexander, holding the akakia in his right hand. Mosaic from the [[Hagia Sophia.]]

thumb|Contemporary portrait of the Emperor Justinian, possibly wearing The tzangion (, ), plural tzangia () was a type of boot or sandal, which in the Middle Ages became an important part of the Byzantine Emperors' regalia.