Tablion

thumb|Emperor Justinian I and his court, showing the golden tablion of the emperor and the purple tablion of the senior courtiers. Mosaic from the [[Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna.]] The '''' () was a rectangular or trapezoidal panel embroidered on the ceremonial mantle (chlamys'') of courtiers during the Byzantine Empire. __NOTOC__ The were chosen to contrast with the mantle colour, and sewn pairwise on the front edges of the mantle. They could be further decorated with embroidered designs or images of the emperor. The emperor's mantle originally (in the 4th century) featured sewn almost at the bottom of the mantle, below the knees, but from the 6th century they were moved to the centre of the mantle opening. As the was the chief civilian court dress, the was a part of male court costume, and had to be purchased by the office-holders (for example, a paid 24 gold in the 9th century). The only women allowed to wear a and were the empresses. In the middle Byzantine period, the is much more richly decorated, but is sometimes depicted without . The exact significance of this is unclear, although it has been suggested that it might denote lower court ranks.

In art, the is usually depicted with the right half thrown behind the shoulder, so that only the left-hand is visible. Although normally a symbol of civilian dress, military saints are often depicted wearing a with .