Byzantium
- HEX
- #702963
- RGB
- 112 41 99
- HSL
- 311° 46% 30%
- CMYK
- 0 63 12 56
Byzantium or Plum?
Darker than plum.
Named after the Byzantine Empire and its imperial purple.
History
Byzantine emperors kept the finest purple for themselves, and sumptuary laws barred everyone else. Children born to a reigning emperor were porphyrogennetos, born in the purple: delivered in a palace room lined with purple porphyry stone. See royal-purple.
Art
In the mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna, finished in 547, the emperor Justinian stands in a purple cloak on a gold ground, his courtiers around him in white.
Kin
- Purple: The emperor's color, a Byzantine monopoly
- Gold: Byzantine mosaics set imperial purple on gold
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Porphyrogennetos' (Anna Komnene's description of the Porphyra)
- Britannica, 'San Vitale'
Hex values are screen approximations. Every page lists its sources.