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Imperial propaganda. This is a very famous mosaic of the Emperor Justinian and his entourage. To his right is his general Belisarus and his son. To his left is the archbishop of Ravenna Maximianus and his colleagues. It may have been commissioned to celebrate the marriage of Belisarus's son to a relative of Theodora, Justinian's wife (shown on the panel opposite). Of course Justinian never visted Ravenna and Maximianus may never have even ventured to court to meet the emperor, but commemorating the event and placing himself in the picture would have gained Maximianus a lot of prestige locally. Nor could he resist the temptation to place his name on the panel, to the exclusion of all others.
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Western Europe
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