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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1450

Zonaras Chronicle Folio with Portrait of Constantine XI

Unknown Byzantine artist · c. 1450

A page from a mid-15th-century Byzantine manuscript showing a portrait medallion of Constantine XI among other emperors, made in his own lifetime.

A rare portrait of Constantine XI made close to his own lifetime, placing him among the long line of Byzantine emperors.

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Black-and-white reproduction of a manuscript page with nine framed portrait medallions of Byzantine emperors in three rows, each with bearded men wearing jeweled crowns or caps, with Greek inscriptions above and below.
Folio 289r, Mutinensis gr. 122, Zonaras Chronicle, c. 1450.

About this source

What it is

This is a page (folio 289r) from a 15th-century Byzantine manuscript known as Mutinensis gr. 122, made by an unknown Byzantine artist around 1450. It shows nine framed portrait medallions of emperors arranged in three rows, including Constantine XI alongside predecessors such as John VIII and Manuel II, and the much earlier Constantine the Great.

Why it matters

Because it was made during or very close to Constantine XI's own lifetime, this manuscript page is one of the few surviving images that may reflect how he was pictured by his contemporaries, rather than imagined later. Placing him beside earlier emperors, including Constantine the Great, links his reign to the long history of the Byzantine Empire he was the last to rule.

Look closer

  • Why might the artist have placed Constantine XI next to Constantine the Great in the same row?
  • What can you tell, and not tell, about a real person's appearance from a small formal medallion portrait like this?
  • Why do you think so few images of Byzantine emperors made during their own lifetimes survive?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Constantine XI Palaiologos on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Round bronze medal on a red textured background. In profile, facing right, a bearded man wears a tall pointed cap and a high-collared garment, with curled hair over his ear. Greek lettering runs around the rim.Sculpture

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Medal of John VIII Palaiologos

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Zonaras Chronicle Portrait Folio

Unknown Byzantine scribes

Painted miniature portrait of a bearded man with dark eyes and a jeweled crown with red and green gems, wearing a jeweled collar with red and green stones, set within a gold circular halo with Greek lettering around it.Painting

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Portrait of Constantine XI Palaiologos in the Mutinensis gr. 122 Codex

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Gold Seal of Constantine XI for Ragusa

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Hexamilion Wall Ruins Across the Corinth Isthmus

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