Purple, The Color of Emperors

Throughout history, purple has been seen as a divine and heavenly color with mystical meanings, representing nobility, wealth, luxury and power in an earthly context. It is the color of wisdom, kings, mystery, power and reputation.

Considering tht the mysterious Tyrian purple (Tyrian purple (Ancient Greek: πορφύρα porphúra; Latin: purpura), also known as, royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye.),the most precious of ancient dyes, was more valuable than gold in ancient times, it would be appropriate to call this color the master of colors.

The history of the color purple, which has such strong connotations, will lead us to two important shades of this color: the first is Tire purple, obtained with limited opportunities in nature, and the second is synthetic purple, which will change the fate of colors.

The historicl rise of purple dye was realized with the Phoenicians who lived in the lands of today’s Lebanon and Syria on the eastern Mediterranean coast. This reddish purple dye was produced in the Phoenician coastal city of Tyre, hence the name Tyre purple.

Only 1 gram of Tyre purple could be obtained from 12 thousand murex sea snails. Snail fluids were subjected to a series of processes and then different components were added to bring them into contact with air. In its natural state, the liquid was colorless, but as it came into contact with air, it produced the famous Tyrian purple, which was bright, resistant to light and did not fade easily. The unpleasant odor that emerged during the long production process spread from the sea to the city, and this bad smell became as famous as the quality and cost of Tyrian purple, and was even called “the smell of money”.

As well as the reddish purple dye, the expensive fabrics produced with Tyrian purple have also gained fame. This valuable dye, obtained from Murex sea creatures, has been described as a color ranging from red to purple, from purple to black and brown, sometimes pink, sometimes mauve, and sometimes blue, depending on the differences in the production process. The purple captured in these color transitions has been seen as almost magic.Because of this mystery many legends hve been told around the color purple.

The symbol of royalty in Persia

Tyrian purple, the most popUlar and gaudy color of antiquity, began to symbolically express wealth and power in the 6th century BC when it was passed to Persia. Persian king Cyrus (601,530 BC) was the first person to make Tire purple famous as a royal purple. Cyrus, who imposed restrictions on the colors worn by the commoners, stated that the color purple, representing wealth and luxury, could only be worn by royalty; he declared that purple was the royal colur and purple clothes with white stripes were a royal symbol that only he could wear. The Persian kings dressed in purple, announced their desire to conquer the whole world, especially Egypt, with their flamboyant purple clothes.

Alexander the Great also preferred

The Persian desire and ambition for purple was adopted by Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) who conquered Persia. Alexander the Great wore a purple tunic with white stripes, a purple caftan and a purple ruler’s crown with white spots. Also, following earlier Persian traditions, Alexander the Great allowed only selected individuals to wear purple clothes.

Alexander the Great also decorated the palace in purple and made frequent use of purple accessories. In addition to purple rugs carpets and armchairs, he also dressed his 500-strong imperial bodyguard in purple and quince yellow. In addition to Alexander the Great who was buried in a purple shroud, the shrouds of Byzantine King Constantine (272–337 AD) and Roman Emperor Diocletian (245–312 AD), who were buried 600 years later, were also purple.

Glorious Byzantine purple

The intense interst of Alexander the Great, the king of both the East and the West, in the glorious purple color is one of the most important foundations of the connection of this color with the understanding of the royal color to this day. After Alexander the Great, Hellenistic kings, courtiers and high officials continued to wear purple; kings who ascended to the throne continued to wear purple clothes and purple royal crown. Outside the palace, only very rich people could wear clothes decorated with this expensive color.

Byzantine emperors continued th Roman tradition and preserved the imperial characteristic of the purple of Tyre. During Byzantine period, the use of this color was restricted except for the imperial family. Thus, purple became the imperial color. We can say that this color, which is also included in the pages of history as Byzantine purple, actually lived one of its most magnificent periods in Byzantium. So much so that even the rulers signed their edicts with purple ink and were buried in purple shrouds.

Symbol of separated lovers: Violet Flower

Although there is not much distinction between violet and purple colors in history, the violet flower, which gives the color violet its name, has its own important meanings.

As the last color in the rainbow spectrum, violet symbolizes the end of the know and familiar and the beginning of the unknown. In this sense it is associated with death and some cultures use violet flowers at funerals. For this reason, throughout history, it is believed that giving someone a violet as a gift can bring bad luck and bad luck.

On the other hand, it is ironic that in some cultures, a man who goes to war or goes on a long journey may say “I will think of you every moment we are apart” to his lover as a way of saying goodbye.

The miracle of coincidence Synthetic purple

In 1856 in London William Henry Perkin, an 18-year-old chemistry student, conducts experiments to obtain a synthetic alternative to colorless quinine, the only known cure for malaria. During these experiments, he mixes colorless quinine with aniline. However he does nt reach a result that will cure malaria. Entering the laboratory to clean the test tubes, Perkin notices a dark precipitate at the bottom of the test tube. He dilutes it with alcohol and obtains a shade of purple. Since this shade resembled the color of lilac flowers, he named the color he found lilac. He dyes a piece of silk with this dye and tests the permanence and brightness of this dye on the fabric. What began as experiments for malaria end with th discovery of a groundbreaking synthetic dye, making the young Perkin a world-renowned figure. This invention changes the entire future of color. Paints that cost more than gold are produced synthetically over time and become accessible to everyone. Thanks to this coincidence, the luxurious pigments and dyes of the past are consigned to the pages of history. Today, if we have difficulty choosing between hundreds of colors, it is thanks to William Perkin’s accidental discovery of synthetic paint.

What does “born into purple” mean?

Porphyrogenitus, an honorary title in Byzantine Empire, literally means “born in the purple room” in Greek. This title was given to children born during the reign of the father after he became emperor. The rooms where the birth would take place would be decorated in purple, including the walls. The babies would be wrapped in a purple cloth. This tradtion, which symbolizes that the ruler’s children are born into the empire, wealth, power, nobility and reign and will carry this privilege throughout their lives, is known as “being born into purple” or “being born in a purple room”.