Gunthertuch

[1] At Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, Gunther's imposing stature and his elegant clothes led to the belief that he was the emperor Henry IV, travelling incognito.

The Tyche on the right, with a green over-tunic, presents the emperor probably with a crown, while the left one, dressed in blue, holds the toupha, a headgear reserved exclusively for triumphs.

The emperor was initially identified, by the French Byzantinist André Grabar, with Basil II (r. 976–1025), and his triumphal return from his wars against the Bulgarians.

[8] The later account of John Skylitzes differs in some details in the description of the procession, but both sources agree that on this occasion, Tzimiskes rode a white horse, and that two Bulgarian crowns played an important role in the proceedings.

[7] A different proposal suggested, based on the colour of their clothes, that they represented the Blues and the Greens, the two traditional demoi (circus parties) of Constantinople.

It is significant in this context that these two cities were renamed Ioannoupolis (after the emperor) and Theodoroupolis (after St. Theodore the Stratelate, who was believed to have intervened in the final battle against the Rus' before Dorostolon).

The Gunthertuch , Diocesan Museum, Bamberg
The triumphal return of John Tzimiskes to Constantinople in 971, as depicted in the Madrid Skylitzes . A carriage with the icon of the Virgin Mary precedes the emperor, who is followed by the captive Bulgarian tsar Boris II .