Insignia

The eagle came to serve a more important function as the aquila, the insignia of the Roman legions, around 100 years BCE.

The Corinthians adopted a winged-horse,[citation needed] the Thebans a sphinx, the Messinians and Laconians used the initial letter of their name.

The principal insignia of the Persians was a golden eagle on the end of a pike, placed on a wagon guarded by two of the most distinguished officers.

[3] Among the ancient armies, sometimes raising a mantle of purple (or any other color) was all that was needed to make an announcement or give the order to attack.

Over time they took the figures of a wolf, a horse, a boar, and a minotaur until, according to Pliny the Elder, in the second year of his consulate Gaius Marius replaced them all with the eagle, which became the standard insignia for the legions.

[4] Each legion, or at least the first, carried a silver eagle with wings extended, on a sculptural base and placed at the top of a pike.

In the age of the Emperors, the armies were often identified by a silver hand with an open palm (manus), known as the Signum manipuli, as a symbol of loyalty.

Monuments surviving from antiquity usually are adorned with the insignia of crowns and small shields called clypei, on which probably would be portraits of gods or Roman heroes, with other emblems representing each legion.

Officers of the Roman legions responsible for carrying the insignia, called insigniferos, be they infantry or cavalry would cover their armor with the pelt of a bear, lion, or other ferocious animal, to indicate the courage and tenacity with which they would defend it.

Insignias of the Ancient Gauls and other barbarians represented several animals, including the bull, the lion, and the bear.

When fixed and permanent troops were established, the princes gave them flags adorned with their swords and shields, or those of the leaders of each body.

The standards and insignias of the Turks were generally of silk cloth of various colors, with a scimitar embroidered with gold and various Arabic characters.

[10] In addition, they also used to hang some ponytails or large bundles of horsehair, whose number indicated the dignity of the general or pasha commanding the army.

When the chief lord commanded in person or was in the army, the flag or main banner bore seven ponytails (Turkish: tug).