The color Byzantium is a particular dark tone of purple. It originates in modern times, and, despite its name, it should not be confused with Tyrian purple (hue rendering), the color historically used by Roman and Byzantine emperors. The latter, often also referred to as "Tyrian red", is more reddish in hue, and is in fact often depicted as closer to crimson than purple. The first recorded use of byzantium as a color name in English was in 1926.[1]
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 191; Color Sample of Byzantium: Page 111 Plate 44 Color Sample K7
^The color displayed in the color box above matches the color called Byzantine in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill; the color Byzantine is displayed on page 125, Plate 51, Color Sample K8.
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 191; Color Sample of Byzantine: Page 125 Plate 51 Color Sample K8 Note: This color sample matches the color shown above as "byzantine".
Color coordinates