Peacock or Yak? The Toupha of Cosmas Indicopleustes between Image and Use

The Christian Topography of Cosmas Indicopleustes, beyond its well-known cosmographical theories, also includes brief descriptions of plants and animals observed by the author during his journey to the East. In the passage on the Indian yak (ἀγριόβους), Cosmas refers to the toupha as the animal’s tail, whose hairs were said to adorn military standards and horse harnesses. Although Byzantine sources usually associate the toupha with the peacock-feather ornament of the imperial triumphal headdress, a comparative reading of Western and Eastern texts, supported by visual evidence, suggests that both meanings may have coexisted. In addition to Byzantine and medieval attestations, the use of similar ceremonial standards across different Eastern contexts, even in later periods, reflects the enduring cultural exchanges between Byzantium and India. This paper aims to reassess the semantic and visual history of the toupha as a case study within the broader network of Indo-Byzantine connections.