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Tiara

A tiara (from Latin 'tiara') is a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of some ancient peoples in Mesopotamia. The Assyrians[?] used to include a pair of bull horns as a decoration and symbol of authority and a circle of short feathers surrounding the tiara's top. The Persian tiara was more similar to a truncated cone, without the horns and feathers but more jewels, and a conic-shaped tip at its top. In Catholicism tiara is a high cap surrounded by three crowns and bearing a globe surmounted by a cross worn by the Pope during certain ceremonies, being the symbol if his authority. Tiara is also a band, often metal-made, and decorated with jewels, worn by women around their head or on the forehead. See also diadem.



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