In ancient Rome, tassels, which comes from the Latin word tassau meaning a clasp at a garment’s neck, became popular in 330 AD when Byzantine Roman emperor Constantine issued a decree that all Christians should be properly clothed. This led to a high demand for tassels but it was not until 540 AD when Emperor Justinian and two Persian monks made the tassel a symbol of power for the royal and aristocratic families of the West by smuggling silk worms from China. The evolution of tassels as a weaving knot for garments into a talisman and symbol of power is on the way.