In this thesis I investigate the Joshua Roll, a deluxe Byzantine illuminated manuscript. I analyze the roll’s iconography and captions to reach conclusions about its production. I argue that the roll pursues an ideological goal, namely the glorification of the Roman emperor: either Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969) or Basil II (r. 976–1025). It calls back to the biblical past for justification of the ideal Roman present and future by immersing itself in scripture and establishing a consistent iconography that reveals the perfect ruler as blessed by God and devoted to imperial prerogative. Thus, the craftsmen are dependent on what came before but also creative; they look to the textual past as if into a mirror and a vivid image of destined greatness reflects at them, a simulacrum of the emperor’s exalted image.