The Derafsh ( fa, درفش) was a flag-like object used as a military standard by units in the

Ancient Iranian The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

(Persian) army.

History

A derafsh is a piece of skin or cloth, usually with different patterns and colors, which is used as one of the main symbols to identify relatives and gather together or show the direction of attack. It was originally made of wood, horn, bronze, animal skin and other carved and painted wood or metal ornaments. While there was no flag anywhere, Persians used a bronze flag for the first time which they called Derafsh Shahdad in 2400 BCE. Also, while Derafsh Shahbaz

Shahbaz (bird) Shahbaz ( fa, شَهباز or شاه‌باز) is the name of a fabled bird in Persian mythology. It is described as having a body similar to an eagle, being bigger in size than a hawk or falcon, and having inhabited an area within the Zagros, ...

was used for the standard of

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

, these flag-like banners were used for each unit of the Achaemenid army with different style and shapes in 550 BC. the Parthians used a bronze Derafsh Kaviani as a flag, which was tied to a cross bar on the top of the spear under the influence of

Kaveh the blacksmith Kaveh the Blacksmith ( fa, کاوه آهنگر – Kāve Āhangar ), is a 5000-year-old figure in Iranian mythology who leads a popular uprising against a ruthless foreign ruler, Zahāk. His story is narrated in the ''Shahnameh'', the national ...

. Its image can be seen on the minted coins of the

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

kings. Likewise, in the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

, the use of Derafsh Kaviani continued as the royal state flag, which was decorated with gold and precious stones. In modern day, Derafsh Kaviani has an ideological, cultural and intellectual role in modern

Iranian nationalism Iranian nationalismPersian: ملی‌گرایی ایرانی Baloch: راج دوستی ایرانی Kurdish: نەتەوە پەروەریی ئێرانی Gilaki: ایجانایی ایرانی Azerbaijani: İran millətçiliyi Turkmen: Eýrany� ...

List of Derafsh

* Derafsh Shahdad (Persian Wikipedia) * Derafsh Shahbaz * Derafsh Kaviani

References

{{Reflist Vexillology Persian culture Culture of Iran