Derafsh
The Derafsh ( fa, درفش) was a flag-like object used as a military standard by units in the Ancient Iranian (Persian) army. History Derafsh refers to 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 It was originally made of wood, horn, bronze, animal skin and other carved and painted wood or metal ornaments.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) was used for the standard of Cyrus the Great, 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 . Its image can be seen on the minted coins of the Parthia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Derafsh Kaviani
Derafsh Kaviani ( fa, درفش کاویانی) was the legendary royal standard Derafsh (in Latin: vexilloid) of Iran (Persia) used since ancient times until the fall of the Sasanian Empire. The banner was also sometimes called the "Standard of Jamshid" (''Drafš-ī Jamshid'' ), the "Standard of Fereydun" (''Drafš-ī Freydun'' ) and the "Royal Standard" (''Drafš-ī Kayi'' ). Meaning and origins The name ''Drafš-e Kāvīān'' means "the standard of the kay(s)" (i.e., "kings", ''kias'', ''kavis'' ) or "of Kāva." The latter meaning is an identification with an Iranian legend in which the ''Derafš-e Kāvīān'' was the standard of a mythological Persian blacksmith-turned-hero named Kaveh ( Persian: کاوه), who led a popular uprising against the foreign demon-like ruler Zahhak ( Persian: ضحاک). Recalling the legend, the 10th-century epic '' Shahnameh'' recasts Zahhak as an evil and tyrannical ruler, against whom Kaveh called the people to arms, using his leather blac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 epic of Iran (Persia), by the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi. Kāveh was, according to ancient legends, a blacksmith who launched a national uprising against the evil foreign tyrant Zahāk, after losing two of his children to serpents of Zahāk. Kāveh expelled the foreigners and re-established the rule of Iranians. Many followed Kāveh to the Alborz Mountains in Damāvand, where Fereydun, son of Ābtin and Faranak was living. Then a young man, Fereydun agreed to lead the people against Zahāk. Zahāk had already left his capital, which fell to Fereydun's troops with little resistance. Fereydun released all of Zahāk's prisoners. Kāveh is the most famous of Persian mythological characters in resistance against despotic foreign rul ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 centuries AD. Named after the Sasanian dynasty, House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived List of monarchs of Persia, Persian imperial dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its neighbouring arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).Norman A. Stillman ''The Jews of Arab Lands'' pp 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979 International Congress of Byzantine Studies ''Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1–3'' pp 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 2006 The empire was founded by Ardashir I, an Iranian ruler who rose to po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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, the Alborz, and the Caucasus within Greater Iran. In ancient Persian mythology, the Shahbaz was a god who helped the Iranian peoples and guided the Faravahar to the Iranian lands. History The word ''Shahbaz'' literally translates to "royal falcon". It was standard practice for the Persian Shah to keep a royal falcon or another bird of prey. This symbol represented both strength and aggressiveness. The ancient Egyptian deity of Horus is speculated to have been the archetype for the standard of Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire. British explorer Richard F. Burton considered the symbol to refer to the goshawk species '' Accipiter gentilis.'' Shahbaz could have alternatively referred to another common bird over the skies ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ancient Iranian
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest empire in history, spanning a total of from the Balkans and Egypt in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. Around the 7th century BC, the region of Persis in the southwestern portion of the Iranian plateau was settled by the Persians. From Persis, Cyrus rose and defeated the Median Empire as well as Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, marking the formal establishment of a new imperial polity under the Achaemenid dynasty. In the modern era, the Achaemenid Empire has been recognized for its imposition of a successful model of centralized, bureaucratic administration; its multicultural policy; building complex infrastructure, such as road systems and an organized postal system; the use of official languages acro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bronze Flag, Shadad Kerman, Iran
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such as arsenic or silicon. These additions produce a range of alloys that may be harder than copper alone, or have other useful properties, such as strength, ductility, or machinability. The archaeological period in which bronze was the hardest metal in widespread use is known as the Bronze Age. The beginning of the Bronze Age in western Eurasia and India is conventionally dated to the mid-4th millennium BCE (~3500 BCE), and to the early 2nd millennium BCE in China; elsewhere it gradually spread across regions. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age starting from about 1300 BCE and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BCE, although bronze continued to be much more widely used than it is in modern times. Because historical art ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Western Asia and much of Central Asia. Spanning from the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, the empire created by Cyrus was the largest the world had yet seen. At its maximum extent under his successors, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from parts of the Balkans ( Eastern Bulgaria– Paeonia and Thrace–Macedonia) and Southeast Europe proper in the west to the Indus Valley in the east. The reign of Cyrus lasted about thirty years; his empire took root with his conquest of the Median Empire followed by the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He also led an expedi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conquering the region of Parthia in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) under Andragoras, who was rebelling against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I (r. c. 171–132 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now central-eastern Turkey, to present-day Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han dynasty of China, became a center of trade and commerce. The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous em ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iranian Nationalism
Iranian nationalism Persian: ملیگرایی ایرانی Baloch: راج دوستی ایرانی Kurdish: نەتەوە پەروەریی ئێرانی Gilaki: ایجانایی ایرانی Azerbaijani: İran millətçiliyi Turkmen: Eýranyň milletçiligi Arabic: القومية الإيرانية refers to nationalism among the people of Iran and individuals whose national identity is Iranian. Iranian nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Iranian culture, Iranian languages and history, and a sense of pride in Iran and Iranian people. Whilst national consciousness in Iran can be traced back for centuries, nationalism has been a predominant determinant of Iranian attitudes mainly since the 20th century. Modern Iranian nationalism rose during the constitutional revolution. There began a refreshing atmosphere of unity and Iranian patriotic sentiments during the constitutional era. During the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979), Ira ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vexillology
Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthesis of the Latin word (which refers to a kind of square flag which was carried by Roman cavalry) and the Greek suffix ("study"). The first known usage of the word ''vexillology'' was in 1959. A person who studies flags is a vexillologist, one who designs flags is a vexillographer, and the art of designing flags is called vexillography. One who is a hobbyist or general admirer of flags is a vexillophile. History The study of flags, or vexillology, was formalized by the U.S. scholar and student of flags Whitney Smith in 1961 with the publication of ''The Flag Bulletin''. During his lifetime, Smith organized various flag organizations and meetings including the first International Congress of Vexillology (ICV), the North American Ve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |