Derafsh Kaviani

Derafsh Kaviani ) was the 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" ( ), the "Standard of Fereydun" ( ) and the "Royal Standard" ( ).

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 Iranian blacksmith-turned-hero named Kaveh (), who led a popular uprising against the foreign demon-like ruler Zahhak (). 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 blacksmith apron as a standard, with a spear as its hoist. In the story, after the war that called for the kingship of Fereydun () had been won, the people decorated the apron with jewels and the flag became the symbol of Iranian nationalism and resistance against foreign tyranny.
The symbol of Derafsh Kaviani is a lotus flower, which refers to the royal stars of Persia, and its history goes back to ancient Iranian beliefs from the Achaemenid Empire period.

File:KINGS of PERSIS. Baydād (Bagadat) Early 3rd century BC.jpg, Coin of Bagadates I, Frataraka of Persis during the Seleucid period, with the Derafsh Kaviani
File:KINGS of PERSIS. Vādfradād (Autophradates) I. 3rd century BC.jpg, Coin of Vādfradād I, Frataraka of Persis during the Seleucid period, with the Derafsh Kaviani; 3rd century BC

Sasanian standard

By the late Sasanian era (224–651), a real ''Drafš e Kāvīān'' had emerged as the standard of the Sasanian dynasties. It was representative of the Sasanian state—''Ērānšāhr'' (or "Iranian Empire"). ''Eran Shahr'' means '' Aryan Empire'' in Middle Persian—and may so be considered to have been the first "national flag" of Iran. The banner consisted of a Lotus on a purple field, was encrusted with jewels and had trailing red, gold and purple streamers on its edges. The term ''achtar'' was significant since the star also represented "fortune", and the capture and destruction of the banner on a field of battle implied the loss of the battle (and hence the loss of fortune). Following the defeat of the Sasanians at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, the Sasanian standard was recovered by one Zerar bin Kattab, who received 30,000 dinars for it. After the jewels were removed, Caliph Umar is said to have burned the standard. Other reports about its fate also appear in Islamic annals.

As the symbol of the Sasanian state, the ''Drafsh e Kavian'' was irrevocably tied to the concept of ''Eranshahr'' and hence with the concept of Iranian nationhood. Thus, in 867, when Ya'qub-i Laith of the Saffarid dynasty claimed the inheritance of the kings of Persia and sought "to revive their glory", a poem written on his behalf sent to the Abbasid caliph said: "With me is the ''Drafsh e Kavian'', through which I hope to rule the nations." Although no evidence that Ya'qub-i Laith ever recreated such a flag, star imagery in banners remained popular until the ascendance of the Lion and Sun symbol (after 1846).

Standard of the president of Tajikistan

The standard of the president of Tajikistan was introduced in 2006, on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony for the third term of Emomali Rahmon as head of state. It uses the same tricolour, charged with a depiction of the ''Derafsh Kāviān'', the Sasanian royal standard; inside the ''Derafsh Kāviān'' is a depiction of a winged lion against a blue sky under a smaller representation of the crown and seven stars.Based on a Russian-language description of the flag posted at president.tj in 2006
archived version
from 2007). State media also refer to the standard as the "first and original Tajik national flag".

See also

* Sasanian family tree
* Seven Great Houses of Iran

References and bibliography

External links

* D Gershon Lewental,
Symbol of (Iranian) Empire: The Sāsānian Imperial Standard (''Derafsh-e kāviyān'') from Arab-Islamic Conquest Narratives to Modern Nationalist Myths
, ''History & Memory'' 36.2 (Fall-Winter 2024), 5-38. DO
10.2979/ham.00008

*

{{Shahnameh

Obsolete national flags
National symbols of Iran
Persian words and phrases
Sasanian Empire