The national emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran features four

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

s and a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

, surmounted by a

shadda Shaddah ( , , also called by the verbal noun from the same root, tashdid ) is one of the diacritics used with the Arabic alphabet, indicating a geminated consonant. It is functionally equivalent to writing a consonant twice in the orthograp ...

. The emblem was designed by Hamid Nadimi, and was officially approved by

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

, the first

Supreme Leader of Iran The supreme leader of Iran, also referred to as the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, but officially called the supreme leadership authority, is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of Iran (above the Presi ...

, on 9 May 1980. The four curves, surmounted by the shadda, are a stylized representation of the word ''

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

''. The five parts of the emblem also symbolize the Principles of the Religion. The shape of the emblem is chosen to resemble a

tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...

, in memory of the people who died for Iran: it is an ancient belief in Iran, dating back to mythology, that if a young soldier dies patriotically, a red tulip will grow on his grave. In recent years, it has been considered the symbol of

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

. The logo is encoded in

Unicode Unicode or ''The Unicode Standard'' or TUS is a character encoding standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium designed to support the use of text in all of the world's writing systems that can be digitized. Version 16.0 defines 154,998 Char ...

at code point in the

Miscellaneous Symbols Miscellaneous Symbols is a Unicode block (U+2600–U+26FF) containing glyphs representing concepts from a variety of categories: astrological, astronomical, chess, dice, musical notation, political symbols, recycling, religious symbols, trig ...

range. In Unicode 1.0 this symbol was known as "SYMBOL OF IRAN". However, the current name for the character was adopted as part of Unicode's merger with

ISO/IEC 10646 ISO/IEC JTC 1, entitled "Information technology", is a joint technical committee (JTC) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Its purpose is to develop, maintain and ...

. It is also engraved in the center of the

flag of Iran The national flag of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, also known as the ''Tricolour Flag of Iran'' (), is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring the Pan-Iranian colors comprising equal horizontal bands of green, white and red with the embl ...

Symbols used in ancient Persia

Shahbaz

During the Achaemenid era, especially at the time of

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...

, the Imperial Standard was made up of a kinglike image, Square in shape, split into four equivalent triangles. Each two of these four train triangles had the same colour. In the excavations at

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

, archaeologists have found a standard, depicting Shahbaz with open wings.

Derafsh Kaviani

The name ''Derafshe Kāviyān'' means 'Standard of

Kāveh Kaveh the Blacksmith (, ) is a figure in Persian mythology, Iranian mythology who leads an uprising against a ruthless foreign ruler, Zahak, Zahāk. His story is narrated in the ''Shahnameh'', the national epic of Iran (Name of Iran, Persia), b ...

'. The latter meaning is an identification with an Iranian legend in which the ''Derafshe Kāviyān'' was the standard of a mythological Persian blacksmith-turned-hero named

Kaveh the Blacksmith Kaveh the Blacksmith (, ) is a figure in Iranian mythology who leads an 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 Ferdow ...

, who led a popular uprising against the foreign demon-like ruler

Zahhak use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

. Recalling the legend, the 10th-century epic ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

'' 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 Fereydun (, ; New Persian: , ''Fereydūn/Farīdūn'') is an Iranian mythical king and hero from the Pishdadian dynasty. He is known as an emblem of victory, justice, and generosity in Persian literature. According to Abolala Soudavar, Fereydun ...

had been won, the people decorated the apron with jewels and the flag became the symbol of

Iranian nationalism Iranian nationalism is nationalism among the people of Iran and individuals whose national identity is Iranian. Iranian nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments centered around support for Iranian culture, Iranian lan ...

and resistance against foreign tyranny. The symbol of Derafsh Kāviyāni is a

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a ...

, whose history goes back to the beliefs of ancient Iran from the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

period.

Faravahar

The

Faravahar The Farāvahār (; ), also called the Foruhār () or the Fārre Kiyâni (), is one of the most prominent symbols of Zoroastrianism. There is no universal consensus on what it means or stands for, as a variety of interpretations exist. The mos ...

is one of the best-known symbols of

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

. This religious-cultural symbol was adopted by the

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...

to represent the Iranian nation, and after the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

it has remained in use in contemporary

. The winged disc has a long history in the art and culture of the ancient Near and

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Historically, the symbol is influenced by the " winged sun"

hieroglyph Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...

appearing on

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

royal seals (

Luwian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...

SOL SUUS, symbolizing royal power in particular). In Neo-Assyrian times, a human bust is added to the disk, the "feather-robed archer" interpreted as symbolizing Ashur. It was only during the reign of

Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

and thereafter, that the symbol was combined with a human form above the wings, perhaps representing Darius himself.

Early modern Iran

The Lion and Sun motif is one of the better known emblems of Imperial Iran, and between 1576 and 1979 was an element in the

. The motif, which combines "ancient Iranian, Arab, Turkish, and Mongol traditions", became a popular symbol in Iran in the 12th century. The lion and sun symbol is based largely on

astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

and astrological configurations; the ancient zodiacal sign of the sun in the house of Leo,H. Kindermann "Al-Asad" Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol.1, p. 681 which itself is traced backed to Babylonian astrology and Near Eastern traditions. The motif has many historical meanings. First, it was an astrological and zodiacal symbol. Under Safavid and first Qajar shahs, it received a specifically Shi'ite interpretation. In the Safavid era the lion and sun stood for two pillars of the society, the state and religion. It became a national emblem during the Qajar era. In the 19th century, European visitors at the Qajar court attributed the lion and sun to remote antiquity and since then it got a nationalistic interpretation. During the reign of

Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (; 5 August 1772 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irrevocable ceding of Iran's northern territories in the Caucasus, com ...

and his successors, the motif was substantially changed. These changes were on the form of the lion, the sun. A crown was also placed on the top the symbol to represent the monarchy. Since the reign of Fat'h Ali Shah, the Islamic component of the ruler de-emphasized. This shifting affects the symbolism of the emblem. Since this time until the 1979 revolution, the meaning of the symbol elements changed many times. The lion could be the metaphor for Ali, heroes of Iran who are ready to protect the country against enemies, and finally its ancient meaning as the symbol of kingship. The Sun received various meanings including the shah, Jamshid, the mythical shah of Iran, and motherhomeland. The many historical meanings of the emblem have provided the rich ground for competing symbols of Iranian identity. After the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, Parliament designed a new flag and a new coat of arms. In the 20th century, some politicians and scholars suggested that the emblem be replaced by other symbols such as the Derafsh Kāviyāni. However, the emblem remained the official symbol of Iran until the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, when the "Lion and Sun" symbol was removed from public spaces and government organizations and replaced by the present-day coat of arms of Iran.

Imperial State of Iran

The first version of the modern Iranian tricolour was adopted in the wake of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906. The Supplementary Fundamental Laws of 7 October 1907 described the flag as a tricolour of green, white, and red, with a lion and sun emblem in the middle. A decree dated 4 September 1910 specified the exact details of the emblem, including the shape of the lion's tail and the position and the size of the lion, the sword, and the sun. In 1932, seven years after the foundation of the

Imperial State of Iran Imperial is that which relates to an empire, Emperor, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania ...

Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

founded the Order of Pahlavi with the official emblem of the dynasty ( Mount Damavand with a rising sun) in a medallion of the Order's badge and star. The coat of arms, an arms of dominion (a state coat of arms that is technically actually the personal arms of the monarch, in this case the Shah), was created with Iran's national and Pahlavi's dynastical symbols: Lion and Sun,

, Zolfaghar,

Simurgh The simurgh (; ; also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It bears some similarities with mythological birds from di ...

and Pahlavi's arms in the center. At the top of the coat of arms was the Pahlavi Crown, created for the Coronation of Reza Shah in 1926, and the collar of the Order of Pahlavi was under the shield. The lions with scimitars were the supporters. The imperial motto reads, (), translated in English as 'He gave me power to command, and He is the judge'. In 1971, some details of this imperial achievement were changed in their colours. Azure and Or are the colours of the House of Pahlavi. The Imperial Standards of Iran were the personal official flags of the Shāhanshāh, '' Shahbānu'', and the Crown Prince of Iran, adopted at the beginning of 1971. The flags of Shāhanshāh consists of a pale-blue field with the flag of Iran in the upper left corner and the Pahlavi coat of arms in the center. Emblems were also created for the ''Shahbānu'' and the Crown Prince of Iran, and these are at the center of their respective flags. The

Interim Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolut ...

also used the lion and sun emblem during the transitional period after the revolution, and before the current emblem was adopted.

Islamic Republic of Iran

Following the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for the dismantling of the lion and sun symbols during a speech on 1 March 1979. Despite the emblem's traditional Shia meanings and the lion's association with Ali, the first Imam of the Shia, the first emblem of the Islamic Republic, which consisted of several stars and fists, designed by Sadegh Tabrizi, was adopted on 30 January 1980. Finally on 9 May 1980, the current emblem was adopted.

References

Works cited

* {{Coats of arms of Asia

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Culture of Iran National symbols of Iran 1980 establishments in Iran

Allah