The State Emblem of Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

is a modified version of the original coat of arms of the Tajik SSR

Coat of arms of the Tajik SSR

The coat of arms of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on March 1, 1937 by the government of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union. It shows symbols of agriculture . The red star is prominently featured with a small...

 that was in use until the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...

 in 1991. Like other post-Soviet republics whose symbols do not predate the October Revolution

October Revolution

The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

, the current emblem retains some components of the Soviet one.

The crown

Crown (headgear)

A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...

 at the center of the emblem is the same as the Tajik national flag

Flag of Tajikistan

Tajikistan was the last of the former Soviet republics to reveal a new flag , which was adopted in November 1992. The one common link between this and the 1953 SSR flag is the choice of colors - red, white and green. The former Tajik SSR, sometimes referred to as the "Tadzhik SSR" , added white and...

, and refers to the Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 word taj, meaning crown, from which the name of the Tajik people is said to be derived, according to one interpretation. The base of the emblem contains a representation of a book and the Pamir Mountains

Pamir Mountains

The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...

. The emblem is flanked by cotton on one side and wheat on the other, as well a banner of the national red-white-green colors of Tajikistan is wrapped around the cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 and wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

.

The first emblem of independent Tajikistan in 1992-1993 was changed by the government of Emomalii Rahmon, which came to power at the end of 1992. The short-lived arms bore a striking resemblance to the Persian Lion and Sun

The Lion and Sun

The Lion and Sun is one of the emblems of Iran, and between 1846 and 1979 was an element in Iran's national flag. The motif, which illustrates ancient and modern Iranian traditions, became a popular symbol in Iran in the 12th century The lion and sun symbol is based largely on astronomical and...

 used by Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

before the 1979 revolution.