Flag of Iran
Encyclopedia
The current flag of Iran
was adopted on 29 July 1980, and is a reflection of the changes brought about by the Iranian Revolution
. Its field is a tricolour
comprising equal horizontal bands of green, white, and red. The red emblem in the centre of the flag, designed by Hamid Nadimi
, is a highly stylized composite of various Islam
ic elements: a geometrically symmetric form of the word Allah
("God") and overlapping parts of the phrase La ilaha illa Allah
("There is no god but Allah"), forming a monogram in the form of a tulip
. Written in white on the inner edges of the green and red bands is the repeated phrase Allahu Akbar ("God is great") in a stylized version of the Kufic script
used for the Qur'an
. This writing renders the flag non-reversible.
Physical requirements for the Iranian flag, the exact shape of the emblem, and a compass-and-straightedge construction are described in the national Iranian standard.
, both in war and peace. Xenophon
reports that Cyrus the Great
's standard was a golden eagle with spread wings, mounted on a long shaft.
The best-known symbol of Iran in recent centuries has been the Lion and Sun motif, which is a graphic expression of the astrological configuration of the sun
in the sign of Leo
, although both celestial and animal figures have long and independent histories in Iranian heraldry. Late in the nineteenth century the Lion and Sun motif was combined with an earlier scimitar motif and superimposed on a tricolour of green, white, and red. With minor modifications, this remained the official flag until the revolution of 1979.
, the Persian imperial flag was rectangular in shape, divided kite-like into four equal triangles alternating between two colors.
In the excavations at Persepolis
archaeologists found a standard depicting a golden eagle (oghabe talaii) with open wings. The current belief is that this was the official symbol of Iran under Cyrus the Great and his heirs.
in the epic Shahnameh
(Book of Kings). The flag was larger than the original Derafshe Kaviani apron and suspended from a lance, the point of which appeared above it. Attached to the lower edge were tassels of yellow, magenta, and scarlet, with large pendant jewels. The flag was destroyed by invading Muslim Arabs after their decisive defeat of the Sassanids.
, all the traditional emblems used in Iranian flags were eliminated. Throughout this period there was no flag specific to Iran, although the use of Islamic banners was common.
(998–1030) reinstated the use of symbolic expressions on the Iranian flag; the version he developed displayed a golden moon on a black background. A second flag has been attributed to the Ghaznavid empire, with a silver crescent moon and a peacock on a green field.
(1501–1736) used three green flags, each with a different emblem. Ismail I
, the first Safavid king, designed a green flag with a golden full moon. In 1524 Tahmasp I
replaced the moon with an emblem of a sheep and sun; this flag was used until 1576. It was then that Ismail II
adopted the first Lion and Sun device, embroidered in gold, which was to remain in use until the end of the Safavid era. During this period the Lion and Sun stood for two pillars of the society: the state and religion. Although various alam
s and banners were employed by the Safavids (especially during the reign of the first two kings), by the time of Shah Abbas I
the Lion and Sun symbol had become one of the most popular emblems of Iran.
The Safavid interpretation of this symbol is believed to have been based on a combination of historical legends like the Shahnameh, stories of prophets, and other Islamic sources. For the Safavids the king (shah
) had two functions: he was both a ruler and a holy personage. This double role was considered the patrimony of the Iranian kings, derived from Jamshid
, mythical founder of the ancient Persian kingdom, and Ali
, the first Shi'a Imam
. Jamshid was associated with the sun and Ali with the lion (from his epithet "Lion of God"). The correspondence may originally have been based on a learned interpretation of the Shahnameh references to "the Sun of Iran" and "the Moon of the Turanians". Since the crescent moon had been adopted as the dynastic (and ultimately national) emblem of the Ottoman sultans, who were the new sovereigns of Rum
, the Safavids of Iran, needing to have a dynastic and national emblem of their own, chose the Lion and Sun motif. The sun had further important meanings for the Safavid world, where time was organized around a solar calendar
, in contrast to the Arabo-Islamic lunar
system. In the zodiac
the sun is linked to Leo; for the Safavids the Lion and Sun symbol conveyed the double meaning of the royal and holy figure of the shah (Jamshid and Ali), the auspicious astrological configuration bringing the cosmic pair and the earthly—king and imam—together.
Regarding the Safavid understanding of the Lion and Sun motif, Shahbazi suggests that "the Safavids had reinterpreted the lion as symbolizing Imam ʿAlī and the sun as typifying the 'glory of religion', a substitute for the ancient farr-e dīn." They reintroduced the ancient concept of God-given glory (farr) to justify their rulership, attributing these qualities to Ali while tracing the king's genealogy through the fourth Shiʿite Imam's mother to the royal Sassanian house.
had two royal standards, one with red, white, and blue stripes and one with red, blue, white, and yellow stripes. Nader Shah
's personal flag was a yellow pennant with a red border and a lion and sun emblem in the centre. All three of these flags were triangular in shape.
Nader Shah
consciously avoided the using the colour green, as green was associated with Shia Islam and the Safavid dynasty
.
Navy Admiral flag being a white ground with a red Persian Sword in the middle.
was a white triangular pennant with a green border and a gold lion and sun in the centre.
was red with a gold lion and sun inside of a pale yellow circle.
Fat′h Ali Shah adopted a lion emblem on a plain red field as his war flag
. The main emblem was a lion couchant in front of a sun, but a design featuring a lion passant
holding a sword was also in use. There was a green version of the flag for peace time and a white version for diplomatic purposes.
During the reign of Mohammad Shah
, the two different lion emblems were combined into a single flag which featured a lion passant holding a sword in front of a sun. Amir Kabir
designed an early tricolour
by adding thin red and green stripes to the top and bottom of a white flag. Versions of this design were in use throughout the late nineteenth century, and served as the basis for the modern Iranian tricolour.
Under Nasser al-Din Shah, the principal flag was white with a green border on three sides and a lion and emblem in the centre. There was also a naval ensign which had a red and green border and a civil ensign which looked the same as the naval ensign but without the lion and sun in the middle.
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 September 4, 1910 specified the exact details of the emblem, including the shape of the lion's tail ("like an italic S") and the position and the size of the lion, the sword, and the sun.
During this period, the colours of the flag were very pale, with the red appearing closer to pink in practice. There were three variants of the flag in use. The state flag
was a tricolour with the lion and sun emblem in the centre. The national flag
and civil ensign
was a plain tricolour with no emblem. The naval ensign and war flag
was similar to the state flag, but the emblem was surrounded by a wreath and surmounted by a crown. All three flags had a 1:3 ratio.
The flag was modified twice during the Pahlavi era. In 1933, the colours of the flag were darkened and the design of the emblem was changed. The sun's facial features were removed and the Kiani Crown
on the naval ensign was replaced with the Pahlavi Crown
. In 1964, the ratio was changed from 1:3 to 4:7 and the emblem on the naval ensign was shrunk to fit entirely within the white stripe.
Following the Iranian Revolution
, the Interim Government of Iran removed the crown from the naval ensign. The old state and national flags remained unchanged until 29 July 1980, when the modern Iranian flag was adopted.
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In the constitution of 1980, Parliament changed the flag and seal of state. The Lion and Sun was succeeded by a new symbol, designed by Hamid Nadimi and officially approved by Ayatollah Khomeini on 9 May 1980, consisting of four crescent
s and a line. The four crescents form the word Allah: read from right to left the first crescent is the letter aleph, the second crescent is the first laam; the vertical line is the second laam, and the third and fourth crescents together form the heh. Above the central stroke is a tashdid (a diacritical mark indicating gemination
) resembling a letter W. The tulip shape of the emblem as a whole memorializes those who have died for Iran and symbolizes the values of patriotism and self-sacrifice, building on a legend that red tulips grow from the shed blood of martyrs. A further change to the flag following the revolution was the addition of writing to the inner edges of the green and red bands, reading Allahu Akbar ("God is great") in a stylized version of the Kufic script used for the Qur'an
. There are 22 copies of this inscription, in two rows of eleven, symbolic of the 22nd day of the 11th month (Bahman
) in the Persian calendar—the date of the Islamic revolution (22 Bahman 1357 = 11 February 1979 CE) that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty. This addition of writing renders the flag non-reversible. By decree the Lion and Sun was removed from public spaces and government organizations and replaced by the present-day emblem of Iran.
To supporters of the Islamic revolution, the Lion and Sun symbol represented the "oppressive Westernizing monarchy" that had to be replaced, despite the emblem’s traditional Shi'a meanings and the lion's association with Ali. In the present day, the Lion and Sun is used by Iranian communities in exile as a symbol of opposition to the Islamic Republic. Some political groups, including monarchists and the People's Mujahedin
continue to use it as well. In Los Angeles
and other cities with large Iranian emigrant communities, the Lion and Sun appears on Iranian flags and souvenirs to an extent that far surpasses its display during the years of monarchy in its homeland.
:Category:Flags of 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...
was adopted on 29 July 1980, and is a reflection of the changes brought about by the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
. Its field is a tricolour
Tricolour
A tricolour is a flag or banner more-or-less equally divided into three bands of differing colours...
comprising equal horizontal bands of green, white, and red. The red emblem in the centre of the flag, designed by Hamid Nadimi
Hamid Nadimi
Hamid Nadimi is the designer of the coat of arms of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His design was approved by Ayatollah Khomeini on May 9, 1980 and officially adopted by the Government on July 29, 1980.-References:...
, is a highly stylized composite of various Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic elements: a geometrically symmetric form of the word Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
("God") and overlapping parts of the phrase La ilaha illa Allah
Shahada
The Shahada , means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet...
("There is no god but Allah"), forming a monogram in the form of a tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
. Written in white on the inner edges of the green and red bands is the repeated phrase Allahu Akbar ("God is great") in a stylized version of the Kufic script
Kufic
Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. Its name is derived from the city of Kufa, Iraq, although it was known in Mesopotamia at least 100 years before the foundation of Kufa. At the time of the emergence of...
used for the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. This writing renders the flag non-reversible.
Physical requirements for the Iranian flag, the exact shape of the emblem, and a compass-and-straightedge construction are described in the national Iranian standard.
History
Flags, standards, and banners have always been important national and imperial symbols for IraniansIranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
, both in war and peace. Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
reports that Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
's standard was a golden eagle with spread wings, mounted on a long shaft.
The best-known symbol of Iran in recent centuries has been the Lion and Sun motif, which is a graphic expression of the astrological configuration of the sun
Sun (astrology)
The sun is considered a very important part of astrology. It, as well as the Moon, are the most important of the astrological planets, and the two of them are often referred to as the luminaries. In Greek mythology the sun was represented by Apollo, the god of light, and Helios, the god of the sun...
in the sign of Leo
Leo (astrology)
Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Leo. In astrology, Leo is considered to be a "masculine", positive sign. It is also considered a fire sign and is one of four fixed signs ruled by the Sun.Individuals born when the Sun is in this sign are...
, although both celestial and animal figures have long and independent histories in Iranian heraldry. Late in the nineteenth century the Lion and Sun motif was combined with an earlier scimitar motif and superimposed on a tricolour of green, white, and red. With minor modifications, this remained the official flag until the revolution of 1979.
Achaemenid empire
During the Achaemenid era, especially at the time of Cyrus the GreatCyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
, the Persian imperial flag was rectangular in shape, divided kite-like into four equal triangles alternating between two colors.
In the excavations at Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
archaeologists found a standard depicting a golden eagle (oghabe talaii) with open wings. The current belief is that this was the official symbol of Iran under Cyrus the Great and his heirs.
Sassanid empire
In Sassanid times the imperial flag was a leather rectangle covered with a thin layer of silk ornamented with jewels, with a four-pointed star at the centre, indicating the four corners of the world. This is the same star referred to as Akhtare Kaviani ("the Kaviani star") by FerdowsiFerdowsi
Ferdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...
in the epic Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
(Book of Kings). The flag was larger than the original Derafshe Kaviani apron and suspended from a lance, the point of which appeared above it. Attached to the lower edge were tassels of yellow, magenta, and scarlet, with large pendant jewels. The flag was destroyed by invading Muslim Arabs after their decisive defeat of the Sassanids.
Islamic Iran
The Sassanid state collapsed on the emergence of an Islamic empire in the Middle East. Since Islam strictly prohibited figurative and expressive symbols as idol worshipIdolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
, all the traditional emblems used in Iranian flags were eliminated. Throughout this period there was no flag specific to Iran, although the use of Islamic banners was common.
Ghaznavid dynasty
Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...
(998–1030) reinstated the use of symbolic expressions on the Iranian flag; the version he developed displayed a golden moon on a black background. A second flag has been attributed to the Ghaznavid empire, with a silver crescent moon and a peacock on a green field.
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid DynastySafavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
(1501–1736) used three green flags, each with a different emblem. Ismail I
Ismail I
Ismail I , known in Persian as Shāh Ismāʿil , was a Shah of Iran and the founder of the Safavid dynasty which survived until 1736. Isma'il started his campaign in Azerbaijan in 1500 as the leader of the Safaviyya, an extremist heterodox Twelver Shi'i militant religious order and unified all of Iran...
, the first Safavid king, designed a green flag with a golden full moon. In 1524 Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...
replaced the moon with an emblem of a sheep and sun; this flag was used until 1576. It was then that Ismail II
Ismail II
Ismail II was the third Safavid Shah of Iran.-Life:Ismail was the son of Shah Tahmasp I by a Turcoman mother, Sultanum Bekum Mawsillu. In 1547, he was appointed governor of the province of Shirvan where he led several expeditions against the Ottomans...
adopted the first Lion and Sun device, embroidered in gold, which was to remain in use until the end of the Safavid era. During this period the Lion and Sun stood for two pillars of the society: the state and religion. Although various alam
Alam
For the organization ALAM, see Association of Licensed Automobile ManufacturersAlam can be an Arabic surname or it can also mean flag, sign, or world.-Al'am as flag or sign:...
s and banners were employed by the Safavids (especially during the reign of the first two kings), by the time of Shah Abbas I
Abbas I of Persia
Shāh ‘Abbās the Great was Shah of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....
the Lion and Sun symbol had become one of the most popular emblems of Iran.
The Safavid interpretation of this symbol is believed to have been based on a combination of historical legends like the Shahnameh, stories of prophets, and other Islamic sources. For the Safavids the king (shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
) had two functions: he was both a ruler and a holy personage. This double role was considered the patrimony of the Iranian kings, derived from Jamshid
Jamshid
Jamshid is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition.In tradition and folklore, Jamshid is described as having been the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian dynasty . This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture Jamshid (Middle-...
, mythical founder of the ancient Persian kingdom, and Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, the first Shi'a Imam
Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)
Imāmah is the Shia doctrine of religious, spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. The Shīa believe that the A'immah are the true Caliphs or rightful successors of Muḥammad, and further that Imams are possessed of divine knowledge and authority as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt,...
. Jamshid was associated with the sun and Ali with the lion (from his epithet "Lion of God"). The correspondence may originally have been based on a learned interpretation of the Shahnameh references to "the Sun of Iran" and "the Moon of the Turanians". Since the crescent moon had been adopted as the dynastic (and ultimately national) emblem of the Ottoman sultans, who were the new sovereigns of Rum
Sultanate of Rûm
The Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...
, the Safavids of Iran, needing to have a dynastic and national emblem of their own, chose the Lion and Sun motif. The sun had further important meanings for the Safavid world, where time was organized around a solar calendar
Solar calendar
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun .-Tropical solar calendars:...
, in contrast to the Arabo-Islamic lunar
Lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
system. In the zodiac
Zodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
the sun is linked to Leo; for the Safavids the Lion and Sun symbol conveyed the double meaning of the royal and holy figure of the shah (Jamshid and Ali), the auspicious astrological configuration bringing the cosmic pair and the earthly—king and imam—together.
Regarding the Safavid understanding of the Lion and Sun motif, Shahbazi suggests that "the Safavids had reinterpreted the lion as symbolizing Imam ʿAlī and the sun as typifying the 'glory of religion', a substitute for the ancient farr-e dīn." They reintroduced the ancient concept of God-given glory (farr) to justify their rulership, attributing these qualities to Ali while tracing the king's genealogy through the fourth Shiʿite Imam's mother to the royal Sassanian house.
Afsharid dynasty
The Afsharid dynastyAfsharid dynasty
The Afsharids were members of an Iranian dynasty of Turkmen origin from Khorasan who ruled Persia in the 18th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the military commander Nader Shah who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself King of Iran. During Nader's reign,...
had two royal standards, one with red, white, and blue stripes and one with red, blue, white, and yellow stripes. Nader Shah
Nader Shah
Nāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
's personal flag was a yellow pennant with a red border and a lion and sun emblem in the centre. All three of these flags were triangular in shape.
Nader Shah
Nader Shah
Nāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
consciously avoided the using the colour green, as green was associated with Shia Islam and the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
.
Navy Admiral flag being a white ground with a red Persian Sword in the middle.
Zand dynasty
The state flag of the Zand dynastyZand dynasty
The Zand dynasty ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century.- Karim Khan Zand :The dynasty was founded by Karim Khan, chief of the Zand tribe which was Lur or Lak deportees. Modern scholarships such as Wadie Jwaideh suggested his Kurdishness. He became one of Nader Shah's generals...
was a white triangular pennant with a green border and a gold lion and sun in the centre.
Early Qajar dynasty
Unlike their Zand and Afsharid predecessors, the Qajar rulers used rectangular flags. The flag of Mohammad Khan QajarMohammad Khan Qajar
Agha Muḥammad Khān Qājār was the chief of the Qajar tribe, succeeding his father Mohammad Hassan Khan, who was killed on the orders of Adil Shah. He became the Emperor/Shah of Persia in 1794 and established the Qajar dynasty...
was red with a gold lion and sun inside of a pale yellow circle.
Fat′h Ali Shah adopted a lion emblem on a plain red field as his war flag
War flag
A war flag is a variant of a national flag for use by the nation's military forces on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign — the battle ensign...
. The main emblem was a lion couchant in front of a sun, but a design featuring a lion passant
Passant
Passant may refer to:* In heraldry, an attitude.* The en passant chess move of a pawn* A transverse shoulder strap on a military uniform, originally to attach epaulettes...
holding a sword was also in use. There was a green version of the flag for peace time and a white version for diplomatic purposes.
During the reign of Mohammad Shah
Mohammad Shah Qajar
Mohammad Shah Qajar was king of Persia from the Qajar dynasty .- Rise to power :...
, the two different lion emblems were combined into a single flag which featured a lion passant holding a sword in front of a sun. Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir
Amir Kabir , also known as Mirza Taghi Khan Amir-Nezam , also known by the titles of Atabak and Amir-e Nezam; chief minister to Naser al-Din Shah Qajar for the first three years of his reign and one of the most capable and innovative figures to appear in the whole Qajar period...
designed an early tricolour
Tricolour
A tricolour is a flag or banner more-or-less equally divided into three bands of differing colours...
by adding thin red and green stripes to the top and bottom of a white flag. Versions of this design were in use throughout the late nineteenth century, and served as the basis for the modern Iranian tricolour.
Under Nasser al-Din Shah, the principal flag was white with a green border on three sides and a lion and emblem in the centre. There was also a naval ensign which had a red and green border and a civil ensign which looked the same as the naval ensign but without the lion and sun in the middle.
Post-Constitutional Revolution
The first version of the modern Iranian tricolour was adopted in the wake of the Iranian Constitutional RevolutionIranian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution or Iranian Constitutional Revolution took place between 1905 and 1907...
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 September 4, 1910 specified the exact details of the emblem, including the shape of the lion's tail ("like an italic S") and the position and the size of the lion, the sword, and the sun.
During this period, the colours of the flag were very pale, with the red appearing closer to pink in practice. There were three variants of the flag in use. The state flag
State flag
There are two separate meanings for the term state flag in vexillology – the flag of the government of a sovereign state, and the flag of an individual subnational state.-Government flag:...
was a tricolour with the lion and sun emblem in the centre. The national flag
National flag
A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country.Both public and private buildings such as schools and courthouses may fly the national flag...
and civil ensign
Civil ensign
The civil ensign is the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality...
was a plain tricolour with no emblem. The naval ensign and war flag
War flag
A war flag is a variant of a national flag for use by the nation's military forces on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign — the battle ensign...
was similar to the state flag, but the emblem was surrounded by a wreath and surmounted by a crown. All three flags had a 1:3 ratio.
The flag was modified twice during the Pahlavi era. In 1933, the colours of the flag were darkened and the design of the emblem was changed. The sun's facial features were removed and the Kiani Crown
Kiani Crown
The Kiani Crown was the traditional coronation crown in the Iranian Crown Jewels which was used during the Qajar dynasty ....
on the naval ensign was replaced with the Pahlavi Crown
Pahlavi Crown
The Pahlavi Crown is part of the coronation regalia used by the Pahlavi Shahanshahs of Iran and is part of the Iranian Crown Jewels.-Background:...
. In 1964, the ratio was changed from 1:3 to 4:7 and the emblem on the naval ensign was shrunk to fit entirely within the white stripe.
Following the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
, the Interim Government of Iran removed the crown from the naval ensign. The old state and national flags remained unchanged until 29 July 1980, when the modern Iranian flag was adopted.
Islamic Republic
Crescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
s and a line. The four crescents form the word Allah: read from right to left the first crescent is the letter aleph, the second crescent is the first laam; the vertical line is the second laam, and the third and fourth crescents together form the heh. Above the central stroke is a tashdid (a diacritical mark indicating gemination
Gemination
In phonetics, gemination happens when a spoken consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short consonant. Gemination is distinct from stress and may appear independently of it....
) resembling a letter W. The tulip shape of the emblem as a whole memorializes those who have died for Iran and symbolizes the values of patriotism and self-sacrifice, building on a legend that red tulips grow from the shed blood of martyrs. A further change to the flag following the revolution was the addition of writing to the inner edges of the green and red bands, reading Allahu Akbar ("God is great") in a stylized version of the Kufic script used for the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. There are 22 copies of this inscription, in two rows of eleven, symbolic of the 22nd day of the 11th month (Bahman
Bahman
Bahman may refer to:* Bahman, the Zoroastrian Amesha Spenta* Bahman, the 11th month of the year in Zoroastrian & Iranian calendars, named after the Zoroastrian concept* Kai Bahman, a mythological king of Iran...
) in the Persian calendar—the date of the Islamic revolution (22 Bahman 1357 = 11 February 1979 CE) that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty. This addition of writing renders the flag non-reversible. By decree the Lion and Sun was removed from public spaces and government organizations and replaced by the present-day emblem of Iran.
To supporters of the Islamic revolution, the Lion and Sun symbol represented the "oppressive Westernizing monarchy" that had to be replaced, despite the emblem’s traditional Shi'a meanings and the lion's association with Ali. In the present day, the Lion and Sun is used by Iranian communities in exile as a symbol of opposition to the Islamic Republic. Some political groups, including monarchists and the People's Mujahedin
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
continue to use it as well. In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and other cities with large Iranian emigrant communities, the Lion and Sun appears on Iranian flags and souvenirs to an extent that far surpasses its display during the years of monarchy in its homeland.
See also
- Pan-Iranian colorsPan-Iranian colorsThe Pan-Iranian colors, green, white and red, are colors used on the flags of some countries and autonomous provinces inhabited by Iranian peoples...
- Emblem of Iran
- Imperial Standards of IranImperial Standards of IranThe Imperial Standards of Iran were the personal official flags of the Shāhanshāh, Šahbānū and Crown Prince of Iran, adopted at the beginning of 1971....
- Lion and Sun
:Category:Flags of Iran
- Flag of TajikistanFlag of TajikistanTajikistan 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...
- Flag of the Tajik SSR
- Flag of Kurdistan
- Talysh-Mughan Autonomous RepublicTalysh-Mughan Autonomous RepublicThe Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic was a short-lived self-proclaimed autonomous republic in Azerbaijan, that lasted from June to August 1993. It was located in extreme southeastern Azerbaijan, envisaging to consist in the 7 administrative districts of Azerbaijan around the regional capital city...
External links
- Flags Of Iran
- Flags i. Of Persia—Encyclopædia Iranica