page_title: Lion and Sun
section_title: Persian and Turkic Dynasties
hierarchical_section_title: Lion and Sun / History / Persian and Turkic Dynasties
caption_attribution_description: العربية: نقشٌ بارز لِأسدٍ وثورٍ يتقاتلان في پرسپولیس - وهو رمزٌ تمَّ تفسيره بِعدَّة طُرق، فاعتُبر إحدى رُموز النيروز (رأس السنة الفارسيَّة) - وهو يوم الاعتدال الربيعي حيثُ أنَّ قُوَّة الثور (الذي يُمثِّل الأرض)، والأسد (الذي يُمثِّل الشمس)، تبقى مُتساوية إلى الأبد. English: Bas-relief the lion-bull combat in Persepolis - a symbol which has been variously interpreted, including as the symbol of the Nowruz (the Persian New Year's Day) - in day of a spring equinox power of eternally fighting bull (personifying the Earth), and a lion (personifying the Sun), are equal. Русский: Барельеф в Персеполе - cимвол зороастрийского Навруза - в день весеннего равноденствия силы извечно борющихся быка, олицетворяющего Землю, и льва, олицетворяющего Солнце, равны
context_page_description: The Lion and Sun is one of the main emblems of Iran, and formerly was an element in Iran's national flag until the 1979 Iranian Revolution. 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 astrological configurations: the ancient sign of the sun in the house of Leo, which itself is traced back to Babylonian astrology and Near Eastern traditions.
  The motif has many historical meanings. First, as a scientific and secular motif, it was only an astrological and zodiacal symbol. Under the Safavid and the first Qajar kings, it became more associated with Shia Islam. During the Safavid era, the lion and sun stood for the two pillars of society, the state and the Islamic 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; since then, it has acquired a nationalistic interpretation. During the reign of Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar and his successors, the form of the motif was substantially changed.
context_section_description: Ahmad Kasravi, Mojtaba Minovi and Saeed Nafisi's  vast amount of literary and archaeological evidence show that the ancient zodiacal sign of the sun in the house of Leo become a popular emblematic figure in the 12th century. (cf. Zodiacal origin, above) Fuat Köprülü suggests that the lion and sun on the Turkic and Mongolic flags and coins of these times are merely astrological signs and do not exemplify royalty.
  The lion and sun symbol first appears in the 12th century, most notably on the coinage of Kaykhusraw II, who was Sultan of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm from 1237 to 1246. These were "probably to exemplify the ruler's power." The notion that "the sun [of the symbol] symbolized the Georgian wife of the king, is a myth, for on one issue 'the sun rests on the back of two lions rampant with their tails interlaced' [...] and on some issues the sun appears as a male bust." Other chief occurrences of 12th- to 14th-century usage include: an early 13th-century luster tile now in the Louvre; a c. 1330 Mamluk steel mirror from Syria or Egypt; on a ruined 12th- to 14th-century Arkhunid bridge near Baghdad; on some Ilkhanid coins; and on a 12th- or 13th-century bronze ewer now in the Golestan palace museum. In the latter, a rayed nimbus enclosing three female faces rests on a lion whose tail ends in a winged monster.
  The use of the lion and sun symbol in a flag is first attested in a miniature painting illustrating a copy of Shahnameh Shams al-Din Kashani, an epic on Mongol conquest, dated 1423. The painting depicts several (Mongul?) horsemen approaching the walled city of Nishapur. One of the horsemen carries a banner that bears a lion passant with a rising sun on its back. The pole is tipped with a crescent moon. By the time of the Safavids (1501–1722), and the subsequent unification of Iran as a single state, the lion and sun had become a familiar sign, appearing on copper coins, on banners, and on works of art. The Lion and Sun motif was also used on banners of the Mughals of India, notably those of Shah Jahan.
caption: Bas-relief in Persepolis - a symbol of Zoroastrian Nowruz - in day of a spring equinox power of eternally fighting bull (personifying the Earth), and a lion (personifying the Sun), are equal
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