The Iranian symbol: the lion and sun 

  Alice Bombardier            
 
                                           
                                                     
                              The lion and the sun (shir o khorshid in Farsi), a symbol anchored in the Iran’s mythic past, has long been the country’s
national emblem. Fundamental to Iran’s identity, it has been celebrated by its poets down the ages. The Iranians—for whom the
“lion flag” has become a maxim—often cite these verses by Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi: «We are lions like the lion flag / Our
attack is as swift as the wind at all times «.
The roots of the emblem of the lion and the sun predate the emergence of Zoroastrianism (in the 7-6th century BC) and go
back to Mithraism, whose origins can be traced back to the 2nd millennium BC. Iranian Mithraism, which differs from the
Mithraic mysteries celebrated later in the Roman Mediterranean, is considered Iran’s oldest known religion. In the Indo-
Iranian cultural area, it was devoted to the cult of Mithra, a god with a solar physiognomy whose mission it was to liberate
humanity from the buffalo, the symbol of all that is base. In this struggle, the god became associated at a very early stage with
the lion, itself a bright, solar symbol and the embodiment of courage, power, wisdom and justice.
Archaeological excavations have brought several reliefs to light in Iran which illustrates this mythic battle. A lion fighting a
buffalo and a sun straddling a lion have been found carved on remains in Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid dynasty
(6-4th century BC). The lion devouring the buffalo actually expresses the fundamental duality of day and night or summer
and winter, with the animal symbolizing the return of the sun and, by extension, all revivals. On its own, the lion was seen as a
symbol of resurrection.
There are many other representations of the lion or the sun in Iran’s heritage. In Hamadan, for example, in Western Iran, a
huge stone lion (sang-é shir in Persian) from the time of Alexander the Great which stands south of the city, is worshipped
to this day. A number of coins from different eras, including the periods of Mongolian (13-14th century) and Safavid (16-18th
century) rule, were also struck with the image of the lion and sun.
Even after the advent of Islam and its emphasis on the moon, most Iranian dynasties have re-appropriated the nation’s earlier
luminous emblem as an instrument for legitimizing and expressing the glory of the first Persian empires.
 
 
The image gained enormous currency under Shah Abbas the Great (1571-1629), the most distinguished monarch of the Safavid
dynasty. It is said that the sovereign, who was born under the constellation of the lion (Assad constellation), depicted this
fetish animal crowned with the sun on banners all over the country as well as on all the nation’s coin. The symbol evolved
under the Safavids, who espoused a fervent Shia faith which they proclaimed the state religion: since then, the lion has been
armed with a sword—which is often interpreted as the double-edged sword of Ali, the first Imam of Shia’a—and bears the sun
on his back.
Having introduced military uniforms to Iran, Amir Kabir, the famous chancellor of the qâdjâr dynasty (18-20th century),
ordered that they be made up according to Iranian customs of dress, with the buttons adorned with the emblem of the lion and
sun.
The colours and configuration of the Iranian national flag were laid down during this same period: horizontal bands of red,
white and green with the lion and sun in its centre. The same flag was used under the Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979), which
made considerable efforts during the 20th century to familiarise the Iranians with their history. During this period, every
state building was topped with the emblem of the lion and the sun.
Though the emblem withstood numerous dynastic changes, it was abolished in 1979 by the Islamic Republic, which regarded it
as overly representative of the monarchy. Still, the symbol lives on, particularly in the work of contemporary Iranian artists.
A contemporary, open, international approach does not exclude interest in past strata of a nation’s past. As they enter the
international arena and aspire to promote a new image of Iran based on its culture and past, many Iranian artists have—under
the timeless banner of the lion, of the sun and of beauty—become defenders and flag-carriers of a country to which, against
all odds, they remain profoundly committed most of the time.
 
 
 
 
 
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