The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extended to Iranians) who had rendered distinguished services to Iran. In 1925, under the Pahlavi dynasty the Order continued as the Order of Homayoun with new insignia, though based on the Lion and Sun motif. This motif was used for centuries by the rulers of Iran, being formally adopted under Mohammad Shah.
The order is abbreviated as KLS, for Knight of Lion and Sun.
The order was senior to the Order of the Crown. It was issued in five grades:
Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight.
In literature Anton Chekhov has a short story titled The Lion And The Sun. The story is about a mayor who had "long been desirous of receiving the Persian order of The Lion and the Sun".
Notable recipients + Notable recipients Name Year Rank Reason awarded Napoleon III of France 1856 Grand Cross Leopold I of Belgium 1859 Grand Cross Victor Emmanuel III of Italy 1902 First Class Milan I of Serbia Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky First Class in Diamonds Austrian field marshal, chief of the general staff of the Imperial and Royal Army of Dr. Franz Nadler 1900 Commander Cross Mayor of Mariánské Lázně William Summerill Vanneman 1896 Second and Third Class Service to Shah and provision health care to population
See also
Lion and Sun Order of Aftab Order of the Red Lion and the Sun Neshan-e Aqdas Order of Zolfaghar
References
Sources
External links
Qajar Orders and Decorations Orders & Decorations of Pahlavi dynasty are exhibited in the ORDER section of the website