The Lion and Sun is one of the main emblems of Iran (historically Persia) and was a central element in Iran's national flag until the 1979 Islamic revolution. It remains widely used by Iranian nationalists and opposition groups to the Islamic Republic government.
A version of the Lion and Sun that features a sun half-hidden behind a lion appears for the first time in the Book of Nativities written by Albumasar, with illustrations by the Persian artist Qanbar ʿAli Shirazi in the 14th century. However, the Lion and Sun symbol was used in pre-Islamic times, prior to the Achaemenid dynasty, while the sun was used on the standards, flags, and banners of pre-Achaemenid times. The secular origins of the Lion and Sun trace back to pre-Islamic Persian astronomy and astrology, symbolising the sun in the Leo constellation. The Lion and Sun motif gained widespread popularity following the advent of Islam, appearing frequently on coins, metalwork, tiles, and miniature paintings throughout Iran, Central Asia, and India.
Origin
The Lion and Sun motif is based largely on secular astronomical and astrological configurations, and the ancient zodiacal sign of the sun in the house of Leo. The earliest evidence of the Lion and Sun symbol predates the Achaemenid dynasty. However, this symbol became a popular symbol in the 12th century. According to Afsaneh Najmabadi, the Lion and Sun motif has had "a unique success" among icons for signifying the modern Iranian identity, in that the symbol is influenced by all significant historical cultures of Iran and brings together Zoroastrian, Shia, Jewish, Iranian symbolism.
Zodiacal and Semitic roots
According to Krappe, the astrological combination of the sun above a lion has become the coat of arms of Iran. In Persian astrology the zodiacal Lion was the 'house' of the sun. This notion has "unquestionably" an ancient Mesopotamian origin. Since ancient times there was a close connection between the sun gods and the lion in the lore of the zodiac. It is known that, the sun, at its maximum strength between 20 July and 20 August, was in the 'house' of the Lion.
Krappe reviews the ancient traditions of West Asia and how sun gods and divinities were closely connected to each other, and concludes that "the Persian solar lion, to this day the coat-of-arms of Iran, is evidently derived from the same ancient [West Asian] sun god". As an example, he notes that in Syria the lion was the symbol of the sun. In Canaan, a lion-slaying hero was the son of Baal (i.e. Lord) Shamash, the great Semitic god of the sun. This lion-slayer was originally a lion. The same symbolism is observed in Ancient Egypt where in the Temple of Dendera, Ahi the Great is called "the Lion of the Sun, and the lion who rises in the northern sky, the brilliant god who bears the sun".
Iranian background The male sun had always been associated with Iranian royalty: Iranian tradition recalls that Kayanids had a golden sun as their emblem. From the Greek historians of classical antiquity it is known that a crystal image of the sun adorned the royal tent of Darius III, that the Arsacid banner was adorned with the sun, and that Sasanian standards had a red ball symbolising the sun. The Byzantine chronicler Malalas records that the salutation of a letter from the "Persian king, the Sun of the East," was addressed to the "Roman Caesar, the Moon of the West". The Turanian king Afrasiab is recalled as saying: "I have heard from wise men that when the Moon of the Turan rises up it will be harmed by the Sun of the Iranians." The sun was always imagined as male, and in some banners a figure of a male replaces the symbol of the sun. In others, a male figure accompanies the sun.
Similarly, the lion too has always had a close association with Iranian kingship. The garments and throne decorations of the Achaemenid shahs were embroidered with lion motifs. The crown of the half-Persian Seleucid king Antiochus I was adorned with a lion. In the Investiture Relief of Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rostam, the breast armour of the king is decorated with lions. Moreover, in some Iranian dialects the word for king (shah) is pronounced as sher, homonymous with the word for lion. Islamic, Turkish, and Mongol influences also stressed the symbolic association of the lion and royalty. The earliest evidence for the use of a lion on a standard comes from the Shahnameh, which noted that the feudal house of Godarz (presumably a family of Parthian or Sasanian times) adopted a golden lion for its devices.
Persian, Turkic, Mongolic influence Persian, Turkic, and Mongol traditions stressed the symbolic association of the lion and royalty in the Lion and Sun motif. These cultures reaffirmed the charismatic power of the sun and the Mongols re-introduced the veneration of the sun, especially the sunrise. The lion is probably represented more frequently and diversely than any other animal. In most forms, the lion has no apotropaic meaning and was merely decorative. However, it sometimes has an astrological or symbolic meaning. One of the popular forms of the lion is explicitly heraldic form, including in the Iranian coat of arms (the Lion and Sun); the animal in the coat of arms of the Mamluk Baybars and perhaps also in that of the Rum Saldjukids of the name of Kilidi Arslan; and in numismatic representations.
There is a ceramic tablet found in Shadiyakh dating to the Seljuq period that depicts the Lion and Sun as the symbol of Leo, along with the signs of Gemini, Cancer, and Virgo.
According to the Persian book al-Tafhim, written by Al-Biruni, the celestial objects used in astrological judgements are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. To each of them, one or more zodiac signs are assigned, representing the ‘house’ or dwelling of that celestial object. In astrology, these houses were used in understanding nativities and in determining the length of a newborn’s life.
The house of the Sun: Leo
The house of the Moon: Cancer
The houses of Mercury: Virgo and Gemini
The houses of Venus: Libra and Taurus
The houses of Mars: Scorpio and Aries
The houses of Jupiter: Sagittarius and Pisces
The houses of Saturn: Capricorn and Aquarius
History
Pre-Islamic era The earliest evidence of the Lion and Sun symbol in Iran dates back to thousands of years ago, even predating the Achaemenid era.
During the Achaemenid period, the Lion and Sun motif appeared in several forms. One example is a seal depicting Artaxerxes II accompanied by a lion, the sun symbolising Mithra, and a woman riding a lion representing Anahita.
Lion appears on most of the coins issued by the Persian satrap of Cilicia, Mazaeus, (coins on numitsa website) however, only two of them depict a Lion and Sun motif. (see other coin)
Lion and Sun motif also appears on a coin issued by an uncertain Persian satrap of Babylonia. (see coin)
Early Islamic era The earliest post-Islamic appearance of the Lion and Sun is found in the Book of Nativities, written by Albumasar, a Persian astrologer who was regarded as the leading astrologer of the Abbasid court in Baghdad's House of wisdom. This source shows the astronomical roots of the Lion and Sun motif. Albumasar based his work on translations of pre-Islamic Sasanian astronomical texts and also practiced astrology using the positions of celestial bodies.
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.
Earliest invocation as a political symbol
The Lion and Sun symbol becomes first utilized as a political symbol in the 13th century, most notably on the coinage of Kaykhusraw II, who was Sultan of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum from 1237 to 1246. These were "probably to exemplify the ruler's power." The notion that "the sun [of the symbol] symbolised 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 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 Safavid era (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, banners, and works of art.
Mughal emperor Jahangir issued coins known as the "Jahangiri coins." Some series were zodiac-themed gold and silver coins bearing images of the zodiac symbols. On one side of the coins, the Persian inscription reads: "Gold found adornment in Agra through Jahangir Shah, son of Akbar Shah." On the other side, the Sun's position within the twelve zodiac constellations is depicted. The Sun's apparent movement through these constellations, as observed from Earth, gave rise to images such as the Lion and Sun, the Bull and Sun, the Goat and Sun, and others. The most famous example shows the Sun positioned on the back of Leo in the month of Mordad (July-August). The origin of the Lion and Sun symbol in Iranian history also lies in these astronomical and mythological foundations.
Safavid dynasty
In the Safavid era, the Lion and Sun stood for the two pillars of society, state and religion. It is clear that, although various alams and banners were employed by the Safavids during their rule, especially the earlier Safavid shahs, by the time of Shah Abbas, the Lion and Sun symbol had become one of the most popular emblems.
According to Najmabadi, the Safavid interpretation of this symbol was based on a combination of mytho-histories and tales such as the Shahnameh, stories of Prophets, and other Persian sources. For the Safavids, the Shah had two roles: monarch and holy man. This double meaning was associated with the genealogy of Iranian shahs. Two males were key people in this paternity: Jamshid (mythical founder of an ancient Persian kingdom), and Ali (Shi'te first Imam). Jamshid was affiliated with the sun and Ali was affiliated with the lion (Heydar).