Derafsh Kaviani

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Reconstructed Derafsh-e Kaviani in a 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire

Derafsh Kaviani (Persian: درفش کاویانی) was the legendary royal standard Derafsh (in Latin: vexilloid) of Iran (Persia) used since ancient times until the fall of the Sasanian Empire.[1] The banner was also sometimes called the "Standard of Jamshid" (Drafš-ī Jamshid درفش جمشید), the "Standard of Fereydun" (Drafš-ī Freydun درفش فریدون) and the "Royal Standard" (Drafš-ī Kayi درفش کیی).

Meaning and origins

Main article: Kaveh the Blacksmith

The name Drafš-e Kāvīān means "the standard of the kay(s)" (i.e., "kings", kias, kavis ) or "of Kāva."[1] The latter meaning is an identification with an Iranian legend in which the Derafš-e Kāvīān was the standard of a mythological Iranian blacksmith-turned-hero named Kaveh (Persian: کاوه), who led a popular uprising against the foreign demon-like ruler Zahhak (Persian: ضحاک). Recalling the legend, the 10th-century epic Shahnameh recasts Zahhak as an evil and tyrannical ruler, against whom Kaveh called the people to arms, using his leather blacksmith apron as a standard, with a spear as its hoist. In the story, after the war that called for the kingship of Fereydun (Persian: فریدون) had been won, the people decorated the apron with jewels and the flag became the symbol of Iranian nationalism and resistance against foreign tyranny. The symbol of Derafsh Kaviani is a

lotus flower, which refers to the royal stars of Persia, and its history goes back to ancient Iranian beliefs from the Achaemenid Empire
period.

Pazyryk carpet, apparently used by Sarmatians of House of Zyx, the guards of House of Suren, on their journeys to the oasis kingdoms of the Tarim Basin

Sasanian standard

By the late

Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, the Sasanian standard was recovered by one Zerar bin Kattab,[1] who received 30,000 dinars for it. After the jewels were removed, Caliph Umar is said to have burned the standard.[1]

As the symbol of the Sasanian state,

Ya'qub-i Laith of the Saffarid dynasty claimed the inheritance of the kings of Persia and sought "to revive their glory," a poem written on his behalf sent to the Abbasid caliph said: "With me is the Drafsh e Kavian, through which I hope to rule the nations."[4] Although no evidence that Ya'qub-i Laith ever recreated such a flag, star imagery in banners remained popular until the ascendance of the Lion and Sun
symbol (after 1846).

Standard of the president of Tajikistan

Standard of the president of Tajikistan

The standard of the president of Tajikistan was introduced in 2006, on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony for the third term of Emomali Rahmon as head of state. It uses the same tricolour, charged with a depiction of the Derafsh Kāviān, the Sasanian royal standard; inside the Derafsh Kāviān is a depiction of a winged lion against a blue sky under a smaller representation of the crown and seven stars.[6]

See also

References and bibliography

  1. ^ a b c d e Khaleghi-Motlagh, Djalal (1996). "Derafš-e Kāvīān". Encyclopedia Iranica. Vol. 7. Costa Mesa: Mazda.
  2. ^ Image of the Derafsh Kaviani:
  3. Wiesehofer, Joseph
    Ancient Persia New York:1996 I.B. Tauris
  4. ^ a b Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2001). "Flags". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 10. Costa Mesa: Mazda.
  5. ^ Shahbazi, A. Shapur (1996). "Derafš". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 7. Costa Mesa: Mazda.
  6. ^ Based on a Russian-language description of the flag posted at president.tj in 2006 (archived version from 2007).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Derafsh Kaviani.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Derafsh_Kaviani&oldid=1209260047"