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
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic peoples ...
in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extended to Iranians) who had rendered distinguished services to
Iran. In 1925, under the
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...
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
Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...
.
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.
In literature
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Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
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
See also
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Lion and Sun
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Order of Aftab
The Order of Aftab (Persian: نشان آفتاب trans. ''Neshan-e Aftab''), also known as the Order of the Sun, was a decoration founded by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, the Shah of Iran, in February 1873, before his first visit to various European ...
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Order of the Red Lion and the Sun
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Neshan-e Aqdas
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Order of Zolfaghar
The Order of Zolfaghar ( fa, نشان ذوالفقار, Neshan-e Zolfaghar) is the highest military honour of Iran. The Order was established in 1856 as the Decoration of the Commander of the Faithful, by Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, Naser al-Din Sh ...
References
Sources
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External links
Qajar Orders and DecorationsOrders & Decorations of Pahlavi dynasty are exhibited in the ORDER section of the website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lion And The Sun, Order Of The
Civil awards and decorations of Iran
Awards established in 1808
Qajar Iran