The Order of Zolfaghar ( fa, نشان ذوالفقار, Neshan-e Zolfaghar) is the highest military honour of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The Order was established in 1856 as the Decoration of the Commander of the Faithful, by Naser al-Din Shah. It was given its current name in 1925, by Reza Shah I. It was the pinnacle of the Imperial honours system, and was limited to the Sovereign and the individuals who had performed the most outstanding acts of patriotism on behalf of Persia and Iran.

History

The Order was a military order of Imperial Persia and

named after

Zulfiqar Zulfiqar ( ar, ذُو ٱلْفَقَار, Ḏū-l-Faqār, ), also spelled ''Zu al-Faqar'', ''Zulfikar'', ''Dhu al-Faqar'', ''Dhulfaqar'' or ''Dhulfiqar'', is the sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Middle Eastern weapons are commonly inscribed wi ...

, "Spine-cleaver", the famous two-pointed sword of

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, the son-in-law of the Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

. It was founded as the ''Decoration of the Commander of the Faithful'' by

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...

in 1856, to commemorate the recapture of

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi ( fa, رضا شاه پهلوی; ; originally Reza Khan (); 15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was an Iranian Officer (armed forces), military officer, politician (who served as Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran), ...

, the penultimate

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

, renamed it the ''Order of Zolfaghar'' in 1925 and made it an exclusively military order. ;Star The original Star of the Order comprised an enameled five-pointed star, with an inscription representing the Imam Ali on a red boss in the center, mounted over two crossed curved Zolfaghar swords and a sunburst of rays, as seen in the traditional

Lion and Sun The Lion and Sun ( fa, شیر و خورشید, Šir-o xoršid, ; Classical Persian: ) is one of the main emblems of Iran (Persia), and was an element in Iran's national flag until the 1979 Iranian Revolution and is still commonly used by opp ...

symbol. The Star of the Islamic Republic is larger, simpler and more stylised, comprising a golden eight-pointed star within a silver eight-pointed star; stylised inscriptions on the stars provide decoration and contrast. ;Degrees The Order consisted of three classes: *1st Class: worn with a badge and a sash *2nd Class: worn with a collar, as a neck-order *3rd Class: worn as a medal. It was revived in 2019 when Major General

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds F ...

received the decoration, the first time it had been awarded since 1979. Medal of Zulfaqar - Imperial Iran

Recipients

;Imperial Iran *

Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi Lieutenant general Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi (1884–1965) was a military leader and cabinet Minister of Iran. Born in 1884 in Isfahan, of an aristocratic Persian family, he is one of the planners of the coup d'état of Reza Pahlavi, Colonel Mohamma ...

Amir Abdollah Tahmasebi Abdollah Khan Amir Tahmasebi ( fa, عبدالله خان امیر طهماسبی, 1881–1928) was a Persian senior military commander, instrumental in the fall of the Qajar dynasty and rise to power of Reza Shah Pahlavi. He first became ...

Karim Buzarjomehri General Karim Agha Khan Bouzarjomehri (1886–1951) was a leading Iranian military general and supporter of Reza Pahlavi. Buzarjomehri started military training at 13 years of age, and became Reza Shah's most trusted figures. He was banished f ...

* Gholamali Bayandor *

Fazlollah Zahedi Fazlollah Zahedi ( fa, فضل‌الله زاهدی, Fazlollāh Zāhedi, pronounced ; 17 May 1892 – 2 September 1963) was an Iranian lieutenant general and statesman who replaced the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh through a coup d'é ...

;Islamic Republic *

«نشان «ذوالفقار» چیست؟ و به چه کسانی اعطا می‌شود؟»
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References

External links

Online Gallery of Orders & Decorations of Pahlavi dynasty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zolfaghar, Order Of Military awards and decorations of Iran

History

Recipients

See also

References

External links