Persia (Iran) from XVI to XVIIIth century

Last modified: 2008-01-12 by ian macdonald
Keywords: persia | lion (yellow) | sun (yellow) | ram (yellow) | sword (yellow) | qajar | nader shah |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

• King Qajar (late 1700's)
• Nader Shah (1736-1747)
• XVIth century

See also:

• Iran
• Iran: Historical flags
• Persia in XIXth century

King Qajar (late 1700's)

image by Pedram Kian

This flag was used around the late 1700's by King Qajar, who was from a Turkmen tribe, and my evidence is the portrait of him beside the flag.
Pedram Kian, 6 October 1999

Nader Shah

Source: The Imperial Iranian Army from Cyrus to Pahlavi by Yahva Zoka (1971).

• "Hamway, an English merchant reports: Two large royal standards one with red, blue and white stripes and the other with red, blue, white and yellow stripes. Nader invented two other banners one with red and yellow stripes and one with a yellow background and red border."
  (Zoka suggests that the yellow banner carried the lion and sun motif of previous Iranian rulers).
  
• Each regiment had its own distinctive banner of red and white stripes.
  
• The naval ships had a white flag with curved red sword.

Note the illustrations show triangular flags with horizontal stripes. Whitney Smith did an article on Persian flags for one of the International Vexillogical meetings. He used this book and other sources.
Art Etchells, 20 September 2000

XVIth century

image by Randy Young

Image taken from the 1771 Encyclopedia Britannica: on a green field a golden sheep standing before the rising sun.
Randy Young, 01 December 1998

This flag has been used for 5 decades during the rule of Shah Tahmasb of Persia (1524 -1576). The reason he had placed a sheep on the official flag, was that because he was born during the month of Aries, and the symbol of that month is a ram. After Shah Tahmasb's death, the sheep was replaced by a lion again.
Pedram Kian, 13 April 2000