MUSLIM HERALDRY

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

The Empire

The State

The Ruler

Symbols of Authority

Armed Authority

Administrative Authority

Religious Authority

 

 

Introduction

 

Like all other Empires the Muslim Empires in history had their own emblems symbolizing the different parts of its political structure. As we know from all other empires these were symbols for the empire, the state and the ruler in the first place. The state was divided into the different spheres of authority, the administration, the armed forces and the church which each had their own hierarchy. 

The muslim emblems of sociopolitical entities are not very well explored and we may even think that they were not there at all, given the existing literature. Nevertheless we may try to discover some of the most common emblems.

It may be noticed that the symbolism of the Caliphates was strongly influenced by the symbolism of its surrounding empires: The Byzantine Empire and the Sassanian Empire at the cost of which the Caliphate flourished and extended. For that reason muslim symbolism looks very much like the heraldry of the surrounding cultures.

 

1. The Empire

 

In the early days of Muslim conquest it seems there was no political entity which could be called a Muslim empire. It was only in the time of the first Omayyad Caliph Mu'āwiya (660-680) who tried to establish an empire, that an emblem for that empire can be expected. The most probable symbol for the Damascus Caliphate, is a sun rayonnant with an undefined number of rays and of Sassanian style. We may also suppose that the former sun-emblems of Byzantium and the Sassanian Empire were used in the different parts of the empire.

Indeed we have some indications that such a sun was used. In the first place there is a picture of the Vehicle of State on a silver dish from the turn of the 7th-8th century, that is the reign of caliph Abd-al-Malik (685-705), the cart having wheels in the shape of a sun. Another evidence is on the breast of a bronze eagle dated 180 H, that is from the reign of Al Rashid (786-809 AD).

Both versions of a sun have the shape of a 16-rayed sun.

 

ð See illustration in the head of this essay.

 

Apparently the Muslim sun has evoluated and could have different shapes. In the 13th century the symbol of the Abbasid Empire seems to have been a sun in the shape of a golden disc. This is reported by the mid-13th century Chinese author, Chau Ju-kua, in his account of Baghdad when he describes a briljant golden “moon” above a jade lion on the top of a black umbrella held over the head of the Abassid caliph. The translators and commentators of the text have cogently argued that this moon must have been a crescent, since a circular emblem would have been taken for a sun. [1] However, if we take into account that the Chinese moon is depicted as a white disc, we may be sure that a sun is meant.

This golden disc is also affirmed by Joinville who writes about the year 1250:

 

“These boys, who were known as bahariz (or people from the sea), were privileged to wear the same coat of arms - which was in gold - as the sultan himself. As soon as their beards began to grow he made them knights. They continued to wear his arms, but with a difference - that is to say, they added certain crimson devices, such as roses, stripes, or birds, or other designs, according to their choice.” [2]

 

Such a shield, including thunderbolts/fleurs-de-lis can also be seen in the hands of a Sarracen warrior in Clermont Ferrand:

                Photo H.d.V. August 2004

Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption, Clermont Ferrand.

Peintures Murales, abside 8. Chapelle St. Georges.

 Such a sun can for example be

 

Frontispiece of a Qur An: 16 rayed sun and lotuses

Islamic, Egyptian, Mamluk period 1360–1370

 

Later muslim states like the Ottoman Empire had also a sun to symbolize the empire. Such a sun can for example be found on Ottoman banners:

 

 

In the 19th century a sun rayonnant became a part of the crest of the achievement of the Ottoman Empire.

 

Another sunlike device is the circular tiraz which consists of a concentrically written personal names and titles and which is comparable with the western halo around the heads of high-ranking Byzantine offcials.

 

2. The State

 

 

The Muslim State is symbolized by a crescent. This symbol is borrowed from the Sassanian Empire as well as from the Roman and Byzantine empires and was also used by the empire of  the Seleucids. A moon in general, be it a full moon or a crescent, is a symbol of the state of most ancient empires. The crescent was a very common emblem in the Mameluk and Ottoman Empires and in later centuries it became a symbol of Islam in general.

 

An early representation of the Muslim crescent is on a 7th - 8th century silver dish with a moon-cart. [3] On this dish, the state is symbolized by a crescent supported by two angels taking the Persian crescent-and-angels as an example. Later, the angels, being symbols of heavenly mandate, were omitted and the crescent remained, hereby following the Seleucid example.

Afterwards heraldic achievements, that is to say emblems supported by mandatory symbols are very rare in the Muslim world.

The crescent remains in use throughout the Christian Era of the Nubian Empire, and it stands on the Nubian crowns used until the fall of the Empire in 1323. The use of the crescent by the Mamluks was perfectly in line with this. Also in Egypt the crescent must have been introduced early, probably at the same time as in Nubia. Under the Caliphs and the later Islamic dynasties, the crescent received more emphasis as a symbol of the highest administrative authority, while the cup also remained in use as a symbol of the lower administrative ranks in particular of the Viceroys or Governors. In this sense, the lily occurs both in Egypt itself and in Syria. A special example of the use of the lily is the French fleur de lis which on the coat of arms of the Kings of France has taken the place of the eagle representing a high military rank.

Among the Mamluks, the crescent was also placed in a military context and in that sense he appears on Mamluk and Nubian shields. This would mean that in Egypt military authority was strictly subject to administrative authority, just as in Byzantium the christogram as a military symbol has disappeared and replaced by the square cross that must also be associated with administrative authority, in this case of the Emperor. and its chancellery. In addition, in that period the crescent was the usual symbol on flags that did not necessarily have a military significance. These flags can be found on various maps or portolans from the 14th and 15th centuries. This shows that in Nubia initially their own flag was carried with a white waxwoman on a blue cloth. This should theoretically mean that Nubia was placed under a very high official of the Mamluk hierarchy at that time. [4] Later, at the end of the 14th century, the cloth is yellow and so the Egyptian flag was used unchanged. This should mean that from that time on, Nubia must have been rich in resources. The waxwares of Nubia appears to have been added to the Egyptian flag, which is then yellow with three waxers for the kingdoms Egypt, Syria and Nubia.

 

This flag, the cloth under the Ottomans being blue, was used in Egypt at least until the early 19th century, even though Nubia had long since been abandoned and preyed on by Arab tribes. An Egyptian flag with two crescents s is not known.

 

Under Mehmed Ali, a three-crescent flag was reintroduced for Egypt, except that six-pointed stars were now placed between the crescents horns. These stars could thus be in the tradition of the hexagram, which is confirmed by the military function of the Egyptian flags of the early 19th century. So they would more or less replace the medieval shield as a military symbol. The flag of Mehmet Ali then meant as much as "the military administrator of Egypt". And indeed the restoration of the Medieval Egyptian Empire must have been the intention of Mehmet Ali, for in addition to conquering the Sudan in 1820, he also undertook a campaign to Palestine in 1831.

Later, the six-pointed stars were changed into five-pointed stars that originate more from the Western European cultural area.

In the modern republican symbolism of Nubia, neither the lotus nor the crescent appears anymore.

After the conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim in 1517 the crescent became the most prominent symbol in the Muslim world.

 

The Head of State

 

The head of state, not necessarily the ruler, is symbolized by a crescent and star, on Sassanian coins and early muslim coinage in this way:

 

In other cases the head of state is symbolized by his bust or head, surrounded by a crescent. This can be seen on this copper dirham of ‘Izz al-Din Mas’ud I ibn Mawdud, (576-589 H/1180-1193 AD), the ruler of Mosul. The crescent-and-head configuration is also not exceptional as can be seen in this 8th century fresco from Pendzhikent which shows a Buddhist “head of state”.

 

    

 

Sogdian fresco and Seljuq dirham showing a “Head of State”.

 

 

Silver dirham of al-Mu’azzam Mahmud (1215-’58)

 

 

Silver dirham of al-Mansur Muhammad I (1197-1227)

 

Still another configuration, more in accordance with the prohibition of the imagery of living beings, is the crescent inscribed with the name of the ruler. This version is seen in the crescent of the Fatimid Caliph Al Zahir, inscribed with his name. This piece, made of rock crystal, is mounted in a Gothic monstrance, today in Germany.

 

Crescent of rock crystal

 inscribed with the name of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Zahir li-izaz din Allah (1021-’32 AD)

(Nuremberg, Germanische Nationalmuseum, KG. 695)[5]

 

Usually however, the ruler is represented by a star. In this version of the crescent and star the star has five points. This is the common and widespread modern form.

 

State Official

 

3. The Ruler

 

The ruler in the Muslim Empires is represented by himself or by his imago. In the Roman and Byzantine Empires the head of the ruler is surrounded by a halo symbolizing the empire. This halo or corona in its Seleucian form had the shape of a 16-pointed sun but in the later Roman form it has the shape of a golden disc.

The first imago’s of the Muslim caliphs show him standing or sitting with a sword in his hands in the way the Sassanian shah’s were depicted.

On this silver dish a ruler is depicted in Sasanian style. Probably even Caliph Ali (656-661) is meant whose rule began only five years after the death of the last Sasanid King Yazdgard III in 651.

 

Post-Sasanid silver dish [6]

Ruler sitting cross-legged, crowned with a winged crown crested with a crescent. In his right a bowl or cup.

The ruler is attended by several servants and guarded by two lions (by the grace of the emirs?).

 

Later, when it was forbidden to make a picture of living beings, the ruler was symbolized by the sword alone which corresponds with the qualification “Defender of the Faith”.

 

Islam is opposed to life-like images of living creatures and in particular of God and Muhammad himself. Regulations against any form of imagery seem to have taken effect quite early on in Islam. The earliest traces of defined regulations date back to the middle of the 8th century, some 120 years after the death of Muhammad, but there may well have been established regulations before this.

 

As a result imago’s of Muslim rulers are very often replaced by his name and titles written in arab script.

Such writings of names and/or titles of a ruler are by no means exeptional. Well known are the Egyptian cartouches bearing the name of the pharao but also the inscriptions on Chinese seals and royal cyphers in latin script. The difference is that in Islam the ruler often is represented by his written name and titles alone, and that portraits, statues or other images of the ruler are often missing.

A specific muslim name-writing is the tughra. The tughra originates from the turkish Oghuz and was also adopted by the Seljuq-, Mameluk- and Ottoman rulers.

 

Tughra of the Mameluk Sultan Al Nasir Muhammad I (1293-1341)

 

In the same way Allah, who is the ultimate and supreme ruler, is represented. His name is written in calligraphic form like this:

 

Nevertheless there are many pictures of Muslim rulers and, for example, we can make up an uninterrupted series of portraits of Persian rulers of the Safavid, Ghalzay, Afsharid, Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties. In fact, many muslim rulers were depicted in full dress, wearing crowns and precious attires and accompanied by insignia of their office.

The same is true for the later rulers of the Osmanli Dynasty, be it that the formal dress was quite sober.

 

The Ummayad Caliph Hisham (976-1009)

with sceptre (?) and cup. At his feet two quadrupeds (lions?)

 

Seljuq sultan, probably Arslan (1160-1175)

with turban and holding a cup. The two angels symbolize his heavenly mandate (By the Grace of God)

The Il-Khan Öljeitu (1304-1316)

Crowned and holding a cup. Two swords symbolize is armed authority (By the Grace of the Sword)

 

 

 

 

ð

The Persian Shah Fath Ali (1797-1834)

Imperially crowned and armed with a sword

 

The pictures seem to imply that most early muslim rulers presented themselves as supreme administrators and later as supreme commanders. This hypothesis is something interesting to be proved.

 

Symbols of Authority

 

From the Hindu system of sociopolitical symbols the club, the lotus and the conch are known to symbolize armed, adminstrative and religious authority. In the Christian system these ranges of authority are symbolized by the christogram XP, the square cross and the latin cross.

These symbols were apparently not convenient to the muslim world and instead symbols of hellenistic origin were used.

   

Armed Authority

 

Two bladed sword

on a coin of Abd al Malik (694-705 AD)

 

The symbol of armed authority in the Muslim context was at first a two-bladed sword called Dhu’l Fakar. In the time of the Caliphate of Damascus the Dhu’l Fakar was replaced by a fleur-de-lys, which is also a version of a thunderbolt. At the capture of Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517 the fleur-de-lys disappeared from Muslim iconography. The emblem of armed authority of the Ottomans was a Dhu’l Fakar which was displayed on the Great Army banner but also on the flags of the chief commanders. Later, the Dhu’l Fakar was also adopted as an emblem in the Far East.

 

Another symbol of armed authority used in muslim context is the hexagram or Magen David, consisting of the ΔΔ-monogram. Its use seems to have been restricted to the successors of the former Roman and Byzantine Empires (for example Morocco)

 

Amir al Mu’minin

 

After the conquests made by Abu Bakr, the successor of the Messenger of God, Omar (634-644) took the title of Amir al Mu’minin meaning “Commander of the Faithful”, which became the formal title of all later caliphs. This command is symbolized by a sword which is held in hand by the commander.

A sword had also been the symbol of office of the former Sassanian commanders and was held by him on official portraits in an erect position between his legs.

The command of the early commanders of the faithful was also symbolized by a sword but they were depicted standing upright and keeping the sword in their right hand, point downwards.

 

  

Early muslim coins showing the development of the Dhu’l Fakar

 

Also this sword had a peculiar form, not resembling the former Sasanian swords-in-sheath, as it had two points or blades. This two-bladed sword has become known as Dhu ‘l Fakar and was supposed to have belonged to Muhammad himself.

 

At the establisment of the Caliphate of Damascus (684) the (Persian) dhu’l fakar was abandoned and was replaced by the Byzantine thunderbolt usually known as fleur-de-lys. This figure is for the first time in a muslim context on the seal of Abd el Malik, Caliph of Damascus (685-705). It is the central part of a remarkable achievement consisting of a thunderbolt supported by two lions which could be the achievement of the Muslim Army (by the grace of the amirs).

Seal of Abd el Malik (685-705 AD)[7]

Showing the achievement of the Army Staff.

 

Forthwith the symbol of armed authority used in Muslim context was the fleur-de-lys which is a depiction of a thunderbolt or “the arms of Heaven”. [8]  The thunderbolt is of a very ancient origin and is known and used as a symbol of armed authority from the western point of the Eurasian continent up to the East of the Indonesian Archipelago.

In the Muslim world the thunderbolt in its specific fleur-de-lis form is very much connected with the Caliphate of Damascus and its successors.

Examples of a thunderbolt are on coins minted in the Caliphate in 697, 705 and 721 AD. The symbol was also exported to Spain when the Omayyads took refuge there. This is demonstrated by a coin from Andalusia  of  782 AD..

At the end of Seljuq suzerainty (1055-1194) the thunderbolt reappears over the mihrab of the madrasah of Atabeg Nur addin Mahmud in Damascus, built between 1154 and 1173. Later it was printed on coins of the Caliphate and the Bahri and Burji-Mameluk rulers of Egypt until the conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim in 1517. [9]

A late version of the thunderbolt can be found on the helmet ofa servant of  Sultan Al Ashraf Barsbay (1422-1438) (Atil 41). This thunderbolt most resembles a trident or demi-thunderbolt.  ð See: Egypt

 

Helmet made for a servant of Sultan Barsbay, about 1430.

Paris, Musée du Louvre, 6130

 

Some inscriptions on the helmet read: Glory to our master, the sultan, the royal, al-Malik al-Ashraf ... Abu’l Nasir Barsbay, may his victory be glorious.

The piece may therefore have belonged to the naib-al sultana, the vice-regent of the sultan and governor of Egypt who was one of the highest operational ‘Men of the Sword’.

After the capture of Egypt in 1517 the fleur-de-lis became obsolete.

 

Great Ottoman Banner, captured 1683

 

Military Hierarchy

 

The badges of ranks used in early muslim military hierarchy do not differ from the symbols of rank of the Roman empires. They are not a continuation of the badges of rank of the Sasanid Empire which knew the simurg and the ibex as rank badges of the most important commanders. Also, the symbols of the administrative hierarchy were much more developed in the Sasanid empire, counting between them all kinds of birds.

 

Two-headed Eagle.

Ceramic tile with two-headed eagle

Seljuqid, 1236

Rum Kubadabad Palace. Kon.Karatay Madrasah 

 

At early times the two-headed eagle occurred in Umayyad Spain and in Egypt.

It is often said that the emblem of Saladin was a two-headed eagle but no examples of two-headed eagles can be attributed to him. Also, as a wazir and sultan of Egypt (1169/’75-1193), it can be expected that he used a crescent and star.

 

Eagle

 

Artin Pasha (pp. 88-97), after a short introduction, gives some 15 pictures of eagles from the arab world. The oldest is from a 10th century building in Cairo. [10] An eight century example however is from Iraq.

 

Bronze eagle or falcon, Iraq (?) 180 H (796-797 AD)

State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

 

On this very interesting piece there is a sun of Seleucid shape and also eight-petaled flowers. In ancient Egyptian heraldry the emblem of the empire was depicted above the head of an animal, in Chinese heraldry the sun was depicted near or together with the animal symbolizing a rank. 

 

Mayer  (pp.9-10, pl. III, XIV) gives some eagles from Mamluk Egypt and writes:

“Among birds the eagle alone seems to be represented, although one would have expected the falcon to occur at least as often as the eagle. The eagle is known in two varieties, the one headed and the two-headed. Both varieties frequently show a lanceolate patch on their breasts which at times has the appearance of a gash; hence the description ‘aigle éventré’. But more often it looks like a pear-shaped shield, and is probably meant to be an ornament only. The claws of the eagles are usually shown grasping the tips of the wings, thus forming a horizontal - or almost horizontal - line strongly contrasting with the vertical axis formed by the eagle’s head and tail. The eagle is either displayed with wings inverted, the head turned to the left or to the right, or as rising, with wings inverted and so addorsed that only one wing is visible. The eagle appears both on one, and on two-fielded sheilds, and at times without a shield; it is never found in conjunction with anaother animal, but is often depicted standing on some inanimate, such as a sword, cup or napkin. Inone case the sword is to the right of the eagle. The peculiar head-ornament on the head of the eagle of Muzaffar ad-din Musa b. Malik as Salih should be noted.”[11]

 

Griffin

 

The griffin is very rare in Muslim heraldry. An example is found in 8th century caliphal palace in Mshatta. A single piece is known from the Spanish Taifa period (1031-1086) and another from Almoravid Morocco (1071-1147).

Pisa Griffin.

Taifa period, 11th century. Bronze. h. 107 cm.

Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Pisa.

 

This is an all-comprising symbol as there are eagles son his fore-legs and lions on his hind-legs.

 

Lion

 

The lion as a symbol is very well known in Muslim heraldry. Early examples are on the seal of Abd el Malik  where they act as a supporter of a thunderbolt.

Later, lions were used by many warriors in bewildering numbers. In particular we know lions from Islamic Spain but also from Mamluk Egypt or from the Far East. A special lion is the Lion of Ali, the emblem of the stepson of Muhammad and often used by shiite generals and warriors.

In short the lion, in muslim heraldry almost always depicted passant guardant, is a constant heraldic emblem throughout muslim history until present.

 

Lion from Baibars Bridge in Ramla, 1273

 

After the fall of the Mamluk Empire the lion remained the only animal military emblem in the Muslim world. In particular it prolonged its existence in societies of shiite denomination.

 

Administrative Authority

 

The lotus and the cup

 

In ancient Egypt, flowers can be seen as territorial symbols. For example, the territorial symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt were a papyrus and a lily. Such flowers are also found among the Hittites and the Persians.

In connection with Nubia, there is a lotus flower that is first found on the throne of Tutankhaten as Viceroy of Kush. The flower is attached to a wide jeweled collar and hangs on the back of the prince.

Later, the lotus appears again on a Nubian relief

 

 

Relief of Iuput as an incarnation of Horus sitting on a lotusflower referring to the legend that the god was created rising from the waters sitting on a lotusflower. (10th - 8th c. B.C. Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh)

 

 

 Relief of Iuput as an incarnation of Horus sitting on a lotusflower referring to the legend that the god was created rising from the waters sitting on a lotusflower. (10th - 8th c. B.C. Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh)

 

Lotus-collar of Tutankhamun as on the back of his throne.

 

The Lotus (Sanskrit. padma, Tibetan. pema)

This singular water plant was associated with divinity throughout the ancient world. The Egyptians, Assyrians, Greels and Persians all ascribed sacred qualities to this white or blue flower which grows undefiled out of its muddy water base. The early Buddhists adopted the lotus symbolism already existing in India, connecting the flower’s purity and perfection with divines birth and emancipation of Buddhahod. As Mahayana Buddism developed and anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha began to appear in India and elsewhere in Buddhist Asia, lotus flowers in conventionalized disk-from were shown sprouting from the feet of Buddhist images or in naturalistic or stylized form, supporting seated or standing images of saints and divinities. The lotus throne or support ws a cincrete symbol of the attainment of enlightnement. The Mahayanist doctrines of Buddhist paradises with thier lotus pond settings (as in the Lotus Sutra) reinforced the lotus symbolism. The lotus has a further Mahayanist meaning as the female element, paire with the male element vajra.

Buddhist Lotus

 

A  lotus,  a symbol of purity of buddhism, also adopted by islam. It therefore could be a symbol of Uzbeg Khan, a buddhist who adopted Islam.

 


Christian Lotus from a russian dress of Vladimir

1303-1325

 

Foto David Pin

Muslim Lotus 1712

Bolo Hauz Mosque, Bukhara

 

In the muslim empires we have seen cups in the hands of the Ummayad Caliphs and the Seljuq Sultans.

 

The cup has not escaped the attention of two most important scientists, even when they do not label the cup as the symbol of administrative authority or any office.

Nevertheless, the Mamluk Empire for example, had a very extended bureaucracy and we may assume that many officers of this bureaucracy had their own emblems.

These were not of  the animal kind like the in the Persian and Chinese systems.

 

L.A.Mayer writes:

 

“When the theory explaining the Mamluk blazon as a symbol of office was first advanced, the cup was one of the cases quoted. There was more of intuition than of knowledge in this suggestion, as the inscriptions accompanying the actual examples did not contain any reference to the office of a cup-bearer, nor was any one of the holders of these blazons called ‘cup-bearer’ in the extracts quoted by the different Arab authors. [....] Each of the following holders of simple blazons with a cup is styled ‘cup-bearer’ (saqi) in the relevant inscriptions: [eight names]

The following is known to have been a cup-bearer: [six names]

Of the following I know nothing: [eleven names]”[2]

 

And he gives a collection of  52 composite blazons with cups:

 

 

When we accept that the cup was the symbol of administrative authority it follows that these composite blazons represent the different administrative officers. For example (in the Mamluk Empire):

 

  • Steward of the Domains of the Crown, responsible for the administration of the Royal domains;
  • Civil steward of the purse of the army,  responsible for the financial department;
  • First treasurer, chief of the treasurer; 
  • Secretary of the Arab Privy Council, chief of the secretaries, magistrates, first secretaries and subordinated officers. [12]

 

If these blazons were of administrative officers this would also explain the occurrence of a pen-box (the emblem of a secreatary) in so many of them.

Of a pen-box Mayer also gives some examples showing subtle differences:

 

 

The Administrative Achievement

 

The cup or bowl as the central piece of an achievement is known for example from Roman France. It is also known from 8th century Muslim Empire.

 

Detail of the façade of the Caliphal residence of al-Walid II (743-744)

showing a griffin and a senmurw.

Limestone. Mshatta, Jordan. Museum für islamische Kunst. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Inv.-Nr. I. 6163.

 

Another one, from the same palace shows a cup supported by two lions:

 

 

As the griffin and the lion were badges of  military rank we may conclude that the administrative departments were usually controlled by amirs of different ranks

 

After the conquests of the Ottoman sultans the emblem apparently became obsolete, as did the Mamluk system of composite blazons.

 

Religious Authority

 

The development of the emblem of religious authority can be followed on the reverses of early islamic coins of the 7th century. In the early years of islam the religious authority was symbolized by a priest in orans posture. This priest replaced the zoroastrian fire-altar between two priests on 3rd - 7th century Sassanian coins and occured after the fall of the Sassanian Empire in 642. During the reign of Abd el Malik (685-705) the development from this quite concrete representation of islam to an abstract representation took place. On his early coins the orans posture of the priest was abandoned. Still later the priest and supporters were abandoned altogether and replaced by a pole on an altar of four steps. In 695 the altar was replaced by a mihrab and at the end of his reign, when a numismatic reform took place, the mihrab also disappeared and was replaced by the shahada or islamic confession of faith.

A symbol of administrative auithority, comparable with the square cross of christianity, and the padma of buddhism and the square cross of judaism is the so-called Rub el-Hizb, (ربع الحزب‎ rubʿ al-ḥizb) consisting of two overlapping squares. In Arabic, Rubʻ means “one fourth, quarter”, while Hizb means a group or party. Initially, it was used in the Quran, which is divided into 60 Hizb (60 groups of roughly equal length); the symbol determines every quarter of Hizb, while the Hizb is one half of a juz'. The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate recitation of the Qur'an. The figure may not be confused with an eight-rayed sun, which is the symbol of a realm.

 

 

Drachme of the Sassanian shahYazdagird I (399-421)

Zoroastrian firealtar between two guards.

 

      

 

Early islamic coins with priest between two assistants or guards.

 The one on the right from the reign of Abd el Malik, 693 AD

 

 

Coin of Abd el Malik,  altar type, 694 AD

 

Early islamic coin, mihrab type, reverse. 695 AD

In the margin: In the Name of God

(American Numismatic society)

 

By a numismatic reform of Abd al Malik (685-705) a confession of faith was introduced on silver dirhams. It reads “There is no Deity except God alone, he has no equal”.

 

Post-reform silver dirham

In the field: There is no Deity except God alone, he has no equal.

In the margin: In the name of God. This Dirham was struck in Wasit in the year three and ninety

This formula, the shahada, was extended by his successor into: “There is no deity exept God alone and Muhammed is his messenger” (La ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasulallah).

This usually is written in arabic script:

Modern rendering of the Islamic Confession of Faith

 

The shahada is on many islamic national- and army flags (for example of Saudi Arabia and Taliban Afghanistan) and on buildings, books and the like. Some mediaeval arms bear the first letters of the formula (cf. Arabia and Granada).

 

Topkapi

Shahada and Tughra

 

Rub el-Hizb

 

 

Development of the emblem of Religious Authority of Islam

Octagrams formed from overlapping squares often emphasize duality: yin and yang, male and female,    spritual and material. Squares are often connected with the physical world: four elements, four cardinal directions, etc. Together, the they can mean both positive and negative aspects of the four elements, for example, and balancing them.

Such overlappig squares are the symbol of the Hindu goddes Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, who has eight emanations known as Ashtalakshmi. These emanations represent eight forms of wealth: monetary, ability to transport, endless prosperity, victory, patience, health and nourishment, knowledge, and family.

Lakshmi in Sanskrit is derived from the root word lakṣ (लक्ष) and lakṣa (लक्ष), meaning “to perceive, observe, know, understand” and “goal, aim, objective” respectively. These roots give Lakshmi the symbolism of: know and understand your goal. A related term is lakṣaṇa, which means “sign, target, aim, symbol, attribute, quality, lucky mark, auspicious opportunity”. This points to the use of the overlapping squares as a spiritual symbol.

So far as our data reach, the Rub el-Hizb was introduced in the time of the Caliphate in the 10th century.

An early example of the overlapping squares in a muslim context comes from Samarqand where it was quite exeptionally printed on a coin from the beginning of the 11th century AD.

 

Development of the emblem of Religious Authority of Islam

Octagrams formed from overlapping squares often emphasize duality: yin and yang, male and female,    spritual and material. Squares are often connected with the physical world: four elements, four cardinal directions, etc. Together, the they can mean both positive and negative aspects of the four elements, for example, and balancing them.

Such overlappig squares are the symbol of the Hindu goddes Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, who has eight emanations known as Ashtalakshmi. These emanations represent eight forms of wealth: monetary, ability to transport, endless prosperity, victory, patience, health and nourishment, knowledge, and family.

Lakshmi in Sanskrit is derived from the root word lakṣ (लक्ष) and lakṣa (लक्ष), meaning “to perceive, observe, know, understand” and “goal, aim, objective” respectively. These roots give Lakshmi the symbolism of: know and understand your goal. A related term is lakṣaṇa, which means “sign, target, aim, symbol, attribute, quality, lucky mark, auspicious opportunity”. This points to the use of the overlapping squares as a spiritual symbol.

An early example of the overlapping squares in a muslim context comes from Samarqand where it was quite exeptionally printed on a coin from the beginning of the 11th century AD.

 

A fals from Samarquand, 1009-1014AD

QK-043 Ilek Nasr b. Ali and Nizam al-Dawla Abu'l-Muzaffar Tongha Tegin Muhammad b. al-Hasan  AH399-404/1009-1014AD, AH401 Fals 2.81grm, 28.1mm, Samarqand mint, Obverse: San'a Tegin, Reverse: Nasr b. 'Ali[13]

 

At the end of the same century an eight-pointed figure appears in the Seljuqid Empire (1038-1194)

 

Detail of  a panel of stucco relief revetment.

Found at Ray (ancient capital in the surroundinges of Teheran), inscribed with the name of Tughril [Tughril Beg II (?), d. 1195 (591 H.). Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) Museum of Art.  H. 213.5 cm, W. 671 cm.

 

The Rub el Hizb (Arabic: ربع الحزب) is a Muslim symbol, represented as two overlapping squares, which is found on a number of emblems and flags. In Arabic, Rubʻ means "one fourth, quarter", while Hizb means a group or party. Initially, it was used in the Quran, which is divided into 60 Hizb (60 groups of roughly equal length); the symbol determines every quarter of Hizb, while the Hizb is one half of a juz'. The main purpose of this dividing system is to facilitate recitation of the Qur'an. It is also used as a marker for the end of a chapter in Arabic calligraphy.

The symbol is used as a marker for the end of a chapter in Arabic calligraphy. It is represented by two overlapping squares as in the Unicode glyph  ۞ at U+06DE.

An eight-pointed star was used as a symbol of Tartessos, an ancient civilization based in Andalusia. As the region was ruled by Islamic dynasties for eight centuries, this may suggest a possible origin of the Rub el Hizb. The Star of Lakshmi is a similar symbol, based on the same geometric star figure, which figures in Hinduism, where it represents Ashtalakshmi, the eight forms, or "kinds of wealth", of the goddess Lakshmi.

At the beginning of the 13th century the symbol is on a Almohad flag


A flag of the Almohads has been preserved which was coaptured in one of the battles (perhaps Cordoba, 1236) in the 13th century. The central figure is an eight-pointed figure composed of 4 x 2 golden lines. The ground color of the canvas is red. Initially it was believed that this flag was captured at the battle of Las Navas in 1212, but it is now dated to the reign of Ferdinand III. (1217-1252).
[14])

 

Rub el-Hizb on the Burgos banner 1212-‘50

 

Somewhat later eight-pointed figures waere used by the Il-Khanid empire (1256-1343)

Il-Khanid eight-pointed tiles from their palaces, probably in Takht-i-Suleiman, 13th cent.

Coll. Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, Leeuwarden

 

These kind of eight-pointed tiles enclose several symbols amongst other things badges of civil and military rank of Chinese origin.

 

The present Rub el Hizb is represented by two overlapping squares. The symbol is used as a marker for the end of a chapter in Arabic calligraphy. It  is also found on a number of emblems and flags, in particular

of the kingdom of Morocco and the republic of  Turkmenistan.

 

Rub el-Hizb, Moroccan style

 

Moroccan banners charged with  Rub el Hizb

Captured by the French, 1844. Paris, Invalides

 

 

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© Hubert de Vries 2011-12-15. Updated 2021-01-26

 



[1] Chau Ju-kua; on the Chinese and Arab trade in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, tr. by F. Hirth and W.W. Rockhill, St. Petersburg, 1911, 135 and 137, n.3.

[2] Joinville and Villehardouin: Chronicles of the Crusades. Penquin Classics, London, 1963. p. 235

[3] Gold-plated silver, Æ 21,6 cm. Found in 1907 near Klimova village, Perm. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Inv. S-43

[4] Blue was the color of the officials in the Roman Empire and  in Byzantium of the  Sebastocrators. Compare the arms of  France and the arms of the Almohad princes. 

[5] Picture from Encyclopaedia of Islam: Hilal

[6] Hermitagemuseum, S.t Petersburg. (After: A.U. Pope: A Survey of Persian Art, 1938)

[7] Archeological Museum, Istanbul.

[8] Artin Pacha, Yacoub: Contribution a l'étude du blason en Orient.  Londres, 1902  pp. 52-58. Mayer, L.A.: Saracenic Heraldry. A survey. Oxford, 1933/­1950. XVI + 302 pp. LXXI pl.. p. 22

[9] Mayer, L.A. op. cit. pp. 22-23, 68-69

[10] Artin Pasha, Yacoub: Contribution a l'étude du blason en Orient.  Londres, 1902       

[11] Mayer, L.A.: Saracenic Heraldry. A survey. At the Clarendon Press. Oxford, 1933/­1950. XVI + 302 pp. LXXI pl..

[12] After Riley Smith: Atlas of the Crusades.

[13] http://cybernumis.homestead.com/MyQarakhanidfals.html

[14] ) Dodds, Jerrilynn D. ed.: Al Andalus. The Art of Islamic Spain. New York, 1992. ISBN 08 1 0964139. Pp. 326-327. Uitgebreide documentatie en literatuur.