Jump to content

Order of the Lion and the Sun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Order of the Lion and the Sun. For other uses, see Order of the Lion.
Order of the Lion and the Sun
Officer's Medal of the Order
Awarded by

Head of the Iranian Imperial Family
TypeDynastic Order
Royal houseHouse of Pahlavi
SovereignCrown Prince Reza of Iran
GradesKnight/Dame Grand Cordon, Knight/Dame Grand Officer, Knight/Dame Commander, Knight/Dame Officer, Knight/Dame, Companion
Former gradesKnight Grand Cross with Collar
Precedence
Next (higher)Order of Aqdas
Next (lower)Order of the Crown
Order of the Pleiades

Ribbon of the Order

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 in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extended to Iranians) who had rendered distinguished services to Iran. In 1925, under the Pahlavi dynasty 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.

The order is abbreviated as KLS, for Knight of Lion and Sun.[1]

The order was senior to the Order of the Crown. It was issued in five grades.

In literature

[edit]
  • Anton Chekhov 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".[2]


Notable Recipients

[edit]
Notable Recipients
Name Year Rank Reason awarded
Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky First Class in Diamonds[3] Austrian field marshal, chief of the general staff of the Imperial and Royal Army of Austria-Hungary (1881–1906)
Dr. Franz Nadler 1900 Commander Cross Mayor of Mariánské Lázně
William Summerill Vanneman 1896 Second and Third Class Service to Shah and provision health care to population
Brigadier General Frank Schaffer Besson Jr. 1944 Second Class Service to Shah of Iran and provision of health care to population as Director of the Third Military Railway Service in Iran from 1944 to 1945. The Shah personally presented him with the medal.[4]

See also

[edit]
Pendant of the Order of the Lion, France, 1840–1860, enameled gold with diamonds, rubies, garnets, and paste - Aga Khan Museum - Toronto, Canada

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kaye, John William (1856). The Life and Correspondence of Major-General Sir John Malcolm, G. C. B., late Envoy to Persia, and Governor of Bombay. Vol. II. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. pp. 31–32.
  2. ^ "The Lion and the Sun".
  3. ^ "Hofstaat Seiner Kaiserlichen und Königlichen Apostolischen Majestät", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie (in German), Vienna: Druck und Verlag der K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1916, p. 16 – via alex.onb.ac.at
  4. ^ https://transportation.army.mil/museum/about/besson.html

Sources

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Order of the Lion and the Sun.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Order_of_the_Lion_and_the_Sun&oldid=1257607963"