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
- 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
Name | Year | Rank | Reason awarded |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Franz Nadler | 1900 | Commander Cross | Mayor of Mariánské Lázně |
William Summerill Vanneman | 1896 | Second and Third | Service to Shah and provision health care to population |
Brigadier General Frank Schaffer Besson Jr., Director of the Third Military Railway Service in Iran from 1944 to 1945. The Shah of Iran personally presented him with the Iranian Medal. | 1944 | Second Class | Service to Shah and provision health care to population ((https://transportation.army.mil/museum/about/besson.html)) |
See also
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The Lion and the Sun".
Sources
- Mikaberidze, Alexander (2005). Russian Officer Corps of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1611210026.
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