دانیال

Ironically, the Lion and Sun (Shir-o Khorshid) "Iranian" flag is not pre-Islamic and has only been used to represent the Iranian state for the past 500 years, since the Safavid dynasty who changed Iran from a largely Sunni Muslim nation to a Shiite one. This flag was implemented to represent the power of Shiite Islam, and it's symbols were used to convey Imam Alī’s strength under the radiance of Allah. While it is true that syncretic Irano-Islamic heritages and narratives were also built around this flag, the deep rooted Muslim connotations cannot be ignored. Ultimately, even the Safavid flag was adopted from earlier Turkish and Mongol symbolism. Genghis Khan’s messengers sent to Nishapur used this motif as a banner, and they unleashed many genocides against many Iranians. You can also see it on the dirhams of Turkish Seljuk rulers such as Kaykhusraw II, or the tiles under Ilkhanate Mongol rulers. There is no evidence of lion and sun flags or banners being used by Iranians before Islam. Instead, what we see are the Eagle and the jewelled Derafsh-e Kavian banners. This symbol is one of many revisionisms pushed by Pahlavists, and like minded Iranians, to turn the entire heritage of Iran, both foreign and native elements, into a symbol of an old “Persia” or “Persian” identity. Funnily enough, even these ethnonyms and exonyms are misappellations used by outsiders, both historically and in modern times. While we are on this topic, within the Persian language there is no concept of Persia as a state or an ethnic group, yet it is widely promoted by Iranians experiencing an identity crisis, particularly those living in the Anglosphere who desperately want to be accepted by westerners and Europeans. The proper definitions of the word “Persian” are: 1). Middle Persian or New Persian as a language 2). One Iranian tribal confederation (amongst many) during the Old Iranian/Achaemenid era, who were leading the state. 3). A province in southwest Iran named after the tribal confederation.