Flag of Imperial Iran
Officially Imperial State of Iran
Locally Kešvar-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân · کشور شاهنشاهی ایران
What the flag looks like
Three equal horizontal stripes of green, white and red, with a gold lion holding a curved sword in front of a rising sun in the center of the white stripe.
What it means
The lion and sun had been an emblem of Iran for centuries, combining old Persian symbols of royalty and the sun.
How to remember it
Imperial Iran
is green-white-red with a gold sword-carrying lion before a rising sun; the Islamic Republic swapped it for a red emblem and white script, and Tajikistan
reverses the colors.
Fun facts
- After the 1979 revolution the lion and sun was removed, and the current emblem was adopted in 1980.
- The lion-and-sun flag is still widely flown by Iranians abroad and by opponents of the Islamic Republic.
Imperial Iran at a glance
- Pahlavi dynasty
- 1925–1979
- Flag used
- 1964–1980
- Today
- Iran
- Capital
- Tehran
- Region
- 1925–1979
- Languages
- Persian
- Currency
- Iranian rial (﷼)
- Flag adopted
- 1964
Flags often confused with Imperial Iran
- Iran: Imperial Iran and Iran today are both green-white-red horizontal stripes with a central emblem. Imperial Iran has a gold lion with a sword and a sun; the Islamic Republic has a red stylised emblem and white Kufic script along the stripe edges.
- Tajikistan: Imperial Iran and Tajikistan both have green, white and red stripes with a gold emblem in the center. Imperial Iran has green on top and a lion and sun; Tajikistan has red on top, a wider white stripe and a crown under seven stars.