History of the Lion and the Sun

History of the Lion and the Sun (Persian: تاریخچه شیروخورشید‎, romanized: Tāriḵča-ye šir o ḵoršid) is a book by Ahmad Kasravi Which deals with the history of one of the main emblems of Iran, Lion and Sun. This history is important in that it digs into historical and literary sources for the first time to trace the origins of the lion and the sun as the national symbol of the Iranians who engraved their flags and coins.[1] To write this book, Kasravi examined inscriptions, old coins, and poetry anthologies as well as many books in Persian, Armenian, and Arabic.[2]

Contrary to popular belief, Kasravi believed that the shape of a lion in this emblem was not from Armenia but from Iran, and he gave three reasons for this claim: 1- Two lion statues from the Achaemenid period 2- Many coins with the role of a lion and 3- References that Persian poets have made in their poems from various flags and designs and named the lion.[3]