Bronze Age in Anatolia, today in
Alaca Höyük,
Turkey Many-headed mythological beasts and bird creatures frequently appear in the
Bronze Age and
Iron Age pictorial legacy of the
Ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamia. They were later adopted by the
Hittites. Use of the double-headed eagle in Hittite imagery has been interpreted as "royal insignia". A monumental Hittite relief of a double-headed eagle grasping two hares is found at the eastern pier of the Sphinx Gate at
Alaca Hüyük. In
Mycenaean Greece, double-headed eagles appear on Mycenaean pottery.
Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex One of the earliest known depictions of a double-headed eagle appears on a ceremonial shaft-hole axe head from the
Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), dated to the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC (Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0).
Middle Ages (r. 908–1021) After the
Bronze Age collapse, there is a gap of more than two millennia before the re-appearance of the double-headed eagle motif. The earliest occurrence in the context of the
Byzantine Empire appears to be on a silk brocade dated to the 10th century, which was, however, likely manufactured in
Islamic Spain; similarly early examples, from the 10th or 11th century, are from
Bulgaria and from
France.
Adoption in the Byzantine Empire The early
Byzantine Empire continued to use the (single-headed)
imperial eagle motif. The double-headed eagle appears only in the medieval period, by about the 10th century in
Byzantine art, A modern theory, forwarded by Nicholas Zapheiriou, connected the introduction of the motif to Byzantine Emperor
Isaac I Komnenos (1057–1059), whose family originated in
Paphlagonia. Zapheiriou supposed that the Hittite motif of the double-headed bird, associated with the Paphlagonian city of
Gangra (where it was known as
Haga, ), might have been brought to the Byzantine Empire by the
Komnenoi.
Adoption in the Turkic and Muslim world The double-headed eagle motif was adopted in the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm and the
Turkish beyliks of
medieval Anatolia in the early 13th century. A royal association of the motif is suggested by its appearance on the keystone of an arch of the citadel built at
Konya (Ikonion) under
Kayqubad I (r. 1220–1237). The motif appears on
Turkomen coins of this era, notably on coins minted under
Artuqid ruler Nasir al-Din Mahmud of
Hasankeyf (r. 1200–1222). It is also found on some stone reliefs on the towers of
Diyarbakır Fortress. The
ilkhanid rulers also struck coins with the motif,
Abaqa had them minted in
Irbil (see coin 1, coin 2). While
Arghun had them minted in
Nishapur (see coin 1, coin 2, coin 3, coin 4, coin5). Later in the 13th century, the motif was also adopted in
Mamluk Egypt; it is notably found on the pierced-globe handwarmer made for Mamluk amir Badr al-Din Baysari (), and in a stone relief on the walls of the
Cairo Citadel. Dirham of Nasir al-Din Mahmud, AH 610.jpg|AE dirhem of the Artuqid ruler
Nasir al-Din Mahmud (, struck in
Hisn Kayfa, featuring the double-headed eagle on the obverse Ince_minare_sculpture_1.jpg|A double-headed eagle relief, 13th-century (
Seljuk/
Ayyubid period) architectural fragment found at
Konya, now in
Ince Minare Museum Adoption in Christian Europe , entrance of
St. George's Cathedral,
Istanbul Adoption of the double-headed eagle in Serbia, Albania, Russia and in the Holy Roman Empire begins still in the medieval period, possibly as early as the 12th century, but widespread use begins after the
fall of Constantinople, in the late 15th century. The oldest preserved depiction of a double-headed eagle
in Serbia is the one found in the
donor portrait of
Miroslav of Hum in the Church of St. Peter and Paul in
Bijelo Polje, dating to 1190. The double-headed eagle in the Serbian royal coat of arms is well attested in the 13th and 14th centuries. An exceptional medieval depiction of a double-headed eagle in the West, attributed to
Otto IV, is found in a copy of the of
Matthew of Paris (
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Parker MS 16 fol. 18, 13th century). File:Knez Miroslav grb orla sa odezde.png| Drawing of the double-headed eagle as shown in the donor portrait of
Miroslav of Hum in
Bijelo Polje (1190) File:Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor.jpg|First double-headed eagle as , from () File:Seal of Ivan 3 (reverse).svg|Seal of
Ivan III of Russia (1472)
Early modern use Serbia In
Serbia, the
Serbian Orthodox Nemanjić dynasty adopted a double-headed eagle by the 12th century by
Serbian prince Miroslav (later recorded by
Angelino Dulcert 1339 during
Serbian Empire). The double-headed eagle was used in several coats of arms found in the
Illyrian Armorials, compiled in the early modern period. The white double-headed eagle on a red shield was used for the
Serbian Kingdom Nemanjić dynasty, and the Despot
Stefan Lazarević. A "Nemanjić eagle" was used at the
crest of the Hrebeljanović (
Lazarević dynasty), while a half-white half-red eagle was used at the crest of the
Mrnjavčević. Use of the white eagle was continued by the modern
Karađorđević and
Obrenović ruling houses.
Albania The
Kastrioti family in
Albania had a double-headed eagle as their emblem in the 14th and 15th centuries. Some members of the
Dukagjini family and the
Arianiti family also used double-headed eagles, and a coalition of Albanian states in the 15th century, later called the
League of Lezhë, also used the Kastrioti eagle as its flag. The current
flag of Albania features a black two-headed eagle with a crimson background. During
John Hunyadi's campaign in
Niš in 1443,
Skanderbeg and a few hundred Albanians defected from the Turkish ranks and used the double-headed eagle flag. The eagle was used for
heraldic purposes in the
Middle Ages by a number of Albanian noble families and became the symbol of the
Albanians. The
Kastrioti's
coat of arms, depicting a black double-headed eagle on a red field, became famous when he led a revolt against the
Ottoman Empire resulting in the independence of Albania from 1443 to 1479. This was the flag of the League of Lezhë, which was the first unified Albanian state in the
Middle Ages and the oldest
Parliament with extant records.
Russia (1589) After the
fall of Constantinople, the use of two-headed eagle symbols spread to
Grand Duchy of Moscow after
Ivan III's second marriage (1472) to
Zoe Palaiologina (a niece of the last Byzantine emperor
Constantine XI Palaiologos, who reigned 1449–1453), The last prince of Tver,
Mikhail III of Tver (1453–1505), was stamping his coins with two-headed eagle symbol. The double-headed eagle remained an important motif in the heraldry of the imperial families of Russia (the
House of Romanov (1613–1762)). The double-headed eagle was a main element of the coat of arms of the
Russian Empire (1721–1917), modified in various ways from the reign of
Ivan III (1462–1505) onwards, with the shape of the eagle getting its definite Russian form during the reign of
Peter the Great (1682–1725). It continued to be used even after the start of the
Russian Revolution in 1917 with its royal
regalia (such as
crowns,
sceptre, and
derzhava) removed, but was later abolished completely after the
Bolsheviks who came to power later that year adopted a brand new non-traditional
heraldry encompassing
communist symbols. The
White movement Russian government of 1918–1919 used it in their coat of arms. The double-headed eagle was restored in 1993 shortly after the
fall of the
Soviet Union and remains in use up to the present, although the eagle charge on the present coat of arms is golden rather than the traditional, imperial black. It is also widely used by federal agencies.
Holy Roman Empire Use of a double-headed Imperial Eagle, improved from the single-headed Imperial Eagle used in the high medieval period, became current in the 15th to 16th centuries. The double-headed was in the coats of arms of many German cities and aristocratic families in the early modern period. A distinguishing feature of the
Holy Roman eagle was that it was often depicted with
haloes. In the 16th century, the double-headed eagle was the most powerful heraldic mark up to that time, as it symbolized the union of the imperial dignity of the
Holy Roman Empire (the
Habsburg empire) with the
Spanish Monarchy. The double-headed eagle would end up being the emblem of the Habsburgs in Madrid and Vienna, becoming universal with the global expansion of the
Spanish Empire. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the double-headed eagle was retained by the
Austrian Empire, and served also as the coat of arms of the
German Confederation. The German states of
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen continued to use the double-headed eagle as well until they were
abolished shortly after the
First World War, and so did the
Free City of Lübeck until it was abolished by the
Nazi government in 1937. Austria, which switched to
a single-headed eagle after the end of the monarchy, briefly used a double-headed eagle – with haloes – once again when it was a
one-party state 1934–1938; this, too, was
ended by the Nazi government. Since then, Germany and Austria, and their respective states, have not used double-headed eagles.
Mysore (India) The
Gandaberunda is a bicephalous bird, not necessarily an eagle but very similar in design to the double-headed eagle used in Western heraldry, used as a symbol by the
Wadiyar dynasty of the
Kingdom of Mysore from the 16th century. Coins (gold pagoda or gadyana) from the rule of
Achyuta Deva Raya (reigned 1529–1542) depicted the Gandaberunda. Of similar age is a sculpture on the roof of the Rameshwara temple in the temple town of
Keladi in
Shivamogga. The symbol was in continued use by the
Maharaja of Mysore into the modern period, and was adopted as
the state symbol of the
State of Mysore (now
Karnataka) after
Indian independence.
Modern use Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Russia each have a double-headed eagle in their respective coats of arms. In 1912,
Ismail Qemali raised a similar version of that flag. The flag has gone through many alterations, until 1992 when the current
flag of Albania was introduced. The double-headed eagle is now used as an emblem by a number of
Orthodox Christian churches, including the
Greek Orthodox Church and the
Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. In modern Greece, it appears in official use in the
Hellenic Army (coat of arms of
Hellenic Army General Staff) and the Hellenic Army
XVI Infantry Division, The two-headed eagle appears, often as a
supporter, on the modern and historical
arms and flags of
Austria-Hungary, the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia,
Austria (1934–1938), Albania,
Armenia, Montenegro, Russia and Serbia. It was also used as a charge on the Greek coat of arms for a brief period in 1925–1926. It is also used in the municipal arms of a number of cities in Germany, Netherlands and Serbia, the arms and flag of the city and province of
Toledo,
Spain, the arms of the town of
Velletri,
Italy, and the arms and flag of the city of
Rijeka,
Croatia. An
English heraldic tradition, apparently going back to the 17th century,
attributes coats of arms with double-headed eagles to the Anglo-Saxon earls of
Mercia,
Leofwine and
Leofric. The design was introduced in a number of British municipal coats of arms in the 20th century, such as the
Municipal Borough of Wimbledon in London, the supporters in the coat of arms of the city and burgh of
Perth, and hence in that of the district of
Perth and Kinross (1975). The motif is also found in a number of British family coats of arms. In Turkey,
General Directorate of Security, the municipalities of
Diyarbakır and
Konya, as well as
Konyaspor and
Erzurumspor F.K. football clubs have a double-headed eagle in their coat of arms.
Scottish Rite of Freemasonry The Double-Headed Eagle is used as an emblem by the
Scottish Rite of
Freemasonry which was introduced in France, in the early 1760s, as the emblem of the
Kadosh degree. The
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, adopted the 'Double Headed Eagle of Lagash' as its emblem since the 1758 establishment of the
Masonic Chivalry Rite (Council of Emperors of the East and West), in Paris, France. That council, with a Masonic rite of twenty-five degrees, set the foundation for what would evolve into the present masonic system Scottish Rite. The successors of the "Council of Emperors of the East and West" are today the various Supreme Councils of the Thirty Third Degree in more than 60 countries. The Double Headed Eagle was formally adopted from the personal emblem of
King Frederick the Great, of Prussia, who in 1786 became the First Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33 Degree, subsequent to its formation following the adoption of eight additional degrees to the Masonic Rite.
Sports clubs insignia Several sports clubs, mainly Greek and Turkish, have the double-headed eagle in their insignia. Some of them are: three football clubs of Turkey;
Çorum FK,
BB Erzurumspor,
Konyaspor,
Amed SFK and the Greek sport clubs
AEK (Athletic Union of Constantinople) and (since 1929 when it adopted the emblem of its parent association Enosis Konstantinopoliton Thessalonikis which was founded in 1923)
P.A.O.K. (Pan-Thesalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans). The Greek clubs use this symbol since both were founded by
Greek refugees who moved to
Greece from
Constantinople in the 1920s. It is also the emblem of the Dutch clubs
NEC and
Vitesse Arnhem, the English football club
AFC Wimbledon and Scottish side
Saint Johnstone FC. The Gandabherunda insignia is used by the Indian club
Bengaluru FC in their logo. == Gallery ==