Steaua și semiluna

O stea (sau stele) și semiluna, în unele combinație formează simboluri larg găsite în întreaga lume antică, cu exemple atestate din Mediterana de Est și Asia Centrală.^[1]

La sfârșitul perioadei elenistice sau romane timpurii (secolul I î.Hr.), steaua și semiluna au fost asociate într-o oarecare măsură cu Bizanțul; chiar dacă simbolul a fost mai mult utilizat ca emblemă regală a lui Mitridates al VI-lea Eupator (care pentru o vreme a încorporat orașul în imperiul său, Pontus).^[2]

În timpul secolului 19, acesta a reprezentat Imperiul otoman, figurează pe steagul otoman din 1793. Pavilionul otoman din 1844 a continuat să fie utilizat ca drapel al Republicii Turcia. Alte state succesoare ale Imperiului Otoman au utilizat, de asemenea, simbolul, inclusiv Libia (1951-69 și dupǎ 2011), Tunisia (1956) și Algeria (1958).

Același simbol a fost utilizat în alte steaguri naționale introduse în cursul secolului 20, inclusiv drapelele Azerbaidjanului (1918), Pakistanului (1947), Malaeziei (1948) și al Mauritaniei (1959). În timpul anilor 1950 până în anii 1960, simbolul a fost reinterpretat ca simbol al Islamului sau al comunității musulmane.^[3] Până în anii 1970, acest simbolism a fost îmbrățișat de mișcările naționaliste arabe sau islamiste (chiar dacă nu a fost inițial un simbol arab), cum ar fi propusa Republică Arabă Islamică (1974) și religia din SUA Nation of Islam (1973).^[4]

Referințe[modificare | modificare sursă]

^ In the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, see for example the 'Ur-Nammu stela' of ca. 2100-2200 BCE: "Over the king's head, at the top of the stela, is a very large star or radiant sun-disc, floating free within a crescent." Jeanny Vorys Canby, The "Ur-Nammu" Stela, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 2006, p18; In Central Asia and India see, for example, a coin issue of Chashtana (probably dating to the late first or early second century AD): "A rare type with crescent and star alone on the reverse is probably Chashtana's earliest issue, struck before he extended his power into Malwa." H.H. Dodwell (Ed.), The Cambridge Shorter History of India, Cambridge University Press, 1935, p83; early Mesopotamian and, much later, Sassanian examples of the 'star and crescent' motif are of course well known.
^ Andrew G. Traver, From Polis to Empire, The Ancient World, c. 800 B.C.–A.D. 500, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, p. 257
^ The symbolism of the star and crescent in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969) was explained in an English language booklet, The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem, issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya (year unknown, cited after Jos Poels at FOTW, 1997) as follows: "The crescent is symbolic of the beginning of the lunar month according to the moslem calendar. It brings back to our minds the story of Hijra (migration) of our prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of our belief in God, in our country, its dignity and honour which illuminate our way and puts an end to darkness."
^ Edward E. Curtis, Black Muslim religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960-1975 (2006), p. 157.

Legături externe[modificare | modificare sursă]

Commons

Wikimedia Commons conține materiale multimedia legate de Steaua și semiluna

Charles Boutell. "Device of Star (or Sun) and Crescent". In: The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume XXXVI (New Series). London: John Nicols & Son, London, 1851, pp. 514–515. http://books.google.com/books/pdf/The_Gentleman_s_Magazine.pdf?id=ffMMN_clKR4C&output=pdf&sig=0SnjgHBVzek_Y7Hk4Ing5nJyH6I

[1] In the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, see for example the 'Ur-Nammu stela' of ca. 2100-2200 BCE: "Over the king's head, at the top of the stela, is a very large star or radiant sun-disc, floating free within a crescent." Jeanny Vorys Canby, The "Ur-Nammu" Stela, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 2006, p18; In Central Asia and India see, for example, a coin issue of Chashtana (probably dating to the late first or early second century AD): "A rare type with crescent and star alone on the reverse is probably Chashtana's earliest issue, struck before he extended his power into Malwa." H.H. Dodwell (Ed.), The Cambridge Shorter History of India, Cambridge University Press, 1935, p83; early Mesopotamian and, much later, Sassanian examples of the 'star and crescent' motif are of course well known.

[2] Andrew G. Traver, From Polis to Empire, The Ancient World, c. 800 B.C.–A.D. 500, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, p. 257

[3] The symbolism of the star and crescent in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969) was explained in an English language booklet, The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem, issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya (year unknown, cited after Jos Poels at FOTW, 1997) as follows: "The crescent is symbolic of the beginning of the lunar month according to the moslem calendar. It brings back to our minds the story of Hijra (migration) of our prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of our belief in God, in our country, its dignity and honour which illuminate our way and puts an end to darkness."

[4] Edward E. Curtis, Black Muslim religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960-1975 (2006), p. 157.

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