Kiani Crown
Traditional coronation crown in the Iranian Crown Jewels
The Kiani Crown (Persian: تاج کیانی) was the traditional coronation crown in the Iranian Crown Jewels, worn by the Qajar shahs of Iran (1789-1925). The crown was designed under the first Qajar shah Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789-1797). Its design is directly derived from the Persian crowns of the ancient Sasanian shahs (224-651) and mythological Kiyani shahs of Persian mythology.
The crown itself is made of red velvet, on which thousands of gems were set. The Kiani Crown is highly decorated, possessing 1800 small pearls stitched onto it, with many having only 7 millimetres in diameter. It has approximately 300 emeralds and 1,800 rubies. The crown is 32 cm (12.5 in.) high and 19.5 cm (7.5 in.) wide. It is currently kept in the National Treasury of Iran in Tehran.
Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, had his own Pahlavi Crown designed, but the Kiani Crown was present during his coronation in 1926.
Middle and New Persian kay(an) originates from Eastern Iranian Avestan kavi (or kauui) meaning "king" and also "poet-sacrificer" or "poet-priest
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Kiani Crown”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- The Kiani Crown at the Treasury of National Jewels.jpg by Eugene de Blois, CC0
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