How does a double-headed eagle become the image of the Russian national emblem?

01. The process of double-headed eagles becoming a symbol of imperial power orstate in Russia

Now the double-headed eagle image on the Russian national emblem does notsuddenly appear. It has deep links with Russian history.

(Modern Russian Federation National Emblem Design)

As early as the 15th century, after King Ivan III of the Grand Duchy of Russiaunified Russia, the double-headed eagle appeared on the Great Seal of Russia asa national symbol. After the Russian Ivan III, the monarchs of successivegenerations have inherited the design of the double-headed eagle nationalemblem, but this design will be slightly adjusted from time to time.

Since the 17th century, two-headed eagles have added a scepter of monarchypower and a golden ball of unity. In the 1720s, a crown was added to thehead of a two-headed eagle wearing a crown. In the 17th century, anotherking interpreted the three crowns on the head of the double-headed eagle asKazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia. When Peter I was king, he designed thenational emblem as a black double-headed eagle with a goldenbackground. After the February Revolution, the Russian interim governmentabolished most of the royal emblems, but retained the double-headed eagle,removing only the knight pattern.

So, what is the origin of the double-headed eagle? Why can it be used as asymbol of Russia for a long time?

There are two mainstream theories about the origin of the Russian double-headedeagle.

02. Byzantine heritage

One is that its origins can be traced back to the Byzantine Empire. It isa symbol of Byzantine emperor Constantine I. This empire once spannedEurasia, so the two-headed eagle looked away. In the 1950s, the ByzantineEmpire was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire. Constantine the Great died onthe 11th. One of his brothers fled to Rome with two sons and adaughter. The three children were raised by the Pope after hisdeath. At that time, Roman politicians wanted to use Russian militarypower to resist the Ottoman Empire, so they married the girl to Russia's GrandDuke of Moscow Ivan III.

Later, with the help of this wife, Ivan III of Russia basically unifiedRussia's land and formed a unified country. The original double-headedeagle emblem of the Byzantine Empire also appeared on the Great Seal of Russiafor this historical origin.

03, The Gift of History

Another argument pushes the history of the double-headed eagle back to ancienttimes. Some scholars believe that the earliest double-headed eagle patternappeared in the Sumerian civilization and Hittite civilization of Asia Minorfrom 3000 BC to 2000 BC, and was later inherited by the Seljuks. In theMiddle Ages, this model became a common model in Islamic culture.

(Hittite Empire double-headed eagle logo)

After the Crusades' expedition, this model gradually spread in the West andbecame a symbol of power. Since the 13th century, double-headed eagleshave appeared on coins in many Western European countries, coexisting withancient Roman single-headed eagle motifs. In the 14th century, bothkingdoms in southern Russia used this design as a symbol of kingship. TheGrand Duke of Moscow, Ivan III of Russia, may have taken inspiration from theroyal symbol of the southern kingdom and introduced it.

(From left to right: National Emblems of Serbia, Russia and Montenegro)

Both arguments are cited. However, the double-headed eagle model has along history. In modern times, Russia is in the Soviet Union, and thedouble-headed eagle national emblem was completely abolished. After thedisintegration of the Soviet Union, the President of the Russian Federationannounced in 1993 the resumption of the use of the double-headed eagle nationalemblem, which once had the symbolic power of a king, but this decision has beencontroversial. It took seven years, that is, 2000, before Russia passedthe "National Emblem Law of the Russian Federation", which officiallyestablished the current double-headed eagle image for the national emblemdesign.

reference:

1. Wang et al., "Russian Society and Culture Q & A", Shanghai:Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2014.

2. Liu, The Lighthouse of Literature, Guangzhou: Huacheng Publishing House,2015.

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