Two-headed eagle in the culture of different peoples
The two-headed eagle is one of the oldest symbols. It was widespread in the Sumerian culture. One of the earliest images of a two-headed eagle was discovered during excavations in the Sumerian city of Lagash in Mesopotamia.
An even more ancient double-headed eagle was probably carved from smoky jade by the Olmecs; it is in the Museum of Costa Rica.
The ancient Hittites were also familiar with this symbol. They had a double ax (later brought to Crete and assigned to Zeus) and a double-headed eagle as symbols-attributes of the main god Tishchub (Mother-in-law) - the god of thunder.
Hittites are an ancient Indo-European people; their state arose in Asia Minor, on the territory of modern Turkey, at least in the 4th millennium BC. and reached its heyday in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC.
Not far from the Turkish village of Bogazkoy, where the capital of the Hittite state was once located, the oldest image of a two-headed eagle (XIII century BC), carved on a rock, was discovered. A two-headed eagle with outstretched wings holds two birds with one stone. The modern interpretation of this image is as follows: the tsar is watching, looking around, defeating his enemies, who are represented by hares, cowardly but gluttonous animals.
The double-headed eagle is also depicted on cylindrical seals found during excavations of the Bogazkoy fortress. This symbol is also found on the walls of monumental structures in other cities of the Hittite civilization. The Hittites, like the Sumerians, used it for religious purposes.
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Images of a two-headed eagle in the 6th century BC e. were met in Media, east of the former Hittite kingdom.
Images of a two-headed eagle were found both in ancient Egypt and on Assyrian monuments, where, according to experts, they symbolized the union of the Median kingdom with the Assyrian kingdom in the 7th-6th centuries. BC e.
The Dictionary of International Symbols and Emblems says that "the Roman generals had the image of an eagle on their wands as a sign of supremacy over the army in action." Later, the eagle "was turned into an exclusively imperial sign, a symbol of supreme power."
In ancient Greece, the sun god Helios traveled across the sky in a chariot drawn by four horses. Describes rare, not intended for the general public, images of Helios on a chariot pulled by two-headed eagles. There were two, four heads. Perhaps it was a sign of an older, secret symbol.
Later, the images of the two-headed eagle were used by the Persian shahs from the Sassanid dynasty (first centuries AD), and then by the Arab rulers who succeeded them, who even placed this emblem on their coins. The Ottomans minted coins with the Star of David on one side and a double-headed eagle on the other. On the Arab coins of the Zengids and Orthokids from the XII to XIV centuries. there are also images of two-headed eagles.
In the Arab world, the double-headed eagle has also become a popular element of oriental ornament. In the Middle Ages, this symbol appeared on the standards of the Seljuk Turks, who, in addition, decorated the stands for the Koran with it. The double-headed eagle was widespread in Persia as a symbol of victory, as well as in the Golden Horde.
A number of coins of the Golden Horde, minted during the reign of the khans Uzbek and Dzhanibek, with the image of a two-headed eagle have survived. Sometimes there are statements that the two-headed eagle was the Golden Horde state emblem. However, the coat of arms is usually associated with the state seal; To date, not a single document (label) with the seal of the Jochi ulus has survived, so most historians do not consider the double-headed eagle to be the coat of arms of the Golden Horde.
There is evidence that the two-headed eagle was on the banners of the Huns (II-V centuries). Among the Indo-Europeans, the two-headed eagle first appeared among the Hurrians (II-I millennium BC, the center of civilization in the Transcaucasus), who revered him as the guardian of the Tree of Life.
It is believed that Europeans first recognized the image of the two-headed eagle during the Crusades. This symbol was used as the coat of arms of many of the first Templars who set out to conquer the Holy Sepulcher in the Holy Land, and most likely was borrowed by them on their travels across the territory of modern Turkey. Since then, the double-headed eagle has become frequently used in European heraldry. In Byzantium and the Balkan countries, it often had a decorative character. Double-headed eagles were depicted on fabrics, ritual vessels, walls of religious buildings, as well as on the seals of territorial principalities and imperial cities.
Since the end of the XIV century, a golden double-headed eagle on a red field increasingly figured on various state regalia of Byzantium. In the 15th century, under Emperor Sigismund or shortly before him, the two-headed eagle was adopted as the state emblem of the Holy Roman (German) Empire. He was depicted as black in a golden shield with golden beaks and claws, the heads of the eagle were surrounded by halos.
The double-headed eagle was depicted in the past on the coats of arms of Austria, the German Union, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, as well as on the Emblem of the Shahanshah of Iran, Mohammad-Reza Shah Pahlavi. He was also present on the coins of medieval Bulgaria
The oldest coat of arms of Moscow was placed on the Eagle's chest since the time of Peter I. On it is the image of the Heavenly Horseman, personifying the image of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George, striking the Serpent with a spear, which symbolizes the eternal struggle of Light and Darkness, Good and Evil. In its paws, the Eagle firmly holds the scepter and orb - unshakable symbols of power, sovereignty, unity and integrity of the state.
Currently, the two-headed eagle is depicted on the coats of arms of Albania, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro.
There are many myths and scientific hypotheses about the reasons for the appearance of the two-headed eagle in Russia. According to one of the hypotheses, the main state symbol of the Byzantine Empire - the double-headed Eagle - appeared in Russia more than 500 years ago in 1472, after the marriage of the Grand Duke of Moscow John III Vasilyevich, who completed the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow, and the Byzantine princess Sophia (Zoe) Paleologue - the nieces of the last Constantinople emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos-Dragas.
In the 18th century, the first Russian historian V. N. Tatishchev, referring to the “old history of the Solovetsky monastery,” wrote: “John the Great (John III), following the legacy of his princess Sophia, a Greek princess, took for the state emblem a plastane eagle with pubescent wings and two crowns over their heads, which his son also used”. In confirmation of Tatishchev's version, a seal was found attached to the granting exchange and deed of the great Moscow prince Ivan III Vasilyevich to the princes of Volotsk Fedor and Ivan. On the obverse of the seal was a horseman piercing the dragon's neck, and on the reverse side a two-headed eagle. The letter and, accordingly, the seal were dated 1497. Tatishchev's version was supported by N. M. Karamzin, in the "History of the Russian State" he wrote: "The Grand Duke began to use this coat of arms since 1497".
Most researchers of this symbol believe that the eagle is associated with the sun. The logic is as follows: the eagle is the king of birds, the Sun is the king of all planets; the eagle flies above all, that is, closest to the sun. The eagle is a symbol with many meanings. The eagle always personifies power and nobility, reminding a person of his exalted origin and divine nature. Large outstretched wings are a symbol of protection, sharp claws are a symbol of an implacable struggle against evil, and a white head symbolizes just power. In addition, strength, courage, morality and wisdom are always associated with the eagle.
The eagle has been known as a royal symbol since ancient times. He is a sign of supremacy. He is a sign of the kings of the earth and heaven. Eagle is the messenger of Jupiter. Zeus turns into an eagle to kidnap Ganymede.
A two-headed eagle means the possibility of strengthening power, spreading it to the west and east. Allegorically, the ancient image of a two-headed bird could mean a still awake guard who sees everything in the east and in the west.
The eagle has always been a solar symbol that is an attribute of the sun gods in many cultures. It was considered as the sacred emblem of Odin, Zeus, Jupiter, Mithra, Ninurta (Ningirsu), Ashur - the Assyrian god of storm, lightning and fertility. The two-headed eagle symbolized Nergal (Mars), a deity personifying the incinerating heat of the midday sun. And also the god of the underworld.
The eagle was also seen as the messenger of the gods that connected the earthly and heavenly realms. And in Mesoamerica, he was also considered a symbol of space of light and a heavenly spirit.
In Christianity, the eagle served as the embodiment of divine love, justice, courage, spirit, faith, a symbol of the Resurrection. As in other traditions, the eagle played the role of the messenger of heaven.