Coat of arms of Tunisia
The coat of arms of Tunisia bears the image of a ship with a lion holding a sword and scales. There is a text under the ship, written in Arabic. Translated, it means: «Freedom, order, justice». The coat of arms of Tunisia has a golden color.
The main symbols of the coat of arms
Each symbol of the coat of arms denotes some kind of virtue:
- Leo is a symbol of order, the most important condition for the well-being of the country and the safety of its subjects.
- Galera is a symbol of freedom, which this country won with such difficulty. In addition, the galley has something to do with antiquity, when the territory of Tunisia belonged to the Phoenicians. At that time, the capital of the state was the ancient and glorious city of Carthage. The ship is also a sign that Tunisia is a maritime state..
- Libra - a symbol of justice.
- Above the shield, in a circle, are the main Islamic symbols - a star and a crescent. This location emphasizes the enormous importance of the Islamic religion in the state and public life of the country..
- A lion with a sword is a symbol of the power of the Tunisian state.
History of the Tunisian coat of arms
The first coat of arms was adopted in 1956. This happened after the country's independence was proclaimed. The then version of the coat of arms is not much different from the one adopted today. In particular, at that time there was an image of a spear and flags on the coat of arms. The lion and the scales were there, but their position was reversed. In addition, the coat of arms was tricolor - in addition to golden, it also had blue and red colors. In 1987, this color scheme was changed to a single color - golden.
Islamic symbols of the coat of arms
The white circle in the middle of the coat of arms represents the sun. Inside the circle is a red crescent, a five-pointed star. The color red is very important for this country, as it is a symbol of the struggle against Turkish rule..
Note that these symbols were used long before the appearance of Islam in this country. Even before our era, the Roman Empire minted coins on this territory, which depicted a crescent moon and the goddess of the moon Hecate. Once this goddess intervened in earthly affairs and protected the city from the siege of the Macedonians.
The crescent moon is also a symbol of immortality. Together with the circle, it signifies the unity of God. And during the crusades, the crescent moon was opposed to the Christian cross..
The same symbols are placed on the coats of arms and flags of other Arab countries. They all profess Islam.
