Editing Crescent (section)

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu.jpg|thumb|[[Sumeria]]n [[cylinder seal]], dated {{circa|2400}} BC, showing the Moon god as a crescent symbol]]
The crescent shape is used to represent the Moon, and the Moon deity [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna/Sin]] from an early time, visible in [[Akkadia]]n [[cylinder seal]]s as early as 2300 BC.

The [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian logograph]] representing the Moon also had a crescent shape <hiero>N11</hiero> ([[Gardiner's sign list|Gardiner]] [[List of hieroglyphs/N|N11]], {{Transliteration|egy|ı͗ꜥḥ}} "moon" (with increscent and decrescent variants); variant N12 <hiero>N12</hiero>). In addition, there is a [[19th-dynasty]] hieroglyph representing the "moon with its lower half obscured (N9 <hiero>N9</hiero> {{Transliteration|egy|psḏ}}, with a variant with a crescent shape N10 <hiero>N10</hiero>).<ref>A.H. Gardiner, ''[[Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs]]''. 3rd Ed., pub. [[Griffith Institute]], Oxford, 1957 (1st edition 1927), p. 486.</ref>

The crescent was well used in the iconography of the [[ancient Near East]] and was used by the [[Phoenicians]] in the 8th century BC as far as [[Carthage]] and [[Numidia]] in modern [[Tunisia]] and [[Algeria]]. The crescent and star also appears on pre-Islamic coins of South Arabia.<ref>Tombs and Moon Temple of Hureidah, Gertrude Caton Thompson, p.76</ref>

The combination of [[star and crescent]] also arises in the [[ancient Near East]], representing the [[Sin (mythology)|Moon]] and [[Ishtar]] (the planet Venus), often combined into a triad with the [[Shamash|solar disk]].<ref>"the three celestial emblems, the sun disk of [[Shamash]] ([[Utu]] to the Sumerians), the crescent of Sin (Nanna), and the star of [[Ishtar]] ([[Inanna]] to the Sumerians)". Irving L. Finkel, Markham J. Geller, ''Sumerian Gods and Their Representations'', Styx, 1997, p71.</ref> It was inherited both in [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanian]] and [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] iconography.

===Classical antiquity===
[[Selene]], the [[List of lunar deities|moon goddess]], was depicted with a crescent upon her head, often referred to as her [[horned deity|horns]], and a major identifying feature of hers in ancient works of art.<ref>Bell, s.v. [https://archive.org/details/womenofclassical00bell/page/396/mode/2up?q=&view=theater Selene]; ''Roman Sarcophagi in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]'', 1978, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PBstaVWigg0C&pg=PA35 35]</ref><ref>[[British Museum]] [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?museum_number=1923,0401.199 1923,0401.199]; [[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|''LIMC'']] [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-745ed7cd0964a-a 13213 (Selene, Luna 21)]; [[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|''LIMC'']] [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-745e62aefddaa-9 13181 (Selene, Luna 4)]</ref>

In the iconography of the [[Hellenistic period]], the crescent became the symbol of [[Artemis]]-[[Diana (mythology)|Diana]], the virgin hunter goddess associated with the Moon. Numerous depictions show Artemis-Diana wearing the crescent Moon as part of her headdress.
The related symbol of the [[star and crescent]] was the emblem of the [[Mithridates I of Pontus|Mithradates]] dynasty in the [[Kingdom of Pontus]] and was also used as the emblem of [[Byzantium]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
File:Astarte with horns.jpg|[[Astarte]] with horns, statuette from [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]]-era Mesopotamia
File:Clipeus Selene Terme.jpg|Bust of [[Selene]] on a [[Roman sarcophagus]] (3rd century)
File:Tagh1.jpg|[[Taq-e Bostan]], from the [[Sasanian Empire]] of the [[pre-Islamic Persia|pre-Islamic era]]. Note the crescent above the arch.
</gallery>

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Les Heures de Paris de Rene d'Anjou01 detail.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|Miniature]] of Madonna on the crescent ([[Rohan Master]], ''Hours'' of [[René of Anjou]], 15th century)]]
[[File:Golden_Horde_flag_1339.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[Golden Horde]] as shown in [[Angelino Dulcert]]'s 1339 map]]
[[File:City Flag of Portsmouth.svg|thumb|The City Flag of [[Portsmouth]], derived from the Medieval arms of [[Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus]].]]
[[File:Flag_of_Azov.svg|thumb|Flag of the town of [[Azak]] today]]
[[File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_Mamluk_Sultan_of_Egypt.svg|thumb|right|Coat of Arms of the [[Mamluks of Egypt]] in [[Mecia de Viladestes]] map (1413)]]
[[File:Drogheda_crest.svg|thumb|Town [[Coat of arms|arms]] of [[Drogheda]], [[Ireland]]]]

The crescent remained in use as an emblem in the Sasanian Empire, used as a [[Mah|Zoroastrian]] regal or astrological symbol. In the [[Crusades]] it came to be associated with the [[Orient]] (the [[Byzantine Empire]], the [[Levant]] and [[Outremer]] in general) and was widely used (often alongside a [[star and crescent|star]]) in [[Crusader seals]] and [[Crusader coins|coins]]. It was used as a [[heraldic charge]] by the later 13th century. [[Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus]], the claimant to the [[Byzantine Empire]] who ruled Cyprus until overthrown by the crusading King [[Richard I of England]], used arms with "a crescent of gold on a shade of azure, with a blazing star of eight points". Later, King Richard granted the same as the coat of arms of the city of [[Portsmouth]], in recognition of the significant involvement of soldiers, sailors, and vessels from Portsmouth in the conquest of Cyprus.{{sfn|Quail|1994|pp=14–18}} This remains [[Portsmouth]]'s coat of arms up to the present.

[[Anna Notaras]], daughter of the last ''[[megas doux]]'' of the Byzantine Empire [[Loukas Notaras]], after the fall of Constantinople and her emigration to Italy, made a seal with her coat of arms which included "two lions holding above the crescent a cross or a sword".<ref>Tipaldos, G. E., ''[[Great Greek Encyclopedia]]'', Vol. XII, page 292, Athens, 1930</ref>

From its use in the Sasanian Empire, the crescent also found its way into Islamic iconography after the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]. [[Umar]] is said to have hung two crescent-shaped ornaments captured from the Sasanian capital of [[Ctesiphon]] in the [[Kaaba]].<ref>Oleg Grabar, "Umayyad Dome," ''Ars orientalis'' (1959), p. 50, cited after Berger (2012:164).</ref>
The crescent also became the symbol of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]].{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} The crescent appears to have been adopted as an emblem on [[Islamic flags|military flags]] by the Islamic armies from at least the 13th century, although the scholarly consensus holds that the widespread use of the crescent in Islam develops later, during the 14th to 15th century.<ref>Pamela Berger,  ''The Crescent on the Temple: The Dome of the Rock as Image of the Ancient Jewish Sanctuary'' (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=JekyAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA164 p. 164f]</ref>
The use of such flags is reflected in the 14th-century ''[[Libro del Conoscimiento]]'' and the [[Catalan Atlas]].
Examples include the flags attributed to [[Gabes]], [[Kingdom of Tlemcen|Tlemcen]], [[Hafsid dynasty|Tunis]] and [[Buda]],<ref>Znamierowski ''Flags through the ages: A guide to the world of flags, banners, standards and ensigns'', (2000) section 'the Muslim crescent', cited by Ivan Sache, [http://www.allstates-flag.com/fotw/flags/tn-hist.html#14th FOTW] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322065301/http://www.allstates-flag.com/fotw/flags/tn-hist.html |date=2016-03-22 }},  11 March 2001</ref>  [[Nubia]]/[[Dongola]] (documented by [[Angelino Dulcert]] in 1339) and the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluks of Egypt]].<ref>"After king Nasr ad din had fled to Cairo in 1397 to beg assistance against his cousin, the King of Nubia is depicted with a yellow flag with a white crescent but also with a yellow shield with a white crescent. At the same time the yellow crescented flag waves over all the Mameluk Empire. The flag of the Sultan of Egypt is yellow with three white crescents.  From this we may conclude that any autonomy of the Nubian king was over at the time." Hubert de Vries, [http://www.hubert-herald.nl/SudanI.htm Muslim Nubia (hubert-herald.nl)].</ref>

The Roman Catholic fashion of depicting [[Madonna (art)|Madonna]] standing or sitting on a crescent develops in the 15th century.

===Early modern and modern===
[[File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Mayotte.svg|thumb|Coat of Arms of [[Mayotte]]]]
[[File:Lesser_coat_of_arms_of_the_Regency_of_Algiers.svg|thumb|Coat of Arms of the [[Regency of Algiers]] (1630–1830)]]

The goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] was associated with the Moon in classical mythology. In reference to this, feminine jewelry representing crescents, especially [[diadem]]s, became popular in the early modern period. The [[tarot]] card of the "[[The High Priestess|Popess]]" also wears a crescent on her head.

[[Conrad Grünenberg]] in his ''Pilgrimage to the [[Holy Land]]'' (1486) consistently depicts cities in the Holy Land with crescent finials.<ref>so for Jaffa ([[:File:Konrad von Grünenberg - Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem - Blatt 29r - 063.jpg|29r]]), Raman ([[:File:Konrad von Grünenberg - Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem - Blatt 31v-32r.jpg|31v-32r]]), Jerusalem ([[:File:Konrad von Grünenberg - Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem - Blatt 35v-36r.jpg|35v-36r]]). Grünenberg's pilgrimage took place still during the late [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] era ([[Burji dynasty]]) of control over the Holy Land.</ref> Flags with crescents appear to have been used on Ottoman vessels since at least the 16th century.

Prints depicting the [[Battle of Lepanto]] (1571), including the print by [[Agostino Barberigo]] of Rome made just a few weeks after the battle,<ref>Agostino Barberigo, ''L' ultimo Et vero Ritrato Di la vitoria de L'armata Cristiana de la santissima liga Contre a L'armata Turcheschà [...], 1571. Antonio Lafreri , L’ordine tenuto dall’armata della santa Lega Christiana contro il Turcho [...], n'e seguita la felicissima Vittoria li sette d'Ottobre MDLXXI [...]'', Rome, 1571</ref> and the Martino Rota of Venice in the following year, show the Ottoman vessels displaying flags with one or several crescents in various orientations (as do the monumental paintings commissioned later based on these prints). Rota also shows numerous crescent finials, both on ships and on fortresses depicted in the background, as well as some finials with stars or suns radiant, and in some cases a sun radiant combined with a crescent in the star-and-crescent configuration.

The official adoption of [[star and crescent]] as the [[Ottoman state]] symbol started during the reign of Sultan [[Mustafa III]] (1757–1774) and its use became well-established during Sultan [[Abdul Hamid I]] (1774–1789) and Sultan [[Selim III]] (1789–1807) periods. A ''{{lang|tr|[[buyruldu]]}}'' (decree) from 1793 states that the ships in the [[Ottoman navy]] have that flag.<ref name="islamencyclopedia">{{cite book |title=İslâm Ansiklopedisi |url=http://www.islamansiklopedisi.info/dia/ayrmetin.php?idno=040298 |location=Istanbul |publisher=Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı |page=298 |volume=4 |date=1991 |language=tr}}</ref>

[[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]], who became Pasha of [[Egypt]] in 1805, introduced the first [[national flag]] of Egypt, red with three white crescents, each accompanied by a white star.

The association of the crescent with [[flags of the Ottoman Empire|the Ottoman Empire]] appears to have resulted in a gradual association of the crescent shape with [[Islam]] in the 20th century.{{explain|date=June 2022}} A [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement#Red Crescent|Red Crescent]] appears to have been used as a replacement of the [[Red Cross]] as early as in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)|Russo-Turkish War]] of 1877/8, and it was officially adopted in 1929.

While some Islamic organisations since the 1970s have embraced the crescent as their logo or emblem (e.g. ''[[Crescent International]]'' magazine, established 1980), some Muslim publications tend to emphasize that the interpretation of the crescent, historically used on the banners of Muslim armies, as a "religious symbol" of Islam was an error made by the "Christians of Europe".<ref>"Like the Crusaders, the Christians of Europe were misled into a belief that the crescent was the religious symbol of Islam" ''Islamic Review'' 30 (1942), p. 70., "many Muslim scholars reject using the crescent moon as a symbol of Islam. The faith of Islam historically had no symbol, and many refuse to accept it.", Fiaz Fazli, ''Crescent'' magazine, [[Srinagar]], September 2009, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8oBW-sQ_dpIC&pg=PA42 p. 42].</ref> The identification of the crescent as an "Islamic symbol" is mentioned by [[James Hastings]] as a "common error" to which "even approved writers on Oriental subjects" are prone as early as 1928.<ref>"There is no more common error than the supposition that the crescent (or rather crescent and star) is an Islamic symbol, and even approved writers on Oriental subjects are apt to fall into it." 
James Hastings, ''[[Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics]]'', Volumes 11-12 (1928),  p. 145.</ref>

The crescent was used on a flag of the [[American Revolutionary War]] and was called the [[Moultrie Flag|Liberty (or Moultrie) Flag]].

The symbol of the [[Triple Goddess (Neopaganism)|Triple Goddess]] is a circle flanked by a left facing and right facing crescent, which represents a [[virginity|maiden]], [[mother goddess|mother]] and [[crone]] archetype.<ref>Gilligan, Stephen G., and Simon, Dvorah (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CkLBOvt10jwC&dq=%22triple+goddess%22+crescent+moon+symbol&pg=PA148 ''Walking in Two Worlds: The Relational Self in Theory, Practice, and Community'']. Zeig Tucker & Theisen Publishers. p. 148. {{ISBN|1-932462-11-2}}, {{ISBN|978-1-932462-11-1}}. Retrieved 03 January 2022.</ref> The [[biohazard symbol]] bears peculiar resemblance to it.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
File:Crescents badge of the king Henry II of France.png|Triple crescent badge of [[Henry II of France]] ([[Château d'Écouen]])
File:Three_Mamelukes_with_lances_on_horseback.jpg|[[Mamluk]] lancers, early 16th century (etching by [[Daniel Hopfer]])
File:Battle_of_Mohi_1241.PNG|A depiction of the [[Battle of Mohi]] (1241) between [[Mongols]] on the left and [[Magyars]] on the right
File:Lepanto f1.jpg|The painting of the 1571 [[Battle of Lepanto]] by [[Tommaso Dolabella]] ({{Circa|1632}}) shows a variety of naval flags with crescents attributed to the [[Ottoman flags|Ottoman Empire]]
File:Laureys_a_Castro_-_A_Sea_Fight_with_Barbary_Corsairs.jpg|A naval battle painting of the [[Barbary state]] of [[Ottoman Algiers]] titled ''A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs'' by [[Laureys a Castro]], {{Circa|1681}}
File:Varna_1444_Polski_Kronika_from_1564.jpg|A scene from the [[Battle of Varna]] (1444) on the ''Kronika wszystkiego świata'' of [[Marcin Bielski]] (1564)
File:BadWaldsee Frauenbergkirche Gemälde Madonna.jpg|Madonna on the crescent, [[Bad Waldsee]] church (17th century)
File:Pompeo Batoni - Retrato de Dama como Diana Caçadora.jpg|''Portrait of a Lady as Diana'' by [[Pompeo Batoni]] (1760s)
File:Triple Goddess Symbol.svg|Symbol of the Triple Goddess
File:Horned-God-Symbol.svg|A circle with an upward facing crescent representing the [[Wiccan]] [[Horned God]]
</gallery>