INTRODUCTION

ORIGIN

THE MIDDLE AGES

THE TWO-HEADED EAGLE IN THE WEST

The Holy Roman Empire

The Balkans

THE TWO-HEADED EAGLE IN THE EAST

Mesopotamia

Konya

Byzantium

Egypt

THE PERIPHERY

Nubia

Turkestan

Russia

India

Introduction

The two-headed eagle consists of the body, wings and claws of an eagle and has two heads. It is of very old origin. In the middleages it was the symbol of rank of a Roman caesar and was used by rulers wearing the title of kaiser, tsar and basileus, and also by rulers entitled imperator. These titles were used by those rulers governing one of the parts of the Roman Empire in the time of the tetrarchy when there were two caesares and two augusti each ruling a prefecture.

The two-headed eagle was the successor of the gorgoneion of pagan times, as well as of the Christian Roman Empire after Constantine.

A new weaving technique developed in Sassanian Persia at the turn of the fourth to the fifth century had made it possible to make patterns a part of the cloth itself. This may be the reason why the earliest two-headed eagles known are on silk clothes used for the cloaks of military commanders. Such cloaks were cared for by cape bearers, according to Emperor Maurices’ (582-602) Strategicon one for each tribune (commander of 500). [1] Its is not clear however if these cloaks were merely for ceremonial purposes or had a strategic function.

It remains to be explained what the beasts in the claws of the two-headed eagles exactly mean. Probably they were the badges of military or civil officials of the banda of the supreme commander or of the supreme commander himself.

The two-headed eagle was used all over the former Roman empire of  its largest extend and also in Russia and Nubia which were under stong cultural influence of the Christian Byzantine Empire.

In the prefecture Oriens it was used by the Christian basileis of  Byzantium and the Seljuq rulers in Asia Minor and Egypt.

In the prefecture Thracia it was used by the tsars of Serbia and Bulgaria, and also by the tsars or basileis of Epire and Achaia.

In the prefecture Gallia it was used by the caliph of Cordoba and the emperor of Spain, king of Castile and also by the augustus of the Holy Roman Empire, king of Germany.

No commanders within the prefecture Italy are known to have used the two-headed eagle.

Origin

The two-headed eagle is of Hittite origin. Early examples are from the center of the Hittite empire in central Anatolia (Asia Minor). Two-headed eagles are on seals but also on sculptures. In the last case they have other beasts in their claws and are apparently the symbol of the ruler standing on it. Thus, the two-headed eagle may have been the symbol of the tribe of the ruler but also of the ruler himself.

Print of a seal: Two-headed eagle surrounded by a twisted cord.

From Kültepe-Kanis, 18th c. B.C. (Museum Ankara).

Print of a seal: Two-headed eagle, a twisted cord below.

From Bogazköy . 18th c.B.C. (Museum Ankara).

Sphinx gate of Alaca Hüyük 14th c. BC

Ruler standing on a two-headed eagle catching two rabbits.

Rock sanctuary of Yazilikaya, 13th c B.C.

Inauguration scene, on the right two princes standing on a two-headed eagle

An interpretation of this scene reads:

This is the central scene in Chamber A.

There are many figures on either side of this scene forming two processions of gods that lead up to this central meeting of Teshub and Hebat.

The figures in this picture are, left to right, as follows:

First is probably Teshub's brother, standing astride two mountain peaks. Next is Teshub, the weather god, who is bearded and wears a tall, conical hat and a short-skirted tunic; he stands on the shoulders of two mountain gods (probably Namni and Hazzi). Facing him is the sun goddess Hebat wearing a fluted, cylindrical hat and a blouse and long skirt; she stands on the back of a large feline, which is in turn standing on mountain peaks. Behind her is Sharrumma, the son of Teshub and Hebat. He is the only male figure in the procession behind Hebat. He too stands and the back of a feline that is standing on mountain peaks. Next come two female figures: the first is identified as Alanzu, the daughter of Teshub and Hebat; the second might be their granddaughter. They are dressed similarly to Hebat, but the clothes aren't as full and flowing as hers; they are supported by a double headed eagle with wings spread.

.... but a more secular interpretation is possible: the “Gods” being rulers, the “Goddesses” being a vizier, a warrior and governors or civil offcials.

The Middle Ages

After the Hittite two-headed eagles there is a gap of almost two millennia to be filled. In the meantime the emblem of the supreme commander in the Hellenistic world was a monstruous head, being the head of the army personified by Medusa, Nike or Victoria. After the introduction of Christianity in the Roman Empire the cypher of Christ consisting of the greek letters XP (chi-rho) became the emblem under which the army would conquer (In Hoc Signo Vinces). The supreme commanders attached this cypher to their shields, sometimes surrounded by a bordure set with precious stones, sometimes with a garland of laurel.

The XP-cypher as a symbol of the armed forces was maintained in the West by the Carolingians but seems to have been abandoned afterwards. It is striking that the two-headed eagle appeared for the first time at the borders of the Christian world and thus may have been of pagan or muslim origin, later also adopted by Christian commanders. The first pieces showing a two-headed eagle may have been booty, captured by Christian commanders in the Reconquista in Spain and may have been the emblems of the Umayyad supreme commanders.

Early European two-headed eagles date from the early time of the Renovatio Imperii of the House of Saxony in Germany, from Umayyad Spain and from Bulgaria.

Two-headed eagle on the Shroud of St. Amadus

10 -12th c. Riggisberg, Abegg-Stiftung CH-3132.

Part of the treasury of St. Peter in Salzburg, Austria, and probably manufactured in islamic Spain, 11th century. [2]

This piece of silk cloth is from the time of the German House of Saxony (919-1024) on the one hand and of the Spanish Umayyad Dynasty (756-1027)  on the other hand.

From about the same time are two other pieces, the first from Bulgaria, the other from France.

Stone slab with Double-Headed Eagle

Bulgarian (Stara Zagora), 10th-11th century

Red schist 72.5 Í 110 cm. Nasionalen Arkheologicheski Muzei, Sofia Inv. nr.B: 854. [3]

This piece is from the time of the Macedonian Empire in Bulgaria (976-1018) or from the time of Byzantine occupation (971-976 & 1018-1185) and may be the emblem of rank of the Bulgarian tsar/basileus in (the former prefecture) Illyricum

Blue Tissue from San Zoilo Monastery

(Palencia, Spain)

Wall-hanging with 36 white two-headed eagles on a blue background. Two sided, on the reverse the colours reversed.  Kufic inscriptions. 10th-11th century. 275´208 cm

The wall hanging may have been used by Alfonso VII of Leon  (1105-1157) nicknamed El Emperador (The Emperor) in spite of the dating of the tissue which is about a hundred years before his rule. Maybe it was a part of the booty of his campaigns or crusades to the Almoravides of Al Andalus. The eight-lobed figure on the breast of the eagle may be a sun-symbol.

Pseudo-saint Clément, Recognitiones

The Archangel Michael (killing a devil) and a monk, a two-headed eagle between the arches

Mont Saint-Michel (FR.) about 1000 A.D.

Avranches, Bibliothèque Municipale ms. 50

This manuscript is from the time of Otto III, crowned emperor in 996 (†1002) who strongly propagated the Renovatio Imperii. Also, as the Archangel Michael was the patron of the Castilian and French Kings, the scene may refer to the killing of the Muslim devil, his emblem being attached between the arches.

Photo H.d.V. 2016

Piece of silk with fragment of  yellow two-headed eagles on purple background.

10th-11th cent.. Coll. Musée de Sens (Fr.)

For a short time in the 12th century the two-headed eagle was used in Spain, after the capital Toledo had come into the possession of the Kings of Castile in 1085. Pieces of cloth with two-headed eagles are also from the time of Alphonso VII of Castile, who had united the Spanish Kingdoms, was crowned Emperor of All Spains in 1135, and calling himself on his seals + ADE­FONSUS IMPERATOR HISPANIAE.

Again these pieces may be of Muslim origin and may have belonged to commanders from the Almoravid Empire (1060-1147)  from which Toledo was captured.

Textile Fragment with Double-Headed Eagles

Islamic (Spain), 11th-12th century. Silk, 63 Í 46 cm. provenance: From the tomb of Saint Bernard of Calvó in the Cathedral of Vich, Catalonia, Spain; Miguel y Badia, Madrid. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y. Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1941 (41.92).

This silk fragment belongs to one of several fabrics found in the tomb of Saint Bernard of Calvó (d. 1243) in the Cathedral of Vich in Catalonia. They are believed to be a part of a booty from the reconquest campaigns against the Muslims of Spain that Calvó led as bishop of Vich. [..]

Textile Fragment with Double-Headed Eagles

Islamic (Spain), 12th century. Silk. 29Í19 cm Achat à Chamonton, 1906. Inv. 28003. Musée des Tissus, Lyon.

This silk fragment belongs to the «cloak of the Virgin» of Thuirs, in the Pyrénées Orientales. Such silk clothes were used by christian princes and for liturgic purposes.  [4]

Detail of the Tunica of Infante Don Garcia (†1145/46), son of Alfonso VII  El Emperdor

From his tomb in the Parochial Church of  Oña in Burgos.

Two-headed eagles, emblems of rank of a caesar (military), and peacocks, emblems of rank of a prefect (civil). [5] This is the first proof that the two-headed eagle emblem was adopted by a christian commander.

Two-headed-eagle with lions

Spain, 12th-13th cent. Green silk with golden figures on a ca 25Í16 cm grid.. Detail of a piece of 50Í55cm.

 Lyon, Musée des Tissus, inv. N° MT 25080 [6]

This cloth maybe was a part of the treasury of King Tancred of Sicily, brought to Germany by Roman Emperor Henry VI. As a supreme commander Henry VI dressed himself in green and red and consequently the piece may have been a part of his imperial dress. The lions are the emblem of a dux (commander of an army division)

The Two-Headed Eagle in The West

The Holy Roman Empire

A next step in the development of the two-headed eagle in the West was the adoption of the two-headed eagle emblem by the Holy Roman Emperor. This adoption is documented by Matthew Paris in his Chronica Majora. [7] He shows us the arms of King and Emperor Otto IV, the first being: Gules, three lions passant Or dimidiating Or, an eagle Sable; the second: Or, a two-headed eagle Sable. The last arms have been the arms of the Holy Roman Emperor until the end of the 15th century before they became the arms of Germany (German Nation of the Holy Roman Empire † 1806). 

This coat of arms classifies the Holy Roman Emperor as a basileus, a title often bestowed to the Western ruler in Byzantine correspondence. It matches with the german title “Kaiser”, rather than the title IMPERATOR [SEMPER] AUGUSTUS which was on the seals of the Western Roman ruler since the coronation of Charlemagne. This, in fact meant a degradation as the emblem of the Western Roman Emperor had been a square cross before. After the 4th Crusade however, it was propagated by the Holy See that the Latin Empire was the restoration of the former Roman Empire and for that reason the Latin Emperor bore the square cross as his emblem. All other major rulers in the Empire were caesares from that point of view and bore a two-headed eagle. In fact the two-headed eagle of the western caesar is an augmentation of the arms of the German king who had a black eagle as his emblem since the end of the 10th century, later placed on a golden background or shield. This emblem symbolized his rank of a consul.

As such the arms Or, a double eagle Sable are the arms of the caesar of Germany and in 13th century rolls of arms for that reason is called of... . l’ emperur d’alemaine. [8]

ð

Mattheus Parisiensis: Chronica Majora. Corp. Christi Coll. MS 16 fol. 18: Coronation of Otto IV as Emperor at Rome, 1199 (al. 1209) - lower right margin three crowns (Corona argentea, corona aurea, corona ferrea) above a shield (or, a double eagle sable): Otto creatur in imperatorem Romanorum; a second shield (Gules, three lions passant guardant Or, dimidiating Or a (double) eagle Sable): Scutum mutatum pro amore regis Angliæ. 

The Balkans

Throughout its history the Prefecture of Illyria shows a development of political fragmentation. This kind of fragmentation is even called Balkanization and it means that a relatively large number of sovereign states arose. As a result a large number of supreme commanders, often wearing the title of Emperor or Tsar were active in former Illyria. This fragmentation only came to a (temporary) end when the Balkans were captured by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.

In this category are Bulgaria, Epirus, Serbia, Macedonia, Mistra, and Wallachia.

The Two-Headed Eagle in the East

In the meantime the two-headed eagle was adopted in the Muslim world after the fall of the Seljuq Empire and the restoration of the temporal power of the Caliphate of Bagdad in 1157. This is testified by coins bearing a two-headed eagle from the [nominal] vassals of the Caliphate but also by other pieces like tiles and consumer goods. These pieces are from the part of the Caliphate where the confrontation with the western crusaders was the most violent and demonstrate the mobilisation of the Muslim world against the Christians.We may be

Mesopotamia

Dirham of Imad al-din Zengi,

Atabeg of  Sinjar 1170-1197[9]

Coin of Al-Malik as-Salih Nasir as-Din Mahmud

of Hisn Kaifa and Amida 1200-1222.

Bas relief from Amida, 1208[10]

Ceramic tile from East Turkey, ca. 1225; 

Probably Amida or Konya.

Black or blue two-headed eagle. Ca. 18.2 Í 18.2 cm. Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, inv. I.6579

Two-headed eagle on a tray

North-western Iran, late 13th century

The trustees of the British Museum, London.

 (OA 1878.12-30.706)

Konya

Red silk decorated with two-headed eagles.

The shields within a grid of ca 21 Í 21 cm

Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum 81, 475  [11]

Two-headed eagle from the walls of the citadel of Konya

From the reign of Ala ad-Din Kaiqubad (1219-1237)

When  Kaikhosrau II of Konya had become a mongol vassal in 1243, the two-headed eagle was replaced by a lion-and-sun, a mongol badge of rank of about the same value.

Also in Asia Minor were the Empires of Trabzon and Nicea

To this category belongs also the two-headed eagle of the Emperors of Byzantium.

Byzantium

The badge of rank of the Nicean and Byzantine emperors was a two-headed eagle.

After the capture of Constantinople buy the crusaders in 1204 a Latin Empire was founded. Many members of the imperial family took refuge, amongst them Theodorus Laskaris who founded the Nicean Empire. His successor Theodorus Laskaris II had a two-heded eagle as his emblem, embroidereed on his suppedion. After Michael VIII had reconquered Constantinople in 1261 a restoration of the Byzantine empire seemed possible. At the Council of Lyon, 1272-1274, Pope Gregory X, wishing to end the Great Schism that divided Rome and Constantinople, had sent an embassy to Michael VIII Palaeologus and he asked Latin despots in the East to curb their ambitions. Eastern dignitaries arrived at Lyon on 24 June presenting a letter from the Emperor. On 29 June, Gregory X celebrated a Mass in St John's church, where both sides took part. The Greeks read the Nicene Creed, with the controversial Western addition of the Filioque clause sung three times. The council was seemingly a success, but did not provide a lasting solution to the schism; the Emperor was anxious to heal the schism, but the Eastern clergy proved to be solidly opposed. Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople abdicated, and was replaced by John Beccos, a convert to the cause of union. In spite of a sustained campaign by Beccos to defend the union intellectually, and vigorous and brutal repression of opponents by Michael, the vast majority of byzantine christians remained implacable opposed to union with the Latin “heretics”.

Michael's death in December 1282 put an end to the union of Lyons. His son and successor Andronicus II repudiated the union, and Beccos was forced to abdicate, being eventually exiled and imprisoned until his death in 1297. He is to this day reviled by many in the Eastern Church as a traitor to Orthodoxy.

Egypt

Pierced Globe with two-headed eagles (detail).

Made for Badr al-Din Baysari.

Brass, inlaid with silver. Ca. 1270. Æ 18,4 cm.

London, The British Museum, 78 12-30 682 Henderson Bequest, 1878.

Ceramic dish with two-headed eagle

Egypt, end of 13th century; Æ 24 cm,

Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin I.268  [12]

The explanation of the pierced globe on the right reads:

Inscriptions:

Band at apex: Badr al Din Baysari. [officer] of al-Zajhir al-Said, al-Shamsi al-Mansuri al-Badri

Band on rim of upper hemisphere: One of the things made for the honourable excellency, the sublime master, the great amir, the revered, the masterful, the chief of the armies, the defender [of the faith], the warrior [of the frontiers], the protector [of the frontiers], the supporter [of Islam], the victorious.

The piece was made for Badr al-Din Baysari, one of the important Syrian amirs in the early Mamluk period. Originally employed by the last Ayyubid sultan, Baysari entered the service of the Mamluks after the Ayyubids were overthrown.

The inscriptions on the globe refers to two of his Mamluk masters: al-Zahir (Baybars I, 1260-’77) and al-Said (Baraka Khan, 1277-’79). This powerful amir was twice offered the Mamluk throne, which he refused, preferring to remain an officer. He was imprisoned by Qalawun but reinstated by the next sultan, Khalil, under whom he served as Amir of One Hundred. Badr al-Din Baysari died in 1298 and was buried in Cairo. [13]

The Periphery

The two-headed eagle was also adopted by rulers outside the former Roman Empire but they may have had the same meaning of the emblem of rank of the supreme commander

Nubia

A two-headed eagle was also adopted as the emblem of rank of the supreme commander in Nubia

A fresco found in Abd el-Qadir (somewhat north of Khartoum), shows a man dressed in an apron strewn with medallions with two-headed eagles, his tunica with a diamond pattern. He wears also a cross-sack. On his head he has a particular horned helmet with a six-pointed star on the front and a crescent as a crest which seems to be a residual form of the ancient crown of Kush.

Turkestan

From 13th century Central Asia two-headed eagles are known as a pattern on precious textiles. They are a part of the usual series of military emblems consisting of lions, griffins, eagles and two-headed eagles. It is not known if the pieces were made for use in Central Asia itself or for the Christian and Muslim markets.

Cloth of gold with displayed two-headed eagles

mid-13th century, Central Asia. Silk and metallic thread lampas (nasij); Warp: 57.5 cm, Weft: 18.4 cm. Lent by The Cleveland Museum of Art. Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1996.297  [14]

Russia

Arms of Peremysl, 16th century

A two-headed eagle is known from Galicia and was adopted by King Daniel of Galicia (1205-’66) from the House of Romanovic.

The Ipatievski Chronicle writes for the year 1235 about his two-headed eagle:

“At one mile from the city (of Chełm) there is a donjon of brick on which is a stone sculpture of an eagle; and the height of the stone is 10 yards with the heads, and with the supports 12 yards”. The plural of the word “heads”suggests that the eagle was two-headed. Also the chronicle mentions that a Byzantine architect named Audios has built the cathedral of Chełm and it is thought that he was the also author of the two-headed eagle, being inspired by Byzantine examples. [15] The ruins of the square donjon are at Bielawin at two kms of Chełm, a wall of a height of 22 m. remaining, the rest fallen into the river. Today only the square foundations remain.

The two-headed eagle matches the aspirations of Daniel to be crowned king of Russia, a goal he attained in 1253 when he was crowned “Rex Russiae” in Dorohičin by a nuntio of Pope Innocent IV(1243-'54). So, the two-headed eagle of Daniel in Bielawin was the emblem of a Russian tsar in the 13th century.

The two-headed eagle was adopted as the coat of arms of Peremysl, which came to Poland in 1366. It was: [Azure] a crowned two headed eagle [Or]. [16]

A Russian ruler from the House of Rurik is known to have used a two-headed eagle as his emblem. It can be seen on the frame of a 14th century icon, today in St. Petersburg.

Golden two-headed eagles on the Icon of Christ Pantocrator, 1355 ca. 

Egg tempera over gesso; wood.

State Hermitage. N° J 515. H. 106 cm. W. 79 cam

Acquired in 1930. Formerly in the State Russian Museum.

Christ is shown half length. In the lower margins are portraits of the donors. Of the figure in the left margin, only traces of a headdress, part of the contour outlining the head, and the inscription [δe]hσhσ toy [δoyλoy] θ[eo]y aλξeioy toy [ςtpato]πeδapxoy ("Prayer of Gods’s slave, the Grand Stratopedarch Alexius") have survived. The donor in the right margin wears a tall headdress, and garments with a double eagle pattern; he is shown in an attitude of prayer, facing towards the centre; above his head is the inscription È δehςhς toy δoyδoy θeoy iω [annoy] toy meγaλoy πpimikypioy ("Prayer of God’s slave, the Grand Primicerion John"). These two men are, according to written sources of the period, the founders of the church of Christ Pantocrator, founded 1363. [17]

The title of „Megalou Primikuriou” in fact was the title of the chief of ceremonies and the commander of the central imperial regiments in Constantinople. Such a commander may have been paralelled at the Russian court by Ivan II the Gentle, Grand prince of Moscow and Vladimir  (1353-1359). 

The church of Christ Pantocrator may be a posthumous foundation of Ivan II.

Such a two-headed eagle was also used by Ivan III, the Great, Grand prince of Moscow-Vladimir, also of the House of Rurik, on his seal from 1497.

Seal: Rider spearing a dragon. L.: GRAND PRINCE IOAN BY GOD’S GRACE SOVEREIGN OF ALL RUS.

Counter-seal: Crowned two-headed eagle. L.: AND GRAND PRINCE OF VLAD[IMIR], AND MOSC[OW], AND NOV[GOROD], AND PSK[OV] AND TVE[R], AND UGO[RA], AND VIAT[KA], AND PER[M], AND BOL[GAR].Date: 1497   [18]

After Ivan III all Russian tsars have used the two-headed eagle as their emblem. For the last time it was used as an interim emblem after 1992.

India: The Gandabherunda

A two-headed bird is called Gandhabherunda in India. He is of the same Hittite origin as the two-headed eagle in the West. A myth says that Vishnu assumed the form of a two-headed eagle to annihilate Sarabha, a form taken by Shiva to destroy Narasimha (an avatar of Vishnu) again, a sectarian device to humble a rival creed.

Such a bird appears at Sirkap Stupa which usually is dated at about the beginning of the Christian era.

It is depicted there sitting and turned to the dexter and this seems to have been the common attitude for centuries. It can also be found on a fresco in Brihadiswara Temple, consecrated 1010, and much later on a 16th century Vijayanagar coin.

From about the 11th century AD Gandabherunda is represented in the usual attitude with wings displayed. This may have been a Seljuq influence.

Pictures of Gandabherunda with lions and elephants in his talons date from the 16th century and later.  In the same way the two-headed eagle in the West was depicted with lions or some other beasts in its claws. In India this is explained by the myth that he was so strong that he was able to clutch elephants in his talons and fly away with it. It must be remarked however, that for  centuries elephants were often used in combat and that the symbol of an elephant may have been the emblem of function or rank of a high officer commanding the elephant-divisions in war. The Gandabherunda and elephants would therefore be the emblem of the Supreme Commander of the Elephants. There is no publication or study however available that confirms this interesting hypothesis.

An example of such a Gandabherunda can be found in Keladi temple from the time of the Keladi king Shivappa Nayaka.

Double headed bird

at Sirkap Stupa  (1st century BC-1st century AD)

Photo NN

Nandi mandapam of Thanjavur Brihadiswara temple, consecrated 1010.

Gandabherunda

Detail from Garudasthambha temple pillar,

Konkani Math, Goa (13th century ?)

Two ½ pagoda coins from Vijayanagar showing a Gandabherunda and elephants.

From the time of king Achytaraya (1529-1542).

Gandabherunda with lions and elephants

Keladi Temple from the time of Shivappa Nayaka (reigned 1645–1660) (Karn.).

After the Vijayanagar rule, Nayakas of Madura and Keladi, continued the usage. Mysore Wodeyars also followed, omitting the lions and elephants.

Today Gandabherunda is in the arms of Karnataka State (India). Also it is the emblem of Ternate Sultanate (Indonesia).