Today, the star-and-crescent symbol, a symbol consisting of a star and a crescent in combination, is associated with Islam. While in some circles it is a symbol of Islam, analogous to the cross of Christianity, it is blasphemy to others, because its roots do not have anything to do with Islam, and from a strict Islamic point of view, all symbols are haram, forbidden, as a form of idolatry.
A star-and-crescent was used as a symbol of Byzantium (Constantinople) already during the Byzantine Empire, and spread from there over Anatolia, the Asian part of today's Turkey. Later, when Turks arrived to the area from the East, they adopted the symbol, notably when they had taken Constantinople and made it their capital.
However, when the Ottoman Turks started to use it as their symbol, it was a secular, not a religious symbol. From the late 18th century, the star-and-crescent officially symbolised the Turkish state, or possibly the House of Osman, not Islam.
Below we have the flag of Turkey today. They have retained the star-and-crescent symbol on the flag of the Turkish Republic.
The Empire had a flag with the star-and-crescent on red background, but religious institutions used a flag with the symbol on green background. Before that, they had used only a crescent (with no star) as a symbol, and allegedly that is an old Turkish symbol which goes back to the times before waves of Turkish migration arrived to Europe and Anatolia. The design with a star was undoubtedly inspired by the Byzantine emblem, although the Byzantine design usually placed the crescent with horns pointing upwards, and the star inside the crescent. Also, the Turks used a five-pointed star, which symbolised the five pillars of Islam. The Byzantines and other ancient users of the symbol generally used a star with eight or some other number of points.
With their Turkish Empire and Constantinople as its capital, the Ottomans wanted to see themselves as the third Rome, and their Empire as the continuation of the Ancient Byzantine Empire, and thereby, in the next step, of the Ancient Roman Empire. Connecting to Byzantine symbols was one way to mark that.
But they claimed to continue another tradition as well.
From the 14th century he Ottoman Sultans claimed the Caliphate. In the beginning unrecognised by the world at large, they gradually came to be generally accepted as caliphs as their empire grew and established itself as the major Muslim power. Selim I, Sultan 1512-1520, is traditionally considered as the first legitimate Ottoman Caliph, although there is no record of him personally having laid any claim to that. He incorporated Mecca and Medina to his empire and conquered Mamluk Egypt with its Abbasid Caliphate.
The Ottoman Caliphate lasted until it was formally abolished on 3 March 1924.
The Caliphate and the extension and power of the Ottoman Empire as the dominant Muslim power over centuries came to permeate its symbol. The star-and-crescent is well alive today, not only in the symbolism of Turkey and many countries formerly being parts of the Ottoman Empire, not at least on their flags, but many people came to see it as a general symbol of Islam.
For the Byzantine star-and-crescent, there are different explanations to that. One is that they put the symbol in the insignia of Byzantium after a victory against the Goths, which should have taken place the first month of the lunar year. The symbol would denote that event.
Another explanation is that Byzantium first used a crescent as a symbol of its patron goddess, which would have been Diana, Hecate or Artemis. Then the star would have been added as a symbol of Virgin Mary when Constantine adopted the Christian belief.
There is no real proof of any of these explanations or others, and crescent-and-star symbolism occurred in other cultures before that as well, for instance pre-Islamic Persia, and can possibly be traced back to the old Sumerians. However, it is often hard to say if star-and-crescent is one symbol or if there are two separate symbols depicted together. Both the crescent and the star as separate symbols are certainly occurring as early as in old Sumer.
So what is a crescent and which star is it?
The most common interpretation is that it is the crescent moon and that the star is the sun. In Islam, observation of the crescent moon determines when a new month starts, and it is especially important for the determination of beginning and end of Ramadan.
The star might be the sun, but it is also possible to see it as the planet Venus, the morning/evening star. In ancient history, both crescent and star have been associated with various deities who at the time and place were associated with the respective celestial bodies.
Related articles:
Fleur-de-lis & The Lily of Florence
La Tricolore: What is the Origin of Its Colours and Design?
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Welp, you learn something new every day! I had no idea where that symbol came from, actually.