New Icon
So some of you may be wondering what is the deal with my new icon, well I suppose it deserves a special post, since it has quite a bit of significance in the history of our world.
The general belief is that the double-headed eagle gained popularity in the Empire of Nicaea, more specifically during the reign of the Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, the founder of the Palaiologos dynasty (the final dynasty of Byzantium). Michael VIII adopted the eagle as his symbol when Nicaean forces recaptured Constantinople from Latin crusaders in 1261. The crown symbolizes imperial authority, I assume. One eagle head looks to the East, to the Anatolic possessions of the Empire, while one eagle head keeps its eyes on the West, seeing its conquests and its enemies. The eagle holds in its claws the traditional items of the Orthodox Church, symbolizing the close relationship between the Basileus (Emperor) and the Church.
If the eagle seems familiar, that is because after the fall of Byzantium in 1453, the Princes of Moscow adopted it as their symbol to show that Moscow was now the "Third Rome" (Rome and Constantinople being the other two) and the sole defender of Orthodoxy. It was a symbol of the imperial house until 1917.
So there, hope that was at least interesting!
The general belief is that the double-headed eagle gained popularity in the Empire of Nicaea, more specifically during the reign of the Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, the founder of the Palaiologos dynasty (the final dynasty of Byzantium). Michael VIII adopted the eagle as his symbol when Nicaean forces recaptured Constantinople from Latin crusaders in 1261. The crown symbolizes imperial authority, I assume. One eagle head looks to the East, to the Anatolic possessions of the Empire, while one eagle head keeps its eyes on the West, seeing its conquests and its enemies. The eagle holds in its claws the traditional items of the Orthodox Church, symbolizing the close relationship between the Basileus (Emperor) and the Church.
If the eagle seems familiar, that is because after the fall of Byzantium in 1453, the Princes of Moscow adopted it as their symbol to show that Moscow was now the "Third Rome" (Rome and Constantinople being the other two) and the sole defender of Orthodoxy. It was a symbol of the imperial house until 1917.
So there, hope that was at least interesting!