The Order of Aftab was founded by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, the King of Persia, at St. Petersburg, Russia in May 1873, during his first visit to various European states. The order came in two classes, the first class restricted to female

Female

Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...

 sovereigns or consorts

Queen consort

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...

 of reigning rulers and the second class to princesses and ladies of high rank, and those deserving of special recognition or signs of conspicuous appreciation by the Shah.

First Class insignia

The insignia of the first class consists of a breast star, sash, and sash badge. The badge is a round disk in platinum, bearing a full-face image of a female sun (aftab), fully enameled in natural colours and surrounded by a narrow raised band of platinum. The platinum band garlanded by a wide circlet completely encrusted in eighteen diamonds, edged by a further narrow raised band in platinum. Around the top half of the platinum band, a sunburst arranged in a fan-like design of seventeen separate rays, eight with tips shaped like Gothic arches and nine swallows tails, all completely encrusted in diamonds. Attached to the uppermost ray of the sunburst, a tie-ring encrusted in brilliants.

The breast star of the first class is very similar to the badge, but larger, and consists of a sunburst with thirty-two separate rays, all encrusted in diamonds and completely surrounding the central disk with its wide platinum band and circlet of diamonds.

Recipients of the first class wore the badge suspended from a grand cordon of pink moiré, edged with narrow border stripes of green, pink, and green. The sash draped over the left shoulder and across the breast, with the badge resting below the right hip.

Second Class insignia

The insignia of the second class also consists of breast star, sash and sash badge. The badge is similar to the first class but in enamel and brilliants, instead of diamonds. Unlike the first class, the breast star of the second class is a closer copy of the badge, but with pendant diamonds from the two horizontal lower arms. The sunburst is semicircular with seventeen rays, surrounding only the top half of the central disk with its wide platinum band and circlet of diamonds.

Recipients of the second class wore the badge suspended from the same grand cordon, and in the same manner, as those of the first class.

Replacement

By the fall of the Qajar dynasty

Qajar dynasty

The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....

 and in the era of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, this order was replaced by the official Order of Pleiades (Neshaan-e haft peikar) in honor of Queen Soraya Esfandiary

Soraya Esfandiary

Princess Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari was the second wife and Queen Consort of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran.-Birth:...

. After her divorce from the shah

Shah

Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...

 of Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 and his marriage to Farah Pahlavi

Farah Pahlavi

Farah Pahlavi is the former Queen and Empress of Iran. She is the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and only Empress of modern Iran...

, the new order of Aryamehr

Aryamehr

Aryamehr was the title used in the Pahlavi dynasty by Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran. It means Light of the Aryans.-History:It was granted as a secondary title by a session of the joint Houses of Parliament 1965 September 15, to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, reigning since...

 was introduced in 1966.

See also

• Nishan-e-Aqdas
  Nishan-e-Aqdas
  The Nishan-e-Aqdas was an Imperial Iranian Order founded in 1870 by the Qajar Shah of Iran Nassereddin. There were three classes, with two different styles for Iranians and foreigners...
  
  
• Order of the Lion and the Sun
  Order of the Lion and the Sun
  The Order of the Lion and the Sun was instituted by Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar Dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials who had rendered distinguished services to Persia. In 1925, under the Pahlavi dynasty the Order continued as the Order of Homayoun with new insignia, though based on the...
  
  
• Order of the Red Lion and the Sun
  Order of the Red Lion and the Sun
  Order of the Red lion and the Sun was established during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi by the Iranian Red lion and the Sun society. This order is bestowed in order to give recognition for humanitarian services rendered in the interests of the Iranian people and for the saving of life.The...