Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar
Encyclopedia
The Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar was a decoration awarded by the Sultan of Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

. It was in use from its inception on 22 December 1875 to the overthrow of the Sultanate on 12 January 1964. The decoration had two grades, the first of which was usually awarded to foreign heads of state and the second which was further subdivided into five hierarchical classes. The second grade was the most awarded and was used to reward those who had provided assistance to the Sultan.

History

The Brilliant Star was instituted on 22 December 1875 by Sultan Barghash bin Said
Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar
Sayyid Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid, GCMG, GCTE , son of Said bin Sultan,was the second Sultan of Zanzibar. Barghash ruled Zanzibar from October 7, 1870 to March 26, 1888....

. It consisted of two grades, the first almost exclusively awarded to sovereigns and heads of state and the second subdivided into five classes. These categories were (in decreasing order of precedence
Precedence
Precedence may refer to:* Message precedence of military communications traffic* Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state* Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming...

): Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Member. The order became obsolete with the Zanzibar Revolution
Zanzibar Revolution
The Zanzibar Revolution by local African revolutionaries in 1964 overthrew the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government. An ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east coast of Tanganyika, Zanzibar had been granted independence by Britain in 1963...

 of 12 January 1964 which saw Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah
Jamshid bin Abdullah of Zanzibar
Sayyid Sir Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said GCMG, was the last Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from July 1, 1963 to January 12, 1964. On December 10, 1963, Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy under Jamshid. This state of affairs was short...

 overthrown and the end of the Sultanate in Zanzibar.

Design

Both classes awarded neck medals in medallion form to be worn around the neck on formal occasions and breast badges, smaller awards which could be worn on the left breast like conventional medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...

s. The neck medal was made of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 gilt
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...

, enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...

 and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 with a five pointed star surrounded by a wreath. The centre of the medal featured a portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

 of the awarding Sultan for the first grade medals and the Sultan's monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...

in gold on a red background for the second grade. The breast order was an eight pointed star in silver, again featuring the Sultan's portrait for the first grade and a monogram for the second. The ribbon for all medals was red with white edges.
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