Editing Heraldry (section)

==Quasi-heraldic emblems==
True heraldry, as now generally understood, has its roots in medieval Europe. However, there have been other historical cultures which have used symbols and emblems to represent families or individuals, and in some cases these symbols have been adopted into Western heraldry. For example, the [[coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire]] incorporated the royal [[tughra]] as part of its [[crest (heraldry)|crest]], along with such traditional Western heraldic elements as the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] and the [[Compartment (heraldry)|compartment]].

===Greek symbols===
{{Main|Greek heraldry}}
Ancient Greeks were among the first civilizations to use symbols consistently in order to identify a warrior, clan or a state.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Claus |first=Patricia |date=6 May 2022 |title=Aincent Greek Shields Struck Fear Into Enemy |url=https://greekreporter.com/2022/05/06/ancient-greek-shields/ |access-date=10 March 2023 |website=Greek Reporter |agency=Greek Reporter}}</ref> The first record of a shield blazon is illustrated in [[Aeschylus]]' tragedy ''[[Seven Against Thebes]]''.

===Mon===
{{Main|Mon (emblem)}}
{{nihongo|'''Mon'''|紋|}}, also {{nihongo|'''monshō'''|紋章|}}, {{nihongo|'''mondokoro'''|紋所|}}, and {{nihongo|'''kamon'''|家紋|}}, are [[Japan]]ese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual or family. While ''mon'' is an encompassing term that may refer to any such device, ''kamon'' and ''mondokoro'' refer specifically to emblems used to identify a family.{{Explain|reason=This is the same as previously stated, so what is the difference with mon and monshō? |date=February 2016}} An authoritative ''mon'' reference compiles Japan's 241 general categories of ''mon'' based on structural resemblance (a single ''mon'' may belong to multiple categories), with 5116 distinct individual ''mon'' (it is however well acknowledged that there exist lost or obscure ''mon'' that are not in this compilation).<ref>{{cite book |script-title=ja:日本の家紋大全 |publisher={{lang|ja|梧桐書院}} |year=2004 |isbn=434003102X}}</ref><ref>Some 6939 ''mon'' are [https://x181.secure.ne.jp/~x181007/kamon/goodslist.cgi listed here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028043638/http://x181.secure.ne.jp/~x181007/kamon/goodslist.cgi |date=2016-10-28 }}.</ref>

The devices are similar to the [[Heraldic badge|badges]] and [[Coat of arms|coats of arms]] in European heraldic tradition, which likewise are used to identify individuals and families.  ''Mon'' are often referred to as [[Crest (heraldry)|crests]] in Western literature, another European heraldic device similar to the ''mon'' in function.

Japanese helmets (''[[kabuto]]'') also incorporated elements similar to crests, called ''[[Kabuto#Parts of the kabuto|datemono]]'', which helped identify the wearer while they were concealed by armour. These devices sometimes incorporated ''mon'', and some figures, like [[Date Masamune]], were well known for their helmet designs.

===Socialist emblems===
{{Main|Socialist state emblems}}
[[File:State_Emblem_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg|thumb|[[State Emblem of the Soviet Union]] (1956–1991 version)]]
[[Communist state]]s often followed a unique style characterized by [[communist symbolism]]. Although commonly called ''[[coat of arms|coats of arms]]'', most such devices are not actually coats of arms in the traditional heraldic sense and should therefore, in a strict sense, not be called arms at all.<ref name="von Volborth">{{harvp|von Volborth|1981|page= 11}}</ref> Many communist governments purposely diverged from the traditional forms of [[European heraldry]] in order to distance themselves from the [[monarchy|monarchies]] that they usually replaced, with actual coats of arms being seen as symbols of the monarchs.

The [[Soviet Union]] was the first state to use this type of emblem, beginning at its creation in 1922. The style became more widespread after [[World War II]], when many other communist states were established. Even a few non-socialist states have adopted the style, for various reasons—usually because [[Wars of national liberation|communists had helped them to gain independence]]—but also when no apparent connection to a Communist nation exists, such as the [[emblem of Italy]].<ref name="von Volborth"/><ref name="von Volborth 1972">{{cite book |last= von Volborth|first= Carl-Alexander|author-link1= Carl-Alexander von Volborth| date= 1972 | title= Alverdens heraldik i farver | language=da | others=Editor and translator from English to Danish: [[Sven Tito Achen]] | location= Copenhagen | publisher=Politikens Forlag |page= 158|isbn= 87-567-1685-0}}</ref> After the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the Soviet Union]] and [[Revolutions of 1989|the other communist states in Eastern Europe]] in 1989–1991, this style of heraldry was often abandoned for the old heraldic practices, with many new governments reinstating the traditional heraldry that was previously cast aside.

===Tamgas===
{{Main|Tamga}}
A '''tamga''' or '''tamgha''' "stamp, seal" ({{langx|mn|тамга}}, [[turkic languages|Turkic:]] tamga) is an abstract [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] or [[Seal (emblem)|stamp]] used by [[Eurasian nomad]]ic peoples and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the emblem of a particular tribe, clan or family. They were common among the Eurasian nomads throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages (including [[Alans]], [[Mongols]], [[Sarmatians]], [[Scythians]] and [[Turkic peoples]]). Similar "tamga-like" symbols were sometimes also adopted by sedentary peoples adjacent to the Pontic-Caspian steppe both in [[Eastern Europe]] and [[Central Asia]],<ref>Ottfried Neubecker. ''Heraldik''. Orbis, 2002; Brook 154; Franklin and Shepard 120-121; Pritsak 78-79.</ref> such as the [[East Slavs]], whose ancient [[Symbols of the Rurikids|royal symbols]] are sometimes referred to as "tamgas" and have similar appearance.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMwmcqwZUGcC&q=rurikid+tamga&pg=PA36|title = Pre-modern Russia and Its World: Essays in Honor of Thomas S. Noonan |isbn = 9783447054256 | access-date = 2016-06-13|last1 = Noonan |first1 = Thomas Schaub |year = 2006 |publisher = Otto Harrassowitz Verlag }}</ref>

Unlike European coats of arms, tamgas were not always inherited, and could stand for families or clans (for example, when denoting territory, livestock, or religious items) as well as for specific individuals (such as when used for weapons, or for royal [[seal (emblem)|seals]]). One could also adopt the tamga of one's master or ruler, therefore signifying said master's patronage. Outside of denoting ownership, tamgas also possessed religious significance, and were used as [[talisman]]s to protect one from curses (it was believed that, as symbols of family, tamgas embodied the power of one's heritage). Tamgas depicted geometric shapes, images of animals, items, or [[glyph]]s. As they were usually inscribed using heavy and unwieldy instruments, such as knives or brands, and on different surfaces (meaning that their appearance could vary somewhat), tamgas were always simple and stylised, and needed to be laconic and easily recognisable.<ref>ТАМГА (к функции знака). В.С. Ольховский (Историко-археологический альманах, No 7, Армавир, 2001, стр. 75-86)</ref>

===Tughras===
{{Main|Tughra}}
{{Further|Coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire}}
Every sultan of the Ottoman Empire had his own monogram, called the tughra, which served as a royal symbol. A coat of arms in the European heraldic sense was created in the late 19th century. Hampton Court requested from Ottoman Empire the coat of arms to be included in their collection. As the coat of arms had not been previously used in Ottoman Empire, it was designed after this request and the final design was adopted by Sultan Abdul Hamid II on April 17, 1882. It included two flags: the flag of the Ottoman Dynasty, which had a crescent and a star on red base, and the flag of the Islamic Caliph, which had three crescents on a green base.

===Ancient Iran===
The word of "arms" in the [[Pahlavi scripts]] is 𐭥𐭢𐭱𐭠𐭥 which is read as nišān (Persian: نشان). In Islamic sources there are some references to the existence of nišāns in ancient Iran. It is suggested that the words arms, [[Mon (emblem)|mon]], and nišān are oscillating on a same semantic context as they all satisfy a similar need: Heraldic identification. [[al-Masudi]] writes that nišāns (Arabic: شعار) used by [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]] and [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanians]]. When al-Masudi talks about Sasanians, he describes their arms as "flags of Persians and their emblems" (رایات الفرس و أعلامهم). In the world of "pahlavans" (پهلوانان) of Iranian national narratives, as same as the world of European knights, each army under the command of a pahlavan from one of the [[Seven Great Houses of Iran|noble families]] identified by a nišān on its flag. Usually, when the pahlavans were presented in the court of the king of Iran, they were distinguishing each troop from another with a flag which had their lords' nišāns on itself.<ref>Kalani, Reza. 2022. Indo-Parthians and the Rise of Sasanians, Tahouri Publishers, Tehran, pp85,88</ref><ref>Kalani, Reza. 2017. Multiple Identification Alternatives for Two Sassanid Equestrians on Fīrūzābād I Relief: A Heraldic Approach, Tarikh Negar Monthly, Tehran, p3: note.6</ref>