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Description
This project was something I started two years ago and never finnished, but now that I had one spare day from work, I decided to complete it. Background:

The Persian historian al-Tabari wrote in the 9th century of four letters the Prophet Muhammad wrote to the leaders of the stats neighbouring his newly created Islamic Empire. One of those letters, at least according to al-Tabari, went to Emperor Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire. The existence of these letters is disputed among modern historians, but according to al-Tabari Muhammad invited Heraclius to Mecca to leanr about Islam and join the new religion. While not entirely realistic, ever since I read about these alledged invitations, they intrigued me. We know from history that Heraclius was sympathetical to Monophystisim, the view, that Jesus Christ only had one single, divine nature in contrast to Dyophystisism - that is, the view that Jesus was BOTh human AND divine, the view that, till today, is the basis for the accepted interpretation of Christ in almost all modern Christian churches. Why is this important? Because the adherents of Monophystisism were most prevalent among the Oriental Churches, for example in Egypt, and we know from history that they converted to Islam far more easily then Christians in other places of the world where Dyophystisism dominated.

So: What if Heraclius had converted? He certainly wouldn't have had an easy ride ahead of him, but Constantine and his direct successors just a few centuries earlier also had to face the prospect of converting a largely pagan empire to a new religion and succeeded, so why not Heraclius?

In any case: Heraldry. I had to find Islamic symbols that aren't too modern for these pieces, especially for the crown and the scepter. The one I found is the Rub el Hizb, a symbol representing the dividing system for recitation of the Quran. One that is today featured in the emblemes of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for example. As a coat of arms I chose a version of the star and crescent that can be found on ancient Byzantine coins. And well, the eagle is an obvious one, I don't think that would have changed.

I also created two orders: The small one is the "Order of the Roman Star and Crescent", the large one is the "Order of the King of Kings" - alluding to the meaning of the four B's that form the initials of the nation's motto - the highest order of the Empire.

Enjoy!

Credits: Elements taken from wikimedia commons.

Description
This project was something I started two years ago and never finnished, but now that I had one spare day from work, I decided to complete it. Background:

The Persian historian al-Tabari wrote in the 9th century of four letters the Prophet Muhammad wrote to the leaders of the stats neighbouring his newly created Islamic Empire. One of those letters, at least according to al-Tabari, went to Emperor Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire. The existence of these letters is disputed among modern historians, but according to al-Tabari Muhammad invited Heraclius to Mecca to leanr about Islam and join the new religion. While not entirely realistic, ever since I read about these alledged invitations, they intrigued me. We know from history that Heraclius was sympathetical to Monophystisim, the view, that Jesus Christ only had one single, divine nature in contrast to Dyophystisism - that is, the view that Jesus was BOTh human AND divine, the view that, till today, is the basis for the accepted interpretation of Christ in almost all modern Christian churches. Why is this important? Because the adherents of Monophystisism were most prevalent among the Oriental Churches, for example in Egypt, and we know from history that they converted to Islam far more easily then Christians in other places of the world where Dyophystisism dominated.

So: What if Heraclius had converted? He certainly wouldn't have had an easy ride ahead of him, but Constantine and his direct successors just a few centuries earlier also had to face the prospect of converting a largely pagan empire to a new religion and succeeded, so why not Heraclius?

In any case: Heraldry. I had to find Islamic symbols that aren't too modern for these pieces, especially for the crown and the scepter. The one I found is the Rub el Hizb, a symbol representing the dividing system for recitation of the Quran. One that is today featured in the emblemes of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for example. As a coat of arms I chose a version of the star and crescent that can be found on ancient Byzantine coins. And well, the eagle is an obvious one, I don't think that would have changed.

I also created two orders: The small one is the "Order of the Roman Star and Crescent", the large one is the "Order of the King of Kings" - alluding to the meaning of the four B's that form the initials of the nation's motto - the highest order of the Empire.

Enjoy!

Credits: Elements taken from wikimedia commons.