Double-headed Eagle - Use By Other Countries

Use By Other Countries

From Byzantium, two-headed eagles spread to Russia after Ivan III's second marriage to Zoe Palaiologina (a niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI), and to Montferrat, where a cadet branch of the Palaeologi ruled. It remains also an important motif in the heraldry of the imperial families of Russia (the House of Romanov) and Austria-Hungary (the House of Habsburg), as well as the royal family of Montenegro (the House of Petrovic).

It was the charge in the Coat of Arms of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander (reigned 1331–1371). The Serbian Nemanjić dynasty adopted a white version as their own to signify their own independence of, and indeed, claim to the imperial throne of Constantinople. The white eagle was retained by most Serbian medieval dynasties, as well as the Karađorđević, Obrenović and Petrović-Njegoš houses and remains to this day in use in the coat-of-arms of the countries of Serbia and Montenegro. George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg) adopted a similar flag in his struggle against the Ottomans, consisting of a black eagle on red background, which has been resurrected in the current Flag of Albania. During the next centuries, the eagle was made to hold a sword and/or a scepter and an orb with a cross, symbols of the aforementioned double sovereignty.

Its usage also survived as a decorative element in the Greek Orthodox Church, which was the inheritor of the Byzantine legacy during the Ottoman Empire, while it remained a popular symbol among Greeks and is still in use in Church flags. In modern Greece it is used officially by the Hellenic Army (Coat of Arms of Hellenic Army General Staff). It was also used as a charge on the Greek coat of arms for a brief period in 1925–1926.

The two-headed eagle appears on the coat of arms of the following countries and territories:

• Albania (see Coat of arms of Albania)
• Armenia (see Coat of arms of Armenia)
• Austria (1934–1938) (see Coat of arms of Austria)
  • Austria-Hungary (historical)
• Byzantine Empire (historical)
• German Confederation (historical)
• Holy Roman Empire (historical)
• Kingdom of Mercia (527–918)
• Kingdom of Mysore (historical)
• Montenegro (see Coat of arms of Montenegro)
• Republika Srpska (formerly used from 1992 until 2007) in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Russian Federation (see Coat of arms of Russia)
  • Russian Empire (historical)
• Seljuk Empire (historical)
• Serbia and Montenegro (historical)
• Serbia (see Coat of arms of Serbia)
  • Nemanjić Serbia (historical)
  • Serbian Empire (historical)
  • Moravian Serbia (historical)
  • Serbian Despotate (historical)
  • Kingdom of Serbia (historical)
  • Kingdom of Yugoslavia (historical)
• Spanish Empire during the House of Habsburg dynasty (see Coat of arms of Spain)

It also appears on the following coat of arms and flags:

• Flag of Albania
• Flag of Montenegro
• Flag of Serbia
• The flag of the Greek Orthodox Church, which is also used unofficially at the autonomous monastic state of Mount Athos
• Coat of Arms and flag of Hellenic Army General Staff. Also Coat of Arms and flag of Hellenic Army XVI Infantry Division.
  • With the addition of Greek letters "Ε Φ" or the label "ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΦΡΟΥΡΑ" a similar coat of arms is used by the National Guard of the Republic of Cyprus.
• Coat of Arms of the Serbian Armed Forces and all three service branches: Land Forces, Air Force & Air Defence, Training and the administrative General Staff.
• The coat of arms of Belgrade, capital of Serbia
• The Coat of Arms of the city of Valjevo, Serbia
• The coat of arms of the province of Groningen, Netherlands
• The coat of arms of the city of Groningen, Netherlands
• The coat of arms of the city of Nijmegen, Netherlands
• The coat of arms of the town of Bolsward, Netherlands
• The coat of arms of the city of Lübeck, Germany
• The coat of arms of the city of Neuss, Germany
• The coat of arms of the town of Ruhland, Germany
• The flag and coat of arms of the city of Toledo, Spain
• The coat of arms of the town of Velletri, Italy
• The badge of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, United Kingdom

• First Russian eagle, 1472. Adopted by Ivan III after marriage with Byzantine princess Sophia Palaiologina

• Two-headed eagles on fresco of Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević (founder's portrait in Manasija monastery, painting by 1413–1418.