The Derafsh Kaviani
The leather apron of the blacksmith Kaveh, raised on a spear when he led the people of Iran against the tyrant Zahhak after the tyrant had devoured his children; the new king Faridun then adorned it with gold, silk, and jewels, and it became the royal standard of the Shahs under the name Derafsh Kaviani. In the Shahnameh, Kaveh refuses the tyrant's bribes and carries his apron to Faridun, and the banner, embellished with a four-pointed star and streamers, was said to have been borne before Iranian armies into the Islamic period. The story is retold each Newroz as a symbol of popular revolt and