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# The First Award for Women in the History of Persia: the Order of the Sun for Ladies, نشان آفتاب, Nishan-i-Aftab, Established by Naser al-Din, Fourth Shah of Iran of the Qajar Dynasty, in 1873
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/pervaia-v-istorii-persii-nagrada-dlia-zhenshchin-damskii-orden-solntsa-nshn-aftb-nishan-i-aftab-uchredil-ego-chetvertyi-shakh-irana-iz-dinastii-kadzharov-naser-ed-din-v-1873-godu/
- Published: 2023-10-19T10:00:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:35:33.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Aristocracy, The East, Monarchies, Heritage

The first award for women in the history of Persia, the Order of the Sun for ladies, نشان آفتاب, Nishan-i-Aftab, was established by the fourth Shah of Iran of the Qajar dynasty, Naser al-Din, in 1873\. The badge and the star of the order are made in the form of a solar disc of platinum, its rays studded with diamonds, with the image of a woman's face at the centre of the disc. The ribbon is of pink moiré with a double green border along the edges. This award was intended for reigning queens and the consorts of reigning monarchs; the order of the second class was conferred on princesses, aristocratic ladies and other women who had earned the royal favour.

The history of the creation of the Order of the Sun is an interesting one, and different sources present it differently. English sources mention that the order was founded by Naser al-Din during his visit to England and presented to Queen Victoria after she had bestowed upon him the Order of the Garter. But that was only in June 1873\. Wikipedia reports that the order was established in February 1873, before the Shah's visit to the European states. It is known that before Queen Victoria the order had been presented to Augusta, German Empress and Queen of Prussia.

Before England and Germany, however, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar had visited Russia. Strangely, he presented this award neither to the Russian Empress nor to anyone else of the imperial family or the court. Had the order existed before the Shah's journey to Russia, he would surely have availed himself of such an opportunity. Probably the very idea of an order bestowed on women alone occurred to the Shah in Russia itself, in May 1873, where he saw many ladies of the orders, their gowns adorned with ribbons and insignia. The Order of Saint Catherine, second in seniority in the hierarchy of awards of the Russian Empire and founded under Peter I, was for a long time the only Russian award for women. The appearance of the Order of Saint Catherine bears a distant resemblance to that of the Persian Order of the Sun: the star of the Catherine order is likewise studded with diamonds, and at the centre of its badge is the image of a saint.

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_10091@19-10-2023_13-00-46.jpg)

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