The star and crescent is an iconographic symbol used in various historical contexts, including as a prominent symbol of the Ottoman Empire, with numerous modern countries still using it as a national symbol. It was developed in the Greek colony of Byzantium ca. 300 BCE, though it became more widely used as the royal emblem of Mithradates VI Eupator after he incorporated Byzantium into his kingdom for a short period. During the 5th century, it was present in coins minted by the Persian Sassanian Empire, the symbol was represented in the coins minted across the empire throughout the middle east for more than 400 years from the 3rd century until the fall of the Sassanians after the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century. The conquering Muslim rulers kept the symbol in their coinage duri