Serbian cross

Common card · No. 359399

The Serbian cross (Serbian: Cрпски крст, romanized: Srpski krst), also known as the Firesteels (Serbian: Оцила, romanized: Ocila), is one of the national symbols of Serbia, composed of a cross symbol and four firesteels. It is present on the coat of arms and flag of Serbia. The cross is based on a tetragrammic cross emblem of the Palaiologos dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, with the difference in Serbian use being that the cross is usually white on a carmine red background, rather than gold on a red background (though it can be depicted in gold as well). The double-headed eagle and cross with firesteels were both adopted from the Byzantine Empire. Since the 19th century, the firesteels are popularly interpreted as four Cyrillic letter "С", for the motto Only Unity Saves the Serbs (Serbian: Cамо слога Србина спасава, romanized: Samo sloga Srbina spasava), similarly to the popular interpretation of the Palaiologos cross with Greek letters beta (Β). The Serbian cross has been frequently used...

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