Shamsa (crown)

The shamsa was a ceremonial crown that formed part of the regalia of the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates.[1] It consisted of a gigantic suspended crown made of gold or silver and studded with pearls and precious stones.[1][2] It was based on the ceremonial crown that was similarly suspended over the head of the Sasanian king.[1] Under the Abbasids, the shamsa symbolically represented the absent caliph during the official hajj observances while the amir al-hajj was personally in charge of the pilgrim caravan.[1][2] Once the pilgrims had reached Mecca, the shamsa would be hung up in front of the ka'ba during the hajj ceremonies.[1][2]

Several different shamsas are known to have been made.[1] The first was commissioned by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil in the mid-9th century and later inlaid with precious stones by al-Mu'tadid half a century later.[1] It was eventually carried off by the Qarmatian leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi during the 924 Hajj caravan raid.[1] The second was made by the Egyptian regent Abu al-Misk Kafur for the Ikhshidid prince Unujur; after the Fatimid conquest of Egypt, their general Jawhar had it replaced with a new, bigger one.[1] Jawhar's shamsa was lost when the Fatimid treasury was looted in 1068; a fourth, unfinished shamsa was also taken at the same time.[1]