Ref: 0009930-40: "Islamic Crescent" Seal

This is a fine Italian seal that consists of a waxed turned wooden handle and a bronze disc engraved with an Islamic crescent and star.

The symbol long predates the birth of Islam, dating back to the fourth century BC, when Philip II of Macedon, in 340 or 341 BC, besieged the city of Byzantium. Favored by a particularly dark night, the Macedonian troops quietly made their way to the city walls, intending to climb and surprise the enemy. But while the plan was underway, a sudden wind dispersed the clouds; the crescent moon shining through them alerted the sentries to the attack, and they were able to sound the alarm. The vigorous and immediate response of the city's defenders, and the fact that the attackers were now too close to the wall, led to heavy losses among the Macedonian ranks, who were forced to abandon the siege. The crescent moon symbol was later carved into many of the city's stone objects, as a token of thanks to the gods. The Ottoman Turks, who conquered Byzantium eighteen centuries later after the siege of 1453, saw this symbol carved throughout the city and adopted it, assuming it had great magical power.