The Macedonian lion is an unofficial symbol of North Macedonia. After the independence of the Republic of Macedonia from Yugoslavia, the lion was proposed as a coat of arms of the new independent state several times.
. . . Proposed coat of arms of North Macedonia . . .
From the end of the 16th till the end of the 18th centuries, the region of North Macedonia was commonly represented in foreign armorials with a coat of arms depicting a golden lion on red field, or red lion on golden field. The earliest known example of this is the Fojnica Armorial[2] from 16/17 century,[3][4] and later examples include the Korenić-Neorić armorial of 1595,[5][6] a 1620 armorial on display in the Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art,[citation needed] and a 17th-century armorial in Berlin Library.[7][unreliable source?] The Korenić-Neorić armory roll of 1595 included a five-pointed crown.[8] The Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art displays a 1620 version of the symbol with a three-pointed crown, while the Berlin Library displays a 17th-century version with the five-pointed crown.[7][unreliable source?] The use of the lion to represent Macedonia was continued in foreign heraldic collections throughout the 16th to 18th centuries[9][10]
During the late 19th century the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization arose, which aim was the autonomy for Macedonia and Adrianople regions. The organization modeled itself after the earlier Bulgarian revolutionary traditions and adopted their symbols as the lion, motto, etc.[11][12][13][14][15] It was disbanded in 1934 by the Bulgarian army after a military coup. Several Macedonian parties have claimed after 1990 a line descent from the old IMARO.[16]
. . . Proposed coat of arms of North Macedonia . . .