The Soyombo symbol[a] is a special character in the Soyombo alphabet invented by Zanabazar in 1686. The name "Soyombo" is derived from Sanskrit svayambhu "self-created". It serves as a national symbol of Mongolia, to be found on the Flag of Mongolia, the Emblem of Mongolia, and on many other official documents.
In the Soyombo alphabet, the two variations of the Soyombo symbol are used to mark the start and end of a text. It is thought to be possible that the symbol itself may predate the script.[citation needed]
The Soyombo has ten elements in the columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric symbols and patterns. They are fire, sun, crescent moon, two triangles, two horizontal rectangles, the Taijitu (yin and yang), and two vertical rectangles. The elements in the symbol are given the following significance (from top):
The Soyombo symbol has appeared on the national flag of Mongolia since its independence in 1911 (except between 1940 and 1945). It served as the Emblem of Mongolia from 1911 to 1940, and was included in the design again in 1992. Mongolian Armed Forces vehicles bear the symbol as a marking.
The symbol is seen all over the country, especially on a hillside outside of Ulaanbaatar.[clarification needed]
The flag and coat of arms of Buryatia as well as the flag of Agin-Buryat OkruginRussia, and that of the Inner Mongolian People's Party display the top elements (Flame, Sun, and Moon).
The Soyombo symbol is available in Unicode, where it is encoded in the Soyombo block (added to Unicode version 10.0 in June 2017) as a script-specific punctuation mark:
These three head marks are usable along with two other related terminal marks (keeping only the two lateral vertical rectangles and replacing the central symbols):
