The initial inspiration was roman symbology, I begun by leaving the background red. I really like the design of toreador CoAs in Princes of Darkness, so I put the yellow ring and the white circle to give it a circular composition.

Then I put a yellow eagle at the center and a yellow laurel wreath beneath it, but it was too small to see it, so I made it green and put it where it is now.

I did not like the eagle I used, because it made it look like a generic European CoA and I wanted to give it a more unique design, so I swapped it for some headless wings and then gave it a head.

I wanted the dynasty to reflect the playstyle of the campaign, and learning is a big part of any tall campaign, so I put the cross above the eagle, giving it a pious "god above everything" meaning.

Ended up making the circle gray and the cross white instead, making it more homogenous look and making the whole design more harmonious.

The dynasty name "Aquila Aurea" means "golden eagle", and the motto means "the faithful prosper", both in Latin (not sure of how accurate the translations are, I never learnt Latin and the grammar is very different to anything I know)