Flag of the Arab Revolt
Flag of Hejaz | |
Use | National flag and war flag |
---|---|
Proportion | 2:3 |
Adopted | 10 June 1917 |
Design | A red triangle to which three parallel horizontal colours are attached, black at the top, followed by green in the middle and white at the bottom. |
Designed by | Mark Sykes |
The flag of the Arab Revolt, also known as the flag of Hejaz, was a
The flag consists of three horizontal stripes (black, white, and green) and a red triangle on the hoist side, using Islamic religious tradition, each color has a symbolic meaning: black represents the Abbasid dynasty or the Rashidun caliphs, white represents the Umayyad dynasty, and green represents Islam (or possibly, but it is not certain, the Fatimid dynasty). The red triangle represents the Hashemite dynasty, to which Hussein bin Ali belonged.
The flag became a symbol of Arab nationalism and unity and is still used today in various forms in the flags of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Palestine, Somaliland, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and Libya.
Symbolism
The horizontal colors stand for the Abbasid Caliphate (black), Umayyad Caliphate (white) and Rashidun Caliphate (green).[1][2] The red triangle has been described as referring to the Hashemites[3][2] or the ashraf of Mecca.[1]
According to Tim Marshall, white was the Umayyad colour in memory of Muhammad's first military victory, black was the Abbasid colour to mark a new era and to mourn the dead of the Battle of Karbala, and green was the colour of the Prophet's coat and of his followers as they conquered Mecca.[2] Alternatively, the colours' symbolism has been described as follows: white for the Damascene Umayyad Caliphate, green for Ali, red for the Kharijites, and black for Muhammad, showing the "political use of religion" in opposition to the increasingly secularized Turkish rule.[4]
Similarly, Marshall explains the use of the European
History
It has been suggested that the flag was designed by the British diplomat Sir
Although the Arab Revolt was limited in scope and supported by the British, the flag influenced the
The Hashemites were allies of the British in the conflict against the Ottoman Empire. After the war ended, the Hashemites achieved or were granted rule in the
.The Arab Kingdom of Syria was dissolved after only a few months of existence after the French conquest in 1920. The Hashemites were overthrown in the Hejaz in 1925 by the Sultanate of Najd after the Saudi conquest of Hejaz, and in Iraq in 1958 by a coup d'etat, but retained power in Jordan.
A 60 m × 30 m version of the flag currently flies from the Aqaba Flagpole, currently the seventh tallest freestanding flagpole in the world, located in Aqaba, Jordan.[6]
Description
The flag contains the four Pan-Arab colors: black, white, green and red. There are three horizontal stripes: black, green, and white, going down the flag. There is also a red triangle on the hoist side of the flag.
Predecessors
-
Flag of Al-Muntada al-Adabi
-
Flag of Al-Fatat
Successors
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Flag of the Ba'ath Party
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Syrian National Coalition and Syrian Interim Government
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Republic of Somaliland
See also
References
- ^ OCLC 630148867.
- ^ OCLC 962006347.
- ^ OCLC 1277339058.
- ^ Sergie, Lina, Recollecting history : songs, flags and a Syrian square Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture, 2003
- ISBN 978-1-1012-1812-9.
- ^ "The Flag of the Arab Revolt". Andrewcusack.com. 28 July 2016. Archived from the original on 30 August 2016.
External links