Flag used from 1917 to 1920
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
flag
used by
Hussein bin Ali
and his allies, the
Arab nationalists
, during the
Arab Revolt
against the
Ottoman Empire
during
World War I
, and as the first flag of the
Kingdom of Hejaz
. It was designed by
Mark Sykes
but is highly reminiscent of previous Arab flags, such as the flags of the
al-Muntada al-Adabi
,
al-?Ahd
and
al-Fatat
.
[
citation needed
]
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
[
edit
]
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
tricolor
as a sign of the break with the Ottoman past, while the colours are deeply Islamic without using the star and crescent used by the Ottomans.
[2]
The explanation given in the official note of the ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Revolt, celebrating Hussein's decree on the adoption of the flag, was that black represented the
Black Standard
of Muhammad (the
al-?uq?b
"eagle"), his
companions
, and the Abbasid Caliphate, the green represented the
Ahl al-Bayt
or Prophetic Family, white various Arab rulers, and red the Hashemites.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
It has been suggested that the flag was designed by the British diplomat Sir
Mark Sykes
, in an effort to create a feeling of "Arab-ness" to fuel the revolt.
[5]
According to
Stanford University
historian Joshua Teitelbaum, this claim is made both by Sykes' 1923 biographer and by
Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi
, who in 1918 told
Woodrow Wilson
that it symbolized
Hashemite
rule over the Arab world.
[1]
According to one version, Sykes, keen to challenge the French flag being flown in French-controlled Arab territories, offered several designs to Hussein, who chose the one that was then used.
[3]
Although the Arab Revolt was limited in scope and supported by the British, the flag influenced the
national flags
of a number of emerging
Arab states
after World War I. Flags inspired by that of the Arab revolt include those of
Palestine
,
Jordan
,
Egypt
,
Iraq
,
Kuwait
,
Sudan
,
Syria
,
Yemen
, the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
and
Libya
.
[
citation needed
]
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
Hejaz
region of
Arabia
,
Jordan
, formally known as the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
,
Iraq
, and briefly in
Syria
.
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
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
Successors
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Teitelbaum, Joshua (2001).
The Rise and Fall of the Hashimite Kingdom of Arabia
. London: Hurst & Company. p. 205.
ISBN
1-85065-460-3
.
OCLC
630148867
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Marshall, Tim (2017).
A flag worth dying for : the power and politics of national symbols
. New York, NY: Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. pp. 110?111.
ISBN
978-1-5011-6833-8
.
OCLC
962006347
.
- ^
a
b
c
Podeh, Elie (2011).
The Politics of National Celebrations in the Arab Middle East
. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 49.
ISBN
978-1-107-00108-4
.
OCLC
1277339058
.
- ^
Sergie, Lina,
Recollecting history : songs, flags and a Syrian square
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture, 2003
- ^
Easterly, William
(2006).
The White Man's Burden
. New York: Penguin. p. 238.
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
[
edit
]