GetWiki

{{Short description|Flag used from 1917 to 1920}}

factoids

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-ʽAhd and al-Fatat.{{Cn|date=December 2023}}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).BOOK, Marshall, Tim, A flag worth dying for : the power and politics of national symbols, Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc, 2017, 978-1-5011-6833-8, New York, NY, 110–111, 962006347, The red triangle has been described as referring to the HashemitesBOOK, Podeh, Elie, 2011, The Politics of National Celebrations in the Arab Middle East,weblink New York, Cambridge University Press, 49, 978-1-107-00108-4, 1277339058, or the ashraf of Mecca.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. 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.Sergie, Lina, Recollecting history : songs, flags and a Syrian square Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture, 2003Similarly, 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. 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-ʿuqāb "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.

History

(File:030Arab.jpg|thumb|right|Soldiers in the Arab Army during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918. They are carrying the flag of the Arab Revolt and are pictured in the Arabian Desert.)File:Auda, head chief of Howeitat tribe, 55 yrs. old, comes to offer allegiance ... LCCN2017658712.jpg|thumb|Auda Abu Tayi (marked with an X) of the HoweitatHoweitatIt 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.BOOK, William, Easterly, William Easterly, 2006, The White Man's Burden,weblink New York, Penguin, 238, 978-1-1012-1812-9, 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.BOOK, Joshua, Teitelbaum, 2001, The Rise and Fall of the Hashimite Kingdom of Arabia,weblink London, Hurst & Company, 205, 1-85065-460-3, 630148867, 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. However, the flag is highly reminiscent of earlier flags used by Arab nationalists, such as those used by al-Muntada al-Adabi in 1909, al-ʽAhd (Iraq) in 1913, and the al-Fatat secret society in 1914.{{cn|date=December 2023}}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.{{cn|date=December 2023}}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.WEB, The Flag of the Arab Revolt,weblink Andrewcusack.com, 28 July 2016,weblink 30 August 2016, live,

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

File:Flag of al-Mountada al-Adabi.PNG| Flag of Al-Muntada al-AdabiFile:Flag of the Jam'iyat al-Arabiya al-Fatat (1911-1916).svg| Flag of Al-Fatat

Successors

File:Flag_of_the_Ba'ath_Party.svg|Flag of the Ba'ath PartyFile:Flag of Egypt.svg|Flag of EgyptFlag of Jordan.svg|Flag of JordanFile:Flag of Palestine.svg|Flag of PalestineFlag of Iraq.svg|Flag of IraqFlag of Kuwait.svg|Flag of KuwaitFlag of Syria.svg|Flag of SyriaSyrian revolution flag.svg|Syrian National Coalition and Syrian Interim GovernmentFlag of Sudan.svg|Flag of SudanFlag of the United Arab Emirates.svg|Flag of the United Arab EmiratesFlag of Yemen.svg|Flag of YemenFile:Flag of Somaliland.svg|Republic of SomalilandFlag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg|Flag of Western SaharaFlag of Libya.svg|Flag of Libya

See also

• Flag of Saudi Arabia

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• Arab Revolt Flag | 1917 | Britannica
• Arab Revolt Flagpole
• Flag of Palestine

{{Arab nationalism}}