The flag of the Arab Revolt, also known as the flag of Hejaz, was a

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

used by the

Arab nationalists Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and ...

during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and as the first flag of the

Kingdom of Hejaz The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( ar, المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East that included the western portion of the Arabian Penins ...

History

It has been suggested that the flag was designed by the British diplomat Sir

Mark Sykes Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (16 March 1879 – 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician, and diplomatic advisor, particularly with regard to the Middle East at the time of the First Wo ...

, in an effort to create a feeling of "Arab-ness" in order to fuel the revolt. According to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

historian Joshua Teitelbaum, this claim is made both by Sykes' 1923 biographer and by

Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ar, الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proc ...

, who in 1918 told Woodrow Wilson that it symbolished Hashemite rule over the Arab world. 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) The Al-Ahd, or the Covenant Society, ( ar, جمعية العهد, ''Jamyat al-Ahd'') was a political group organized in 1913, mainly by Iraqi officers serving in the Ottoman military.Ghareeb, Edmund A. ''Historical Dictionary of Iraq'', pp. 59-60. ...

in 1913, and the Al-Fatat secret society in 1914. 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 __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, Yemen,

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Libya. The horizontal colors stand for the Abbasid (black), Umayyad (white) and

Rashidun , image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png , caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia , known_for = Companions of t ...

(green) caliphates. The red triangle has been described as referring to the Hashemite dynasty, or the ashraf of Mecca. According to Tim Marshall, white was the Umayyad colour in memory of Mohammed'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 period, green for the

Caliph Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, red for the Khawarij movement, and black for the

Prophet Mohammed Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

, showing the "political use of religion" in opposition to the increasingly secularized Turkish colonial rule. 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. 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 the Prophet (the ''al-ʻuqāb'', eagle), his companions and the Abbasid empire, the green represented the Prophet's family (

Ahl al-Bayt Ahl al-Bayt ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, ) refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to apply to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. ...

), white various Arab rulers, and red the Hashemites. 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 The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...

region of Arabia, Jordan, formally known as the ''Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan'', Iraq, and briefly in

. The

Arab Kingdom of Syria The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...

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 The Saudi conquest of Hejaz or the Second Saudi-Hashemite War, also known as the Hejaz-Nejd War, was a campaign engaged by Saudi Sultan Abdulaziz to take over the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz in 1924–25, ending with conquest and incorporation ...

, 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.

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. File:Flag of Egypt.svg, Flag of Egypt Flag of Jordan.svg, Flag of Jordan File:Flag of Palestine.svg,

Flag of Palestine The flag of Palestine ( ar, علم فلسطين) is a tricolor of three equal horizontal stripes (black, white, and green from top to bottom) overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. This flag is derived from the Pan-Arab colors and ...

Flag of Iraq.svg, Flag of Iraq Flag of Kuwait.svg, Flag of Kuwait Flag of Syria.svg, Flag of Syria Syrian revolution flag.svg, Syrian National Coalition
Syrian Interim Government Flag of Sudan.svg, Flag of Sudan Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg, Flag of the United Arab Emirates Flag of Yemen.svg, Flag of Yemen. File:Flag of Somaliland.svg,

Republic of Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still consid ...

Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg, Flag of Western Sahara Flag of Libya.svg, Flag of Libya

References

External links

* https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arab-Revolt-Flag {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag of the Arab Revolt Arab Revolt Arab nationalist symbols Arab history Political flags Historical flags

History

Description

See also

References

External links