The Kurdish sun "Roj” or “Rosh" is a burning golden sun and the national emblem of the

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...

. It has a religious and cultural history among the Kurds, dating back to ancient times. It's also found inside the

flag of Kurdistan The flag of Kurdistan ( ku, ئاڵای کوردستان ,Alaya Kurdistanê) is the flag of Kurds, Kurdish Institute of Paris. and created by the Society for the Rise of Kurdistan in 1920. It would later, in different variants, be adopted as th ...

and the official flag of the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok ...

. The sun disk of the emblem contains 21 rays of equal size and shape. Number 21 is a venerable number, standing for the renaissance in the ancient and original Kurdish religion, Yazdani, and its modern branches. The number 21 also symbolizes

March 21 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the ''Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas an ...

, the holiday of

Newroz Newroz or Nawroz ( ku, نەورۆز, Newroz) is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz; the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture. The lighting of the fires at the beginning of the evening of March 21 is the main symbol of Newroz among t ...

, which is the Kurdish New Year.

History

Flags used

File:Kurdish flag (1932).png, The first version of the modern Kurdistan flag, adopted by

Xoybûn Xoybûn or Khoyboun ( ku, ,Xoybûn خۆیبوون) was a Kurdish nationalist political party, that is known for leading the Ararat rebellion, commanded by Ihsan Nuri. Many Armenians joined the movement as well, the party was active in all parts ...

in 1928 as the flag of the

Republic of Ararat The Republic of Ararat, or Kurdish Republic of Ararat,Abbas Vali, ''Essays on the origins of Kurdish nationalism'', Mazda Publishers, 2003, p. 199./ref> ( ku, کۆماری ئارارات, translit=Komara Agiriyê and ku, Komara Araratê) was ...

(1927-1930). File:Flag of the Republic of Mahabad.svg, Flag adopted by the

Republic of Mahabad The Republic of Mahabad or the Republic of Kurdistan ( ku, کۆماری کوردستان / Komara Kurdistanê; fa, جمهوری مهاباد) was a short-lived Kurdish self-governing unrecognized state in present-day Iran, from 22 January to ...

in the mid-forties. File:Flag of Kurdistan.svg, The third and current version of the flag, which was adopted by the Kurdistan Region in 1992 It is also used by the national Kurdish parties in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, and Syria. Flag of Iraq (1959–1963).svg, The flag of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

from 1959-1963 included The Kurdish Sun as well as

Pan-Arab colors The Pan-Arab colors are black, white, green and red. Individually, each of the four Pan-Arab colors were intended to represent a certain aspect of the Arabs and their history. The black represents the Black Standard used by the Rashidun Calip ...

, to promote unity and

Iraqi nationalism Iraqi nationalism is a form of nationalism which asserts the belief that Iraqis are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Iraqis of different ethnoreligious groups such as Mesopotamian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Yazidis, ...

References

Kurdish nationalist symbols Cultural history of Kurdistan {{Kurdistan-stub