The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

() is known as the Republican Eagle, National Emblem of Egypt or Egyptian Golden Eagle, is a heraldic

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

, facing the viewer's left (

dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

). The eagle's breast is charged with an

escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...

bearing the red-white-black bands of the

flag of Egypt The national flag of Egypt ( ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black bands of the Arab Liberation Flag that dates back to the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, 1952 Egyptian Revolution. The fl ...

rotated vertically, whilst the eagle's talons hold a scroll bearing the official name of the state written in

Kufic script The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...

. The earliest version of the Eagle of Saladin was that used as the flag of

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

, the first

Sultan of Egypt Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally ...

, whilst the modern version of the eagle was adopted during the

Egyptian Revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

. Subsequently, the modern design of the

eagle of Saladin The Eagle of Saladin (, ) is a heraldic eagle that serves as the coat of arms in some Arab countries: Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, and Yemen. Since the 1952 Egyptian revolution, the eagle has been an iconic symbol of Egypt, and of Arab nationalism, pa ...

was adopted as the coat of arms of numerous other states in the

Arab World The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

, such as the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

North Yemen North Yemen () is a term used to describe the Kingdom of Yemen (1918-1962), the Yemen Arab Republic (1962-1990), and the regimes that preceded them and exercised sovereignty over that region of Yemen. Its capital was Sanaa from 1918 to 1948 an ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

South Yemen South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until Yemeni unification, its unification with the Yemen A ...

, the

Libyan Arab Republic Muammar Gaddafi became the '' de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. When Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, the Revolutio ...

, and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. The current eagle was modified in 1984 to its present form.

History

Eagles have for millennia been symbols of power in

, appearing in innumerable devotional and political artistic representations from the Pharoanic era onwards, and used as the heraldic banners of

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

rulers well in to the medieval era. Chief amongst these was

, who adopted an eagle as his personal standard upon his coronation as Sultan of Egypt in 1174. Subsequent Egyptian rulers, from both the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

that he founded, and the Mamluk military caste that succeeded it, would continue his use of the heraldic eagle. Saladin's celebrated stature as the leader who recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders, led to the eagle that bears his name becoming associated with renewed

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

and

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

from the late 19th century onwards, ultimately becoming the symbol of the

. The Egyptian revolutionaries of the Free Officers Movement under

Mohamed Naguib Major General Mohamed Bey Naguib Youssef Qutb El-Qashlan (; 19 February 1901 – 28 August 1984), known simply as Mohamed Naguib (, ), was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who, along with Gamal Abdel Nasser, was one of the two prin ...

and

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

emblazoned on the eagle's breast the green field and white crescent and stars of the old flag of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan, and placed the eagle in the centre of the horizontal red-white-black bands of the revolution's Arab Liberation Flag. In so doing, they incorporated all four of the

Pan-Arab colours 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, Arab people and their history. History The four colors derive their potency from a v ...

of red, white, black, and green derived from the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimad caliphates of Medina, Damascus, Baghdad, and Cairo respectively. In addition to being one of the four Pan-Arab colours, and the predominant colour of the old flag of monarchical Egypt and Sudan, the colour green was itself strongly associated with nationalism in Egypt, particularly due to its use on the banner of the

Egyptian Revolution of 1919 The Egyptian revolution of 1919 (, ''Thawra 1919'') was a nation-wide revolution in the Sultanate of Egypt against British occupation which lasted from November 1918 to July 1919. Occurring right after the end of World War I, the revolution ...

. As the subsequent revolution of 1952 was explicitly committed to both Egyptian and Arab nationalism, Naguib and Nasser insisted on the inclusion of green on revolutionary Egypt's coat of arms, and national flag. When Egypt united with

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to form the

in 1958, the appearance of the eagle was modified, replacing the monarchical green field and white crescent and stars on the eagle's breast with an escutcheon bearing a vertically rotated

flag of the United Arab Republic The Flag of the United Arab Republic () was adopted following the unification of Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt and Second Syrian Republic, Syria into a single state known as the United Arab Republic on 22 February 1958. Syria left the uni ...

with two green stars in the central white band representing the two constituent members of the union. In the eagle's talons was placed the official name of the state on a green scroll, thereby, along with the green stars, incorporating once again the colour green on the coat of arms. Whilst the eagle was replaced at the centre of the Arab Liberation Flag by the two green stars, its status as the union's coat of arms meant that it appeared on all state buildings, documents, and uniforms. Following Egypt's membership of the

Federation of Arab Republics The Federation of Arab Republics (FAR; , , ) was an unsuccessful attempt by Muammar Gaddafi to merge Libya, Egypt and Syria in order to create a unified Arab state. Although approved by a referendum in each country on 1 September 1971, the th ...

in 1972 during the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...

, the Eagle of Saladin was replaced entirely as Egypt's coat of arms by the

Hawk of Quraish The Hawk of Quraish () is a symbol which is found on a number of emblems, coats of arms and flags of several states of the Arab world. The traditions and recorded history about the Quraysh and Prophet Muhammad claim a falcon had been used as clan ...

, which would also take the place of the two green stars in the centre of the national flag. In both policies and symbolism, Sadat was eager to depart from the path of his predecessor, Gamal Abdel Nasser, resulting in the adoption of a new coat of arms, and a modified flag, both of which excluded the colour green. The federation, however, was short-lived, dissolving in 1977. Sadat himself was assassinated in 1981. In 1984, the Eagle of Saladin was restored as Egypt's coat of arms, and has remained as such since, with the eagle returned to the central white band of the national flag. The appearance of the eagle when re-adopted remained the same as the 1958 version with the exception of it being rendered entirely in gold and white, save for the escutcheon on the eagle's breast, which continues to bear the vertically rotated red-white-black bands of the national flag. Consequently, the changes to Egypt's heraldic colours by Sadat were made permanent, and the current design of Egypt's coat of arms (and national flag) does not include the colour green used in both the revolutions of 1919, and 1952.

Appearance

The

Eagle of Saladin The Eagle of Saladin (, ) is a heraldic eagle that serves as the coat of arms in some Arab countries: Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, and Yemen. Since the 1952 Egyptian revolution, the eagle has been an iconic symbol of Egypt, and of Arab nationalism, pa ...

holds a scroll on which the name of the state appears in

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

, ''Gumhūriyyat Miṣr al-ʿArabiyyah'' ("Arab Republic of Egypt"). The

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

carries on its breast a shield with the flag's colors — but with a vertical instead of a horizontal configuration. When appearing on the national flag, the eagle is rendered entirely in gold and white. During the union with

in the

(1958–1961), and in the ten years afterwards when Egypt retained the union's official name, the two green stars of the union's flag appeared in the white band of the eagle's shield. Between 1972 and 1984, the eagle was replaced by the golden

, as part of the symbolism of the

. File:Coat of arms of the Wāli of Egypt.svg, Coat of arms of the

Egypt Eyalet Ottoman Egypt was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517), conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517. The Ottomans administered Egypt as a Eyalet, province (''eyalet'') of their empir ...

(1854–1867) File:Coat of arms of the Khedive of Egypt.svg, Coat of arms of the

Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short- ...

(1867–1914) File:Coat of Arms of the Sultan of Egypt.svg, Coat of arms of the

Sultanate of Egypt The Sultanate of Egypt () was a British protectorate in Egypt which existed from 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, to 1922, when it ceased to exist as a result of the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence. History Soon afte ...

(1914–1922) File:Coat of arms of Kingdom of Egypt (blue color).svg, Coat of arms of the

Kingdom of Egypt The Kingdom of Egypt () was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Eg ...

(1922–1953) File:Coat of arms of Egypt (1953–1958).svg, Coat of arms of

(1953–1958) File:Coat of arms of United Arab Republic (Syria 1958-61, Egypt 1958-1971).svg,

Coat of arms of the United Arab Republic The coat of arms used by the United Arab Republic featured the Pan-Arab colours of the flag of the United Arab Republic (in vertical form) on a shield carried by the Eagle of Saladin. Below, a green scroll has the Arabic text for "United Arab R ...

(1958–1971) and Egypt (1971–1972) File:Coat of arms of Egypt (1972-1984).svg, Coat of arms of Egypt within the

, and during the seven years after the Federation's dissolution (1972–1984) File:Coat of arms of Egypt (on flag).svg, A version of the coat of arms as it appears on the

Flag of Egypt The national flag of Egypt ( ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black bands of the Arab Liberation Flag that dates back to the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, 1952 Egyptian Revolution. The fl ...

File:Coat of arms of Egypt (Official).svg, Official version of the coat of arms of Egypt, 1984–present File:Coat of arms of Egypt (variant).svg, Variant of the official coat of arms in a lighter shade

Military symbols

File: Seal of the Egyptian Armed Forces.svg, Emblem of the

Egyptian Armed Forces The Egyptian Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Egypt, Arab Republic of Egypt. The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces directs (a) Egyptian Army forces, (b) the Egyptian Navy, (c) Egyptian Air Force and (d) Egyptian Air Defense Forces. ...

File:Egyptian_Air_Force_emblem.svg, Badge of the

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) () is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy ...

File:Roundel_of_Egypt.svg, Roundel of Egypt

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coat Of Arms Of Egypt National symbols of Egypt

History

Appearance

Military symbols

See also

References

External links