1.
Glossary of vexillology
–
Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
Glossary of vexillology
–
Contents
2.
National flag
–
A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country, historically, flags originate as military standards, used as field signs. The practice of flying flags indicating the country of origin outside of the context of warfare became common with the flag, introduced during the age of sail. Most countries of Europe adopted a flag in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The specifications of the flag of Denmark were codified in 1748, the flag of Switzerland was introduced in 1889, also based on medieval war flags. The Netherlands introduced two national flags in 1813, the Ottoman flag was adopted in 1844. Other non-European powers followed the trend in the late 19th century, the flag of Japan being introduced in 1870, the Flag of the United States is not defined in the constitution but rather in a separate Flag Resolution passed in 1777. Minor design changes of national flags are passed on a legislative or executive level. A change in national flag is due to a change of regime. In such cases, the origins of the national flag. In such cases national flags acquire the status of a political symbol, the flag of Germany, for instance, was a tricolour of black-white-red under the German Empire, inherited from the North German Confederation. The Weimar Republic that followed adopted a black-red-gold tricolour, nazi Germany went back to black-white-red in 1933, and black-red-gold was reinstituted by the two successor states, West Germany and East Germany following World War II. Similarly the flag of Libya introduced with the creation of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951 was abandoned in 1969 with the coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. It was used again by National Transitional Council and by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and officially adopted by the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration. There are three types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, though many countries use identical designs for several of these types of flag. On land, there is a distinction between civil flags, state flags, and war or military flags, state flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government. War flags are used by organisations such as Armies, Marine Corps. In practice, many countries have identical flags for these three purposes, national flag is used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag
National flag
National flag
–
The world's third tallest
flagpole flying a 270 kg (595 lb)
Flag of North Korea. It is 160 m (525 ft) in height, over
Kijŏng-dong ("Peace village") near
Panmunjom, the border of
North Korea and
South Korea.
National flag
–
Distribution of colours in national flags
3.
Civil ensign
–
Civil ensign is the ensign used by civilian vessels to denote nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and its also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag. Some countries have civil ensigns for yachts, and even for specific yacht clubs. Most countries have one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. The civil ensigns that are different from the flag can be grouped into a number of categories. Several countries use red flags with, in most cases, either the national flag or the Union Flag in the canton. British overseas territories fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the colonial arms in the fly. Saudi Arabia puts its national flag in the canton of an otherwise-green flag, Ghana stopped using its Red Ensign in 2003 with the adoption of a new merchant shipping act, which made the Ghanaian flag the proper national colors for Ghana ships. Similarly, Sri Lanka stopped using its Red Ensign in 1969, several countries have civil ensigns that are very different from the national flag, for instance Malta and Luxembourg. Well-known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics or the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland, most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries or from other signal flags. In several countries there are two versions of the flag, a simpler one and a more elaborate one with the national arms. The simpler one is used as ensign, whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government. In Spain and Argentina the flag without the arms is only a variant for civil use, in El Salvador, the civil ensign also differs from the national flag in the proportions. France is a case, the overall proportion is the same. Civil and merchant ensigns Civil air ensign
Civil ensign
–
United Kingdom
4.
State ensign
–
Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
State ensign
–
National civil ensign of New Zealand flown from the stern of
Hikitia
State ensign
State ensign
5.
Naval ensign
–
Naval ensign is the ensign used by Navy vessels to denote nationality. It can be the same or different from the civil ensign and its also known as the war ensign. A large version of the naval ensign which is flown on a warships mast just before going into battle is called a battle ensign, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. Most countries have one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. Some naval ensign differ in shape from the flag, such as the Nordic naval ensigns which have tongues. Naval ensigns that are different from the ensign and the national flag
Naval ensign
–
National civil ensign of New Zealand flown from the stern of
Hikitia
Naval ensign
Naval ensign
6.
Naval Jack
–
A maritime flag is a flag designated for use on ships, boats, and other watercraft. Naval flags are considered important at sea and the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced, the flag flown is related to the country of registration, so much so that the word flag is often used symbolically as a synonym for country of registration. Ensigns are usually required to be flown when entering and leaving harbour, when sailing through foreign waters, and when the ship is signalled to do so by a warship. Warships usually fly their ensigns between the morning ceremony and sunset when moored or at anchor, at all times when underway. When engaged in battle a warship often flies multiple battle ensigns and this tradition dates from the era of sailing vessels. Tradition dictated that if a ship lowered its ensign it was deemed to have surrendered, masts were targets of gunfire, and the second and subsequent ensigns were flown in order to keep the ensign flying even after a mast hit. Jacks are additional national flags flown by warships at the head of the ship and these are usually flown while not underway and when the ship is dressed on special occasions. Jacks in the Royal Navy must be run up when the first line is ashore when coming alongside, although they continued to fly the same ensign as U. S. Since then, commissioned ships of NOAA, which fly the same national ensign as U. S. Navy ships, have flown the flag of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a distinguishing mark. Similarly, all ships of the United States Lighthouse Service flew the U. S, the rank flag or distinguishing flag is the flag flown by a superior officer on his flagship or headquarters. The origins of this are from the era before radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony, the flag denotes the ship which must be watched for signals designating orders. Such flags are also flown when leaders of the government are aboard Navy ships, today, with the progress in communications, this flag indicates the obligation of the other Naval vessels to pay the relevant honours according to nautical etiquette. In a group of ships all commanded by superior officers. In the Royal Navy, admirals fly rectangular rank flags, an Admiral of the Fleet flies a Union Flag, the flags of vice-admirals and rear-admirals have one and two additional red balls respectively. Commodores fly a Broad Pennant which is a short swallow-tailed pennant based on the St Georges Cross, in the United States Navy as well as in some other countries, admirals fly rectangular flags with stars according to rank. Line officer flags are blue with stars, while staff officer flags are white with blue stars. Captains, when commanding a flotilla or squadron, fly a burgee with the colours of Hellenic Navy Jack, when a rank flag is flown the commissioning pennant is displaced downward. The pennant, historically called a pennon, is a long narrow flag, conveying different meanings depending on its design, examples, A commissioning pennant, or masthead, which a warship flies from its masthead and indicates the commission of the captain of the ship
Naval Jack
–
House flags, ca. 1900
Naval Jack
–
A medieval ship flag captured from a
Danish ship by
Lübeck forces in 1427 showed the arms of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Pomerania. The original flag was destroyed in World War II during a British attack on Lübeck, but a 19th-century copy remains in
Frederiksborg Palace, Denmark. The saint accompanying the Virgin Mary and infant Christ is Saint
James the Greater, identified by his
scallop shell emblem.
Naval Jack
–
Burgee of Barrachois Harbour Yacht Club, Nova Scotia, Canada
Naval Jack
–
Superyacht Ariane NI in Toulon harbour, flying her British ensign and a French courtesy flag
7.
Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic
–
The Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic was the government-in-exile of the Algerian National Liberation Front during the latter part of the Algerian War of Independence. The GPRA was set up in Cairo, Egypt, by the FLN on September 19,1958, four years into the Algerian War of Independence. He was once re-elected to the post, in 1960, but already next year he was sidelined and replaced by Benyoucef Benkhedda, the purpose of the GPRA was to serve as a diplomatic and political tool for the FLN. It allowed sympathizing governments to extend recognition to it. Its headquarters were located in Tunis, but diplomats were posted in most major world capitals to try to lobby governments, after the war, infighting broke out in FLN ranks. Benkhedda of the GPRA briefly held power in Algiers, but there was no unified power for the whole country, an attempt by GPRA politicians and loyal guerrilla units to resist the military-backed takeover was crushed in a short but intense burst of internal fighting. A compromise forced by Boumédiène saw most of the provisional government enter an expanded Political Bureau, a one-party state under Ben Bellas command was then set up, after a constitution had been approved for the new republic. The GPRA was reformed twice, in 1960 and 1961, with the change of ministers, below is a list of the three versions of the GPRA. Dictionnaire biographique Jacques Duchemin, Histoire du F. L. N. Benjamin Stora, a Short History Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace
Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic
–
From left to right:
Mohamed Khider, Mustafa Lacheraf,
Hocine Aït Ahmed,
Mohamed Boudiaf and
Ahmed Ben Bella. The picture was taken after their arrest by France.
Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic
–
Flag
8.
Arabic language
–
Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
Arabic language
–
The Galland Manuscript of
One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century
Arabic language
–
al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (
Naskh script)
Arabic language
–
Bilingual traffic sign in
Qatar.
Arabic language
–
Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.
9.
Berber language
–
Berber or the Berber languages or the Amazigh language are a family of similar and closely related languages and dialects indigenous to North Africa. Large Berber-speaking migrant communities, numbering today about 4 million, have been living in Western Europe, about half of this population was born in Europe. Berber constitutes a branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and has been attested since ancient times, the number of Berbers is much higher than the number of Berber speakers. The bulk of the populations of the Maghreb countries are considered to have Berber ancestors, in Algeria, for example, a majority of the population consists of Arabized Berbers. There is a cultural and political movement among speakers of the closely related varieties of Northern Berber to promote and unify them under a standard language, called. The name Tamaziɣt is the current native name of the Berber language in the Moroccan Middle-Atlas region, the Rif regions, in other Berber-speaking area this name was lost. There is historical evidence, from medieval Berber manusctipts, that all native North Africans from Libya to Morocco have called their language, Tamaziɣt. The name Tamaziɣt is currently being used by educated Berbers to refer to the written Berber language. Around 90 percent of the Berber-speaking population speak one of six major varieties of Berber and they are, in the order of demographic weight, Tashelhit, Kabyle, Atlas Tamazight, Riffian, Shawi and Tuareg. The Berber languages and dialects have had a tradition, on and off, for about 2,500 years, although the tradition has been frequently disrupted by cultural shifts. They were first written in the Libyco-Berber and Tifinagh abjad, still used by the Tuareg, the oldest dated inscription is from about 200 BCE. The Berber Latin alphabet was used by most European and Berber linguists during the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 19th and 20th century European and native Berber linguists, a modernized form of the Tifinagh alphabet, called Neo-Tifinagh, was adopted in Morocco in 2003 for writing Berber, but many Moroccan Berber publications still use the Berber Latin alphabet. Algerians mostly use the Berber Latin alphabet in Berber language education at public schools, Mali and Niger recognize a Tuareg-Berber Latin alphabet customized to the Tuareg phonological system. However, traditional Tifinagh is still used in those countries, the term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century, and is still used today. It was borrowed from Latin Barbari, the Latin word is also found in the Arabic designation for these populations, البربر, al-Barbar, see names of the Berber people. Etymologically, the Berber root Mazigh means free man, noble man, the feminine Tamazight traditionally referred specifically to the Riffian and Central Atlas Tamazight languages. European languages distinguish between the words Berber and barbaric, while Arabic has the same word al-barbari for both meanings, some other Berber writers, especially in Morocco, prefer to refer to Berber with Amazigh when writing about it in French or English
Berber language
–
Berber language poetry in Arabic script with its translation in French
Berber language
–
Tamaziɣt / Tamazight
Berber language
–
Kabylian manuscript on the 18th century
10.
Charge (heraldry)
–
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon. This may be a design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant. In French blazon, the ordinaries are called pièces while other charges are called meubles, while thousands of objects found in nature, mythology or technology have appeared in armory, there are several charges which have contributed to the distinctive flavour of heraldic design. Only these and a few other notable charges are discussed in this article, some heraldic writers distinguish, albeit arbitrarily, between honourable ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. While some authors hold that only nine charges are honourable ordinaries, the remainder are often termed sub-ordinaries, and narrower or smaller versions of the ordinaries are called diminutives. Apparently ceding the point for the moment, Fox-Davies lists the generally agreed-upon honourable ordinaries as the bend, fess, pale, pile, chevron, cross, saltire and chief. Boutell lists the chief, pale, bend, bend sinister, fess, bar, cross, saltire and cheveron as the honourable ordinaries. Thus, the chief, bend, pale, fess, chevron, cross and saltire appear to be the undisputed ordinaries, while authors disagree over the status of the pile, bar, inescutcheon, bordure and others. Several different figures are recognised as honourable ordinaries, each normally occupying about one-fifth to one-third of the field, the chief is the upper portion of the field. The bend runs from the left to the lower right, as \. The bend sinister runs from the right to the lower left. The pale, a stripe in the centre of the field. The fess is a horizontal stripe across the centre of the field. The chevron is a construction shaped like an inverted letter V, the cross is a geometric construction of two perpendicular lines or bands. It has hundreds of variants, most of which are common charges rather than ordinaries, the saltire is a diagonal cross, often called Saint Andrews cross. Most of the ordinaries have corresponding diminutives, narrower versions, most often mentioned when two or more appear in parallel, bendlets, pallets, bars, chevronels, in addition to those mentioned in the above section, other ordinaries exist. Some of these are variously called honourable ordinaries by different authors, the pall or pairle is shaped like the letter Y. The pile is a wedge issuing from the top of the field and its length and width vary widely
Charge (heraldry)
11.
Star and crescent
–
The star and crescent develops in the iconography of the Hellenistic period in Pontus, the Bosporan Kingdom, and notably Byzantium by the 2nd century BC. Coins with crescent and star symbols represented separately have a longer history, the star or Sun is often shown within the arc of the crescent, In numismatics in particular, the term crescent and pellet is used in cases where the star is simplified to a single dot. In Byzantium, the symbol became associated its patron goddess Artemis-Hecate, Ancient depictions of the symbol always show the crescent with horns pointing upward, and with the star placed inside the crescent. This arrangement is found on Sassanid coins beginning in the 5th or 6th century. The combination is found rarely in late medieval and early modern heraldry. It rose to prominence with its adoption as the flag and emblem of the Ottoman Empire and of some of its administrative divisions, and later in the 19th-century Westernizing tanzimat. The Ottoman flag of 1844 with a white ay-yıldız on a red background continues to be in use as the flag of the Republic of Turkey with minor modifications, other states formerly part of the Ottoman Empire also used the symbol, including Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. The same symbol was used in national flags introduced during the 20th century, including the flags of Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore. Unicode introduced a star and crescent character in its Miscellaneous Symbols block, in Late Bronze Age Canaan, star and crescent moon motifs are also found on Moabite name seals. The depiction of the crescent-and-star or star inside crescent as it would develop in Bosporan Kingdom is difficult to trace to Mesopotamian art. An example of such an arrangement is found in the reconstruction of a fragmentary stele of Ur-Nammu discovered in the 1920s. Mithradates VI Eupator of Pontus used an eight rayed star with a crescent moon as his emblem, several possible interpretations of the emblem have been proposed. In most of these, the star is taken to represent the Sun, if any goddess had a connection with the walls in Constantinople, it was Hecate. Hecate had a cult in Byzantium from the time of its founding, like Byzas in one legend, she had her origins in Thrace. Hecate was considered the goddess of Byzantium because she was said to have saved the city from an attack by Philip of Macedon in 340 BC by the appearance of a bright light in the sky. To commemorate the event the Byzantines erected a statue of the known as the Lampadephoros. Some Byzantine coins of the 1st century BC and later show the head of Artemis with bow and quiver, the star and crescent symbol appears on some coins of the Parthan vassal kingdom of Elymais in the late 1st century AD. The same symbol is present in coins that are associated with Orodes I of Parthia
Star and crescent
–
Queen
Purandokht, daughter of Khosrau II, the last woman and one of the last rulers on the throne of the Sassanid dynasty, 7th century.
Star and crescent
–
A green star and crescent.
Star and crescent
–
Byzantium, late 1st century AC. Obverse: Artemis. Reverse: ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΩΝ, star & crescent.
Star and crescent
–
Roman period limestone pediment from
Perge,
Turkey (
Antalya Museum)
12.
Blazon
–
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to such a description. Blazon also refers to the language in which a blazon is written. This language has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax, or rules governing word order, other objects — such as badges, banners, and seals — may also be described in blazon. The word blazon is not to be confused with the verb to emblazon, or the noun emblazonment, the word blazon is derived from French blason, shield. It was found in English by the end of the 14th century, formerly, experts in heraldry assumed that the word was related to the German verb blasen, to blow. Present-day lexicographers reject this theory as conjectural and disproved, the blazon of armorials follows a rigid formula, designed to eliminate ambiguity of interpretation, to be as concise as possible and to avoid repetition and extraneous punctuation. The nomenclature is equally significant, and its aim is to combine definitive exactness with a brevity that is indeed laconic. The rules of blazonry are as follows, Every blazon of a coat of arms begins by describing the field, with first letter as a capital, in a majority of cases this is a single tincture, e. g. Azure. If the field is complex, the variation is described, followed by the used, e. g. Chequy gules. The most common names are historically abbreviated. A Tincture is named only once in a given blazon, the principal charge are then named, with their tincture, e. g. a bend or. The principal charge is followed by any other charges placed around or on it, if a charge be a bird or beast, its attitude is described, followed by the animals tincture, followed by anything that may be differently coloured, e. g. An eagle displayed gules armed and wings charged with trefoils or, any accessories present — such as crown/coronet, helmet, torse, mantling, crest, motto, supporters and compartment — are then described in turn, using the same terminology and syntax. According to Boutell, It appears desirable always to print all heraldic blazon in italic, heraldry has its own vocabulary, word-order and punctuation, and showing it in italics thus indicates to the reader the presence of a quasi-foreign language. A quartered shield is blazoned one quarter at a time, proceeding by rows from chief to base, a divided shield is blazoned party per or parted per, though the word party or parted is almost always omitted. A tincture is sometimes replaced by of the first, of the second etc. to avoid repetition of tincture names, counterchanged means that a charge which straddles a line of division is tinctured of the same tinctures as the divided field, reversed. But as to the formulae of blazoning, John Brooke-Little, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, wrote in 1985
Blazon
–
Azure, a
bend or. A coat made famous by the mediaeval court case
Scrope v. Grosvenor.
13.
Algerian National Navy
–
The Algerian National Navy is the naval branch of the Military of Algeria. Additional missions include coast guard and maritime safety missions as well a projection of marine forces, Algerian forces are an important player in the Western Mediterranean. Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has remained an important partner, the origins of the Algerian Navy ) At that time the Maghreb under the control of the Almohad dynasty which also ruled the current Spain al-Andalus and 1147 to 1269. The Navy was born with the installation by Abd El Moumen naval shipyards the Almohad empire in the ports of Oran, but the reign of this great dynasty would soon be glazed at first by a few internal disagreements, mainly related to the difficulties of managing a vast territory. He moved later to head its fleet to Algeria to its liberation from the Spanish colonization, from there a new page was opened for Algeria which through its Marine could impose its leadership in the Mediterranean for nearly three centuries. However the Algerian armada also lost a number of vessels. Some Algerian squadrons took part to the Greek war of independence from 1821 on, as suppletive forces to the Ottoman fleet, in June 1827, Charles X launched a naval blockade on Algiers and three years later a military expedition which finally took the city in 1830. Algeria, endured for a century and 32 years of French rule until July 5,1962, principal naval bases are located at Algiers, Annaba, Mers el-Kebir, Oran, Jijel and Tamentfoust. Mers el Kébir is home to the OMCN/CNE shipbuilding facilities where several Algerian vessels have been built, algerias naval academy at Tamentfoust provides officer training equivalent to that of the army and the air force academies. The navy also operates a training school for its personnel at Tamentfoust. The bulk of the Algerian Navy is still based on Cold War designs, the surface fleet is equipped with a mixture of smaller ships well suited to coastal and Exclusive Economic Zone patrol work. The fleet is led by three Koni class frigates which have been updated with modern systems. A mixture of six corvettes and off-shore patrol vessels complement the frigates, Algeria had maintained a relatively large fleet of Osa class fast attack craft by the end of the Cold War, but it is questionable whether any of these remain in operational use. Their amphibious warfare capacity has traditionally been limited with a group of landing ships essentially for coastal transport roles. This capacity will be upgraded with the planned acquisition of an amphibious transport dock capable of supporting more robust operations. The Algerian military has maintained a strong veil of secrecy over its organization and equipment. Open sources are known to vary widely in their reports of several aspects of Algerian equipment, the Navy is currently being upgraded with the following technological developments, the existing units are being modernized, with the submarine force strengthened by two new Kilo class submarines. One LPD form Italy in 2014, four MEKO A200 frigates from Germany
Algerian National Navy
–
Soldiers parade in the Algerian Navy.
Algerian National Navy
–
Naval Ensign
Algerian National Navy
–
Kilo Class 636M
Algerian National Navy
14.
Flag terminology
–
Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
Flag terminology
–
Contents
15.
Flags of the World
–
Flags of the World is an Internet-based vexillological association and resource. Its principal project is the Internets largest website devoted to vexillology, containing information about all kinds of flags. The mailing list began as a group in about September 1993, while the website was founded by Giuseppe Bottasini in late 1994. FotW became the 56th member of the FIAV in 2001, both the website and the mailing list operate in the English language, though there are members from around the world and as such information from many languages is translated and included. The mailing list is monitored by the FOTW Listmaster, while work on the website is coordinated by the FOTW Editorial Director, the website is updated once a week with fresh material, some mirrors update monthly. Due to the amount of material there is an editing backlog. There are also some mirrors that have not been updated for varying periods of time, the source for material on the FOTW website are contributions to the FOTW mailing list, which has over 1000 members, of which some 100 are active contributors. The mailing list has notable minorities of Portuguese, French, Dutch, a staff of three unpaid volunteers manages and moderates the list. An affiliated Flags of the World Facebook group has established, inaugurated by Edward Mooney. As of November 2016 the group is run and moderated by a team of ten administrators, FOTW displays standardized flag images in GIF format, usually at a height of 216 pixels. While the GIF file format is capable of displaying 256 colours, the organizations flag is a design by Mark Sensen, which was selected over 10 challengers in a poll of FOTW mailing list members and was adopted 8 March 1996. Since then, March 8 has been regarded as FOTWs Flag day, Sensen described its symbolism, White on the hoist stands for peace, blue on the fly for progress. The six colours of the stars are the colours used in flags. The stars help to make one bigger symbol, the way the stars are all connected to each other represents the Internet. The flag is used as a rare representation of the Internet on a flag. List of flags List of flags by country Gallery of country flags Flags of the World Dictionary of Vexillology Flag Days Of The World FOTW mailing list
Flags of the World
–
Official flag of FOTW
16.
Flag of Bahrain
–
The national flag of Bahrain consists of a white band on the left, separated from a red area on the right by five triangles that serve as a serrated line. The five white triangles symbolize the 5 pillars of Islam and it is sometimes mistaken for the flag of Qatar, but that flag is maroon, not red, has more points, and normally has a much greater length-to-width ratio. The white color comprises 13⁄40 of the area, while the red color comprises 27⁄40 of the area. The color specification is red, Pantone 186 c / CMYK C0 – M90 – Y80 – K5 The flag is used on land and at sea as a national, civil and war ensign. In 2002, the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, article II, The King shall have his own flag, for which a royal order shall be issued to determine its shape, measures, and places. Article III, The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall be hoisted on the Royal Court, Palaces, governmental buildings, public establishments, embassies, Bahraini bureaus abroad, and Bahraini ships. Article V, The Flag shall be hoisted on governmental buildings, public institutions during public holidays, article VI, The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall not be hoisted on vehicles, except on the official protocol vehicles. Article VII, The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall be hoisted half mast at the state of mourning, article VIII, The Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain shall not be used for commercial purposes. The earliest known flags of Bahrain were plain red, in 1932, a serrated edge was added to the flag in order to differentiate it from those of its neighbours. The flag originally had twenty-eight white points, but this was reduced to eight in 1972, on 14 February 2002, the number was again reduced to five, so that each of the points could stand for one of the Five Pillars of Islam
Flag of Bahrain
–
Flag Ratio: 3:5
17.
Flag of Chad
–
The national flag of Republic of Chad is a vertical tricolor consisting of a blue, a gold and a red field. The basic design is the same as that of the flag of Romania, the flag of Chad is a vertical tricolour consisting of a blue, a gold and a red column. These were intended to be a combination of the colours of blue, white and red as seen on the Flag of France with the Pan-African colours of green, yellow and red. Furthermore, the blue represents the sky and hope, the gold is the sun and desert, the flag was adopted by law #59/13 for the autonomous republic and retained on independence in 1960, and in the constitution of 1962. Despite many political upheavals within Chad since independence, the flag has not been changed and this may be because the flag is not associated with any of the main power rivals within Chad, which had no sense of national identity before independence, and little after independence. The flag of Chad is almost identical to Romanias flag, during their Communist-era of the second half of the 20th Century, Romanias flag featured an insignia in the middle of the flag on top of the tricolour. The issue of Romania and Chad sharing similar flags has concerned the Chadian government on occasion, in response, Romanian President Ion Iliescu stated to the media, The tricolour belongs to us. We will not give up the tricolour, coat of arms of Chad Chad at Flags of the World
Flag of Chad
–
Chad
18.
Flag of the Comoros
–
The national flag of the Union of the Comoros was designed in 2001 and officially adopted on January 7,2002. It continues to display the crescent and four stars, which is a motif that has been in use in various forms since 1975 during the independence movement. In its constitution, the government of the Comoros refers to the insigne as lemblème national, or the national emblem, the design consists of a white crescent with four white five-pointed stars inside of a green triangle. The flag has four stripes, representing four islands of the nation, yellow is for Mohéli, white is for Mayotte, red is for Anjouan, the four stars on the flag also symbolize the four islands of the Comoros. The star and crescent symbol stands for Islam, which is the major religion. The first official flag of Comoros was designed and adopted for use in 1963 by Suzanne Gauthier. It had a crescent at upper hoist facing the fly, four stars in a diagonal. This design continued to be used after independence in 1975, the flag changed in 1975 under Ali Soilih. The crescent was moved and the stars were rearranged into a diamond, two thirds of the flag became red and symbolized the regimes socialist ideology. When Ahmed Abdallah was returned to the presidency in 1978, the flag changed again and it returned to being completely green, with the crescent moving to the center of the flag and the stars forming a line between its horns. Information about the proportions of this variant suggest either a 1,2,2,3, with the adoption of a new constitution in 1992, the flag changed again such that the crescent and stars were rotated to face upward rather than down and to the right. The adoption of yet another constitution chaned the flag again in 1996, rotating the flag to face the fly and adding an inscription to the lower hoist. The inscriptions are writen in simplified Arabic with the former reading Muhammed, the proportions of this flag was reported to be 21,15. This flag was changed by referendum in 2001 to the modern one, star and crescent Comoros Comoros at Flags of the World
Flag of the Comoros
–
Flag of the Comoros
19.
Flag of Djibouti
–
The national flag of Djibouti was adopted on 27 June 1977, following the countrys independence from France. No clan are mentioned in the national anthem, before the establishment of French Somaliland, the flag of the Sultanate of Tajoura was the only ensign used in the territory. The flag of Djibouti was later created in 1972, adopted in 1977, the national flag was an adaptation of the flag of the Ligue Populaire Africaine pour lIndependence, a political party that led Djibouti to independence. The LPAI flag had a red triangle with a white star, for the national flag, the star was placed in an upright rather than a slanted position, and the proportions of the flag were lengthened. White, green, and light blue are the colors of the LPAI, the flag of Djibouti was raised for the first time upon independence on 27 June 1977, by the head of police Yacine Yabeh Galab. It is today flown on governmental buildings. The flag of Djibouti features two horizontal bands of blue and green, with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side. The triangle bears a red star in its centre, which represents unity, each colour symbolizes something different, namely, the earth, the sea and sky, peace, and unity. The light blue represents the Sky, and the green represents the green of the earth. The red star signifies the unity of the state, the following are the flags historically used in the territory of present-day Djibouti, History of Djibouti Djibouti CIA World Factbook - Djibouti Djibouti at Flags of the World
Flag of Djibouti
–
Flag flying in rural Djibouti.
Flag of Djibouti
–
Djibouti
20.
Flag of Egypt
–
The flag of Egypt is a tricolour consisting of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black bands of the Arab Liberation flag dating back to the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The flag bears Egypts national emblem, the Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band, the Free Officers who toppled King Farouk in the Revolution of 1952 assigned specific symbolism to each of the three bands of the Arab Liberation flag. The red band symbolizes the period before the Revolution, a characterized by the struggle against the monarchy. The white band symbolizes the nature of the Revolution itself. The black band symbolizes the end of the oppression of the Egyptian people at the hands of the monarchy, Egypts use of the Arab Liberation flag inspired its adoption by a number of other Arab states. The same horizontal tricolour is used by Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, the development of the modern Egyptian flag was determined first by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, under whom Egypt was united with Sudan, and later by the rise of Arab nationalism. When Muhammad Ali successfully seized power in Egypt, the country was officially an Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire, however, throughout his reign, and that of his sons and grandsons, Egypt enjoyed virtual independence as a Khedivate. The meaning of the three stars and crescents has been suggested that this was to symbolise the victory of his armies in three continents, and his own sovereignty over Egypt, Sudan, and Hejaz. The similarity with the flag of the Ottoman Empire was deliberate, as Muhammad Ali harbored grandiose ambitions of deposing the Ottoman dynasty, Egypt retained this flag even after formal Ottoman sovereignty was terminated in 1914, when Egypt was declared to be a sultanate, and a British protectorate. After the Urabi Revolt in 1882, British forces occupied the country and this reached a peak in the Revolution of 1919, when both the red flag introduced by Muhammad Ali, and a special green banner bearing a crescent and cross were used in protests against the British. In 1922, Britain agreed to formally recognize Egyptian independence, but only on the condition that the Sultan of Egypt, Fuad I, change his title to King. Upon so doing, the now King Fuad issued a Royal Decree formally adopting a new flag of a white crescent with three white stars on a green background in it. It has also suggested that the three stars represented the three religious communities of the country, Muslims, Christians and Jews. This earlier version of the eagle differs somewhat from the one later adopted, in 1958, Egypt and Syria united as the United Arab Republic and adopted a national flag based on the Arab Liberation flag, with two green stars replacing the Eagle of Saladin in the white band. A modified version of the Eagle of Saladin was adopted as the UARs coat of arms. Though Syria withdrew from the U. A. R. in 1961, Egypt continued to use the name of the United Arab Republic until 1971. In 1972, when Egypt formed the Federation of Arab Republics along with Syria, and Libya, the U. A. R. flag was replaced by a common flag for the Federation, once again based on the Arab Liberation flag. The two green stars in the band were replaced by the Hawk of Qureish, which had been the coat of arms of Syria prior to the formation of the U. A. R. in 1958
Flag of Egypt
–
Egypt
21.
Flag of Iraq
–
The flag of Iraq includes the three equal horizontal red, white, and black stripes of the Arab Liberation flag. This basic tricolor has been in use since 1963, with changes to the green symbols in the central white stripe. The first flag of modern Iraq was the Kingdom of Iraq and it was a black-white-green horizontal flag, with a red trapezoid extending from the mast side, inspired by the flag of the Arab Revolt. Two seven-point white stars on the triangle denoted the two peoples of the kingdom, the Arabs and the Kurds. The design also reflected the newly installed Hashemite Dynasty in Iraq, as such, it was similar to the flags of Hashemite Jordan, and the short-lived Kingdom of Hejaz. Prior to Iraqi independence in 1932, this flag was used by the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. Today, it is used by pro-Hashemite monarchists in Iraq, in 1958, in response to the merger of Egypt and Syria in the United Arab Republic, the two Hashemite kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan established the Arab Federation, a confederation of the two states. The flag of the union was essentially that of Jordan but without seven pointed star in the red chevron and this flag is identical to the flag of Palestine adopted in 1964, and almost identical to the flag of the Baath Party. The union lasted less than six months, being terminated by the Iraqi Revolution of 1958 in July, the black, white, green, and red are the pan-Arab colours, representing pan-Arabism, while the yellow sun represented the Kurdish minority. In addition, the red star was used to represent Iraqs ancient heritage, after Qassim was overthrown by the Baath Party in 1963, the new Baathist government adopted a modified version of the Arab Liberation flag as the new flag of Iraq on 31 July 1963. This horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black bands formed the basis of the flag of the United Arab Republic, though the UAR broke up in 1961, hopes for Arab unity persisted. Sharing this goal, Syria adopted the new Iraqi flag as its own later that same year and this remained the flag of Syria until 1971, when the green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Qureish. The Iraqi Flag Law No.28 of 1963 was replaced by Flag Law No, on 13 January 1991, the flag was modified by Flag Law No.6 of 1991. At the instigation of Saddam Hussein, the takbīr was added in green between the stars, the form of the takbīr was said to be Saddams own handwriting. As with other flags inscribed with Arabic script, the hoist is to the right of the obverse of the flag. The basic form of the flag was retained, however. The modified flag was unveiled at the marking the technical handover of power from the Coalition Provisional Authority occupation forces to the U. S. -appointed administration on 28 June 2004. On 22 January 2008, a new design for the flag was confirmed by Law 9 of 2008, in this current version, the three stars were removed
Flag of Iraq
–
Iraq
22.
Flag of Jordan
–
The flag of Jordan, officially adopted on 18 April 1928, is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The flag consists of black, white, and green bands that are connected by a red chevron. The colors stand are the Pan-Arab Colors, representing the Abbasid, Umayyad, the red chevron is for the Hashemite dynasty, and the Arab Revolt. In addition to the bands and chevron, a star with seven points is featured on the hoist side of the red chevron. The star stands for the unity of the Arab people and it is also said to stand for the seven verses of the first surah in the Quran, or refer to the seven hills on which Amman, the capital, was built. The seven points represent faith in one God, humanity, humility, national spirit, virtue, social justice, flag of the Arab Revolt Palestinian flag Kingdom of Hejaz Jordan at Flags of the World
Flag of Jordan
–
Jordan
23.
Flag of Kuwait
–
The flag of Kuwait was adopted on September 7,1961, and officially hoisted November 24,1961. Before 1961, the flag of Kuwait was red and white, like those of other Persian Gulf states at the time, with the field being red, until 1899, the flag consisted solely of a red field. Between 1915 and 1956, the crescent and star were removed, the present flag is in the Pan-Arab colours, but each colour is also significant in its own right. Black represents the defeat of the enemy, while red is the colour of blood on the Kuwaiti swords, white symbolizes purity, and green is for the fertile land. Vertically, The black stripe should be on the side of the flag. In 2005, it became the design of the worlds largest kite at a size of 1019 square metres. It was made in New Zealand by Peter Lynn, launched to the public for the first time in 2004 in the United Kingdom, officially launched in Kuwait in 2005, the current Amir of Kuwait is not known to have a personal royal standard. It is a possibility that he uses the flag as his own. In photographs he appears with the flag with a golden fringe. Formerly the flag of the Amir was the one with a yellow crown on the green stripe. Kuwait at Flags of the World Naval Jack
Flag of Kuwait
–
Peter Lynn's Kuwaiti Flag kite
Flag of Kuwait
–
Kuwait
24.
Flag of Lebanon
–
The flag of Lebanon is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is to be two times a red one —a Spanish fess, the green cedar in the middle touches each of the red stripes and its width is one third of the width of the flag. Presence and position of the Cedar in the middle of the flag is inspired by the mountains of Lebanon cedar. The Cedar is a symbol of holiness, eternity and peace, as an emblem of longevity, the cedar of Lebanon has its origin in many biblical references. They know the history of the earth, better than the story itself, antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who loved the cedars and also had visited Lebanon in 1935, wrote in his work Citadel he peace is a long growing tree. We need, as the cedar, to rock its unity, for the Lebanese, the cedar is a symbol of hope, freedom and memory. In 1920, in a text of the proclamation of the State of Greater Lebanon, it was said, although oppressed, never conquered, the cedar is its rallying. By the union, it will break all attacks, the white color on the flag represents the snow as a symbol of purity and peace. The two red stripes refer to the Lebanese blood shed to preserve the country against the successive invaders, according to the Article 5 of the constitution of Lebanon, The Lebanese flag shall be composed of three horizontal stripes, a white stripe between two red ones. The width of the white stripe shall be equal to that of red stripes. In the center of and occupying one-third of the stripe is a green cedar tree with its top touching the upper red strip. It was similar to the flag of France but with a green cedar in the middle. The present Lebanese flag was adopted just prior to independence from France in 1943, seeking independence, the actual flag was first drawn by member of parliament Henri Pharaon in the Chamber of deputies Saeb Salams house in Mousaitbeh by the deputies of the Lebanese parliament. It was adopted on December 7,1943, during a meeting in the parliament, and the green cedar in the middle of the white part touches each of the red stripes is added because Lebanon is sometimes metonymically referred to as the Land of the Cedars. The Austrian flag is the second oldest in the world, dating to the 13th century when it first probably appeared after the Siege of Acre during the Third Crusade
Flag of Lebanon
–
Cedrus libani.
Flag of Lebanon
–
Lebanon
Flag of Lebanon
–
Flag as drawn and approved by the members of the parliament during the declaration of independence in 1943
25.
Flag of Libya
–
The flag of Libya was originally introduced in 1951, following the creation of the Kingdom of Libya. The flag of the Kingdom of Libya was adopted when Libya gained full independence in 1951 and it consisted of a white star and crescent on a triband red-black-green design, with the central black band being twice the width of the outer bands. The design was based on the banner of the Senussi dynasty from Cyrenaica, which consisted of a field and star and crescent design. According to Pelt, during deliberations of the Libyan National Constitutional Convention, the design was composed of three colors, red, black and green, with a white Crescent and Star centered in the middle black stripe. Mr. Shennib informed the delegates that this design had met the approval of His Highness Emir of Cyrenaica, the assembly subsequently approved that design. This flag represented Libya from its independence in 1951 until the 1969 Libyan coup détat and it brings back to our minds the story of Hijra of our Prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our hope, the beauty of aim and object. In 2011, interviews with Ibtisam Shennib and Amal Omar Shennib, the star and crescent were placed within the black central strip of the flag as a reference to the Senussi flag and the role of King Idris in leading the country to independence. The National Transitional Council, formed on 27 February 2011, adopted the previously used in the Kingdom of Libya between 1951 and 1969 as the emblem of the Libyan Republic. On 10 March 2011, France was the first country to recognize the council as the government of Libya. In the following many other Libyan embassies replaced the green flag of Gaddafi with the tricolor flag. All Libyan diplomatic posts, such as embassies and consulates, use the flag of Libya. The flag of Libya is described in Article 7 of the Constitution of 7 October 1951 and it was officially adopted on 24 December 1951. Both the precise shade and legal construction is described in an issued by the Ministry of Information. The passage reads, The exact particulars of the Libyan National Flag prescribed by Article 7 of the Constitution shall be as follows, The red shall be red. The Crescent shall be on the side of the star. The star shall be in the end of the crescent. The maximum width of the 270 crescent shall equal 1⁄6 of its outside diameter which is 1⁄4 of the width of the flag
Flag of Libya
–
Construction of the flag of Libya according to a 1951 publication by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya.
Flag of Libya
26.
Flag of Mauritania
–
The flag of Mauritania is the common name for the national flag of Mauritania in north-west Africa. The flag was adopted on April 1,1959 and it was introduced under the instructions of Moktar Ould Daddah, and the subsequent constitution of 22 March 1959. It is almost unique among national flags as it not contain any of the three most common flag colours, red, white, or blue – a distinction only shared with Jamaica. The colors green and gold are considered Pan-African colors, green is also used to symbolize Islam, and the gold for the sands of the Sahara desert. The crescent and star are symbols of Islam, which is the religion in the nation. Some writers have speculated that green symbolises a bright future. There is no official specification or construction sheet for the exact measurements of the star and crescent. The design acts as the flag of Mauritania, and is also used in circular form as an aircraft roundel. However, the flag has its basis in the earlier constitution of 22 March 1959. A Referendum scheduled for January 2017 by the President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz contained amidst others constitutional amendments a modification of the national flag. Two red bands would be added, one on the upper side, the referendum was canceled by the government on 30 December 2016, judging it too expensive in a difficult economic context. The Parliament would have called into Congress to vote on the proposed reforms. Seal of Mauritania Mauritania at Flags of the World
Flag of Mauritania
–
Waving flag of Mauritania
Flag of Mauritania
–
Mauritania
27.
Flag of Morocco
–
The flag of Morocco is made of a red field with a black-bordered green pentagram representing the Seal of Solomon. Red has considerable significance in Morocco, proclaiming the descent of the royal Alaouite family from the Islamic prophet Muhammad via Fatimah, the wife of Ali. Red is also the color that was used by the sharifs of Mecca, from the 17th century on, when Morocco was ruled by the Alaouite dynasty, the flags of the country were plain red. In 1915, during the reign of Mulay Yusef, the green interlaced pentangle was added to the national flag, while Morocco was under French and Spanish control, the red flag with the seal in the center remained in use, but only inland. Its use at sea was prohibited, when independence was restored in 1955, it once again became the national flag. On May 8,2010, a Moroccan flag with a size of 60,409.78 square metres, weighing 20 tonnes, was set in Dakhla and it was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest flag ever draped
Flag of Morocco
–
Morocco
28.
Flag of Oman
–
The national flag of Oman consists of three stripes with a red bar on the left that contains the national emblem of Oman. Until 1975, Oman used the red banner of the indigenous people. In 1970, the Sultan introduced a new set of national flags. Bands of green and white were added to the fly, and the national emblem and this depicts crossed swords over a khanjar, a traditional curved dagger. White has been associated historically with the Imam, the leader of Oman. Green is traditionally associated with the Jabal al Akdar, or Green Mountains, red is a common color in Gulf state flags. The national emblem is said to back to the 18th century. A curved dagger is fastened over a pair of crossed swords, an ornate horsebit links the weapons. Between 1970 and 1995, the size of the band of the triband was slimmer than the other two, making up approximately one fifth of its height, the other bands two-fifths. The naval ensign shows a field, with the Oman in the canton or top-left quarter. The standard of the Sultan of Oman shows a red fly, with a green border whose width is about one-sixth of the height of the flag and it bears the countrys emblem as a charge in the center, colored gold. Oman at Flags of the World
Flag of Oman
–
Oman
29.
Palestinian flag
–
The Palestinian flag is based on the Flag of the Arab Revolt, and is used to represent the State of Palestine and the Palestinian people. The flag is a tricolor of three horizontal stripes overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. Prior to being the flag of the Palestinian people, it was the flag of the short lived Arab Federation of Iraq, the flag of the Arab Revolt had the same graphic form, but the colours were arranged differently. The flag used by the Arab Palestinian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century is the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt, the origins of the flag are the subject of dispute and mythology. Yet another version is that the flag was designed by Sir Mark Sykes of the British Foreign Office, whatever the correct story, the flag was used by Sharif Hussein by 1917 at the latest and quickly became regarded as the flag of the Arab national movement in the Mashriq. On October 18,1948, the flag of the Arab Revolt was adopted, a modified version has been used in Palestine at least since the late 1930s and was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964. On November 15,1988 the PLO adopted the flag as the flag of the State of Palestine, on the ground the flag became widely used since the Oslo Agreements, with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993. Today the flag is flown widely by Palestinians and their supporters, in 1967, immediately following the Six Day War, the State of Israel banned the Palestinian flag in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. A1980 law forbidding artwork of political significance banned artwork composed of its four colours, since the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993, the ban has been abolished
Palestinian flag
–
Palestinian flag over the Alhambra Cinema,
Jaffa, 1937
Palestinian flag
–
Palestine
30.
Flag of Qatar
–
The flag of Qatar is in the ratio of 11,28. It is maroon with a broad white serrated band on the hoist side and it was adopted shortly before the countrys declaration of independence from Britain on September 3,1971. The flag is similar to the flag of the neighbouring country Bahrain, which has fewer points, a 3,5 proportion. Qatars flag is the national flag having a width more than twice its height. Qatars historic flag was red, in correspondence with the red banner traditionally used by the Kharjite Muslims. In the 19th century, the country modified its entirely red flag with the addition of a vertical stripe at the hoist to suit the British directive. After this addition, Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani officially adopted a patterned purple-red, several additions were made to the Qatari flag in 1932, with the nine-pointed serrated edge, diamonds and the word Qatar being integrated in its design. The maroon color was standardized in 1949, in the 1960s, Sheikh Ali Al Thani removed the wording and diamonds from the flag. The flag was adopted on July 9,1971 and was virtually identical to the 1960s flag. Nine serrated edges separate the colored and white portions and they signify Qatars inclusion as the 9th member of the reconciled Emirates of the Persian Gulf at the conclusion of the Qatari-British treaty in 1916. The shade of Qatars colored portion is referred to as Qatar maroon, the history of purple dye in the country dates back several centuries. It has been asserted that Qatar was the site of the earliest known production of shellfish dye during the rule of the Kassites due to the presence of a purple dye industry on Al Khor Islands. Qatar was also known for its production of purple dye during the rule of the Sasanian Empire. Mohammed bin Thani, who ruled from 1847 to 1876, proposed the creation a flag with a color in order to unify the state. In 1932, the British Navy suggested an official flag should be designed and they proposed that the flag be white and red, but Qatar rejected the red coloring and continued using a mixture of purple and red instead. Due to the countrys subtropical desert climate, the colors were prone to being tinted darker by the sun. The white portion of the flag symbolizes the peace procured from signing anti-piracy treaties with the British, Qatar National Day Flag of Qatar Qatar at Flags of the World
Flag of Qatar
–
Flag and emblem of Qatar, displayed above the entrance of the Qatari Embassy in Paris
31.
Flag of Saudi Arabia
–
The flag of Saudi Arabia is the flag used by the government of Saudi Arabia since March 15,1973. It is a flag featuring in white an Arabic inscription. The inscription is the Islamic creed, or shahada, the green of the flag represents Islam and the sword stands for the strictness in applying justice. The flag is manufactured with identical obverse and reverse sides, to ensure the shahada reads correctly, from right to left, the sword points to the left on both sides, in the direction of the script. The flag is hoisted, meaning that it is hoisted to the left of the flagpole. The flags green is Pantone 349 C Because the shahada is considered holy, Saudi Arabia protested against its inclusion on a planned football to be issued by FIFA, bearing all the flags of the participants of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Saudi officials said that kicking the creed with the foot was completely unacceptable, the flag is never lowered to half-mast as a sign of mourning, because lowering it would be considered blasphemous. Similarly, the flags of Afghanistan, Somaliland, and Iraq are also never at half-mast The normal flag cannot be hoisted vertically according to Saudi legislation. Special vertical flags are manufactured both the inscription and the emblem are rotated, although this is rare, as most Arab countries traditionally do not hoist flags vertically. The Al Saud, the family of Saudi Arabia, has long been closely associated with the Wahhabi religious movement. The Wahhabis, since the 18th century, had used the shahada on their flags, in 1902 Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al-Saud, leader of the Al Saud and the future founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, added a sword to this flag. The design of the flag was not standardized prior to March 15,1973, by 1938, the flag had basically assumed its present form, except the sword had a different design and it, along with the shahada above, took up more of the flags space. The precursor states to Saudi Arabia were Nejd and Hejaz, the state flag of Nejd followed todays Saudi flag pattern very closely. The state of Hijaz followed the patterns seen in countries like Palestine, from 1744 a crescent was present. From 1902 until 1921 a different Arabic inscription was used, one of the primary opponents to the Saudis was the Al Rashid family in the north of the peninsula, until their defeat in 1921. The civil ensign, for use by merchant vessels at sea, is a flag with the state flag in the canton with a white border. The royal standard is the flag with the palm tree. Saudi Arabia at Flags of the World World Flags Information, Saudi Arabian page Saudi Arabian flag and associated information
Flag of Saudi Arabia
–
The flag of Saudi Arabia is never flown at half-mast.
Flag of Saudi Arabia
–
Saudi Arabia
32.
Flag of Western Sahara
–
It has been used since the disengagement of the Spanish forces in 1976, when the Polisario proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, as the state that represents the territory. The flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a combination of the Pan-Arab colors of black, green, white, and red, on 27 February 1976 the flag was adopted as the official flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It was slightly modified in June 1991 and it is said to be designed by El Uali Mustapha Sayed, the first president of the SADR. This flag is referred to as the flag of Western Sahara. The flag is a tricolor of three horizontal stripes overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. There is a red star and crescent in the middle stripe, the flag is extremely similar to the flags of the Baath Party, Jordan, Palestine, and the Arab Federation all of which draw their inspiration from the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule. Prior to being the flag of Palestine, it was the flag of the short lived Arab Federation of Iraq, the flag of the Arab Revolt had the same graphic form, but the colours were arranged differently. Its design is based on that of the Palestinian flag, which in turn was derived from the used in the Arab Revolt. The star and crescent are considered symbols of Islam, and can be seen on flags of other neighbouring Islamic countries such as Algeria and Mauritania, Morocco has not adopted a flag for Western Sahara and uses the national flag of Morocco. On May 8,2010, a Moroccan flag with a size of 60,409.78 meters squared and it was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest flag ever draped until it was bested by a Lebanese flag. In the late 19th-century, Western Sahara became a Spanish colony, after the Madrid Accords of 1975, Spain disengaged itself leaving the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, who split the territory, giving two thirds to the former. The Polisario Front rejected this and declared in exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as the representing a independent Western Sahara. In 1979, Mauritania signed a treaty with the Polisario front. A U. N. -brokered ceasefire was signed in 1991 between the two parties, but the sovereignty of the territory remains unresolved pending ongoing peace-talks, in the 1976–1997 provincial division of Morocco, three provinces included parts of Western Sahara. The provinces were, however, reorganized in 1997, consequently, some of these flags are no longer in official use. Flag of Morocco Coats of arms of Western Sahara Gallery of flags with crescents Western Sahara at Flags of the World
Flag of Western Sahara
–
Construction of the flag
Flag of Western Sahara
–
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Flag of Western Sahara
–
Construction of the star and crescent
Flag of Western Sahara
–
Colors of the flag
33.
Flag of Somalia
–
The Flag of Somalia, also known as the Somali Flag, is the official flag of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Adopted on October 12,1954, it was designed by Mohammed Awale Liban the flag was used for the nascent Somali Republic and it was originally conceived and serves as an ethnic flag for the Somali people. The flag of Somalia was created in 1954 during the trusteeship period of the nations history. It was personally designed by the Somali scholar Mohammed Awale Liban, the flag was first used in the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the short-lived, which united on July 1,1960, to form the Somali Republic. The Somali flags light blue backdrop was originally influenced by the flag of the United Nations, however, it now officially denotes the sky as well as the Indian Ocean, which flanks the country. The flags blazon, or heraldic description, is, Azure, a mullet Argent
Flag of Somalia
–
Construction sheet
Flag of Somalia
–
Federal Republic of Somalia
34.
Flag of Somaliland
–
The flag of Somaliland is used in Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. Having established its own government in 1991, the regions self-declared independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization. It contains the Pan-Arab colors of green, black, white, on the green stripe, there is the Sunni Shahada in white script, similar to that of the Saudi Arabian flag. The Constitution of Somaliland, as approved on May 31,2001, by referendum, Article 7, The Flag, the Emblem, the government set out principles on how to use the flag. It should be treated with respect and used carefully and sensitivity. Because the Shahada has huge importance in Islam, the first pillar of Islam etc and it is forbidden for Somalis to fly the flag at half mast because it has the Shahada written on it so it will be an un-Islamic and disrespectful way to treat the flag. Even if the President or someone with a high Somaliland governmental status dies, moreover, if a person is seen lowering the flag at half-mast, they might be taken to jail or to court and it would be considered as a criminal offense. Similar rules, for the reason, also apply to the flags of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia. Although the aforementioned Article 7 clearly states that the bottom of the flag is red, another variation is the orientation of the star, many Somaliland flags have the star pointing the opposite direction from other flags, this upside-down star version is used quite widely. Some flags have a green band, without the Shahada, hence may be exempt from the half-mast rule. Most Somaliland flags are of the ratio 2,1 and it is based on the official ratio of the Union Flag of the United Kingdom, the former colonial power. Pictures of flags on the internet etc. often erroneously show a shorter flag, when the British annexed and occupied northwestern present-day Somalia in 1903, they established a protectorate and made it part of the British Empire. The British adopted a new flag for the region, like many Commonwealth countries, the flag had a defaced Blue Ensign, a blue field with the Union Flag in the upper hoist quarter of the flag. There was an image of a Kudu on a white disc, the flag was flown on ships owned by residents of British Somaliland or on government buildings in the territory. In 1950 The Protectorate of British Somalilands badge and flag changed, the flag still had the Union flag on the quarter-hoist. The Kudus head and shoulders were retained and taken off to form the most dominant feature on the new arms, between its horns, the Royal crown was inserted to symbolize the Royal family and the British Empire in general. The green portion contained an image of a white minaret, moreover, on the blue quarter, an Arabian dhow in full sail on waves of the sea, with a golden anchor in the base. The Kudus head was facing forward to the observer instead of facing left on the earlier version, above, the Kudu was the Royal Crown between the horns
Flag of Somaliland
–
Flag of Somaliland
35.
Flag of Sudan
–
The flag of Sudan was adopted on May 20,1970, and consists of a horizontal red-white-black tricolor, with a green triangle at the hoist. The flag is based on the Arab Liberation Flag shared by Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, prior to the 1969 military coup of Gaafar Nimeiry, a blue-yellow-green tricolor design was used. According to World Flags 101, Red, white, black and green are called the colors and have been historically linked to the Arab people. The colors stand for Arab unity and independence, the red stripe represents Sudans struggle for independence and many other struggles, and the sacrifices of the countrys martyrs. The white represents peace, light and optimism and it also represents the White Flag League which was a nationalist group that rose up against colonial rule in 1924. The black represents Sudan, in Arabic Sudan means black and it also represents the black flag of nationalists who fought colonial rule during the Mahdist Revolution, late in 19th century. Green represents Islam, agriculture and the prosperity of the land, in 1881, at the beginning of the Mahdist War, the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad appointed Abdallahi ibn Muhammad as one of his four caliphs and handed him a black flag. Abdallahi used his black flag to recruit Baggara Arabs and other tribes from the west, the other caliphs used differently colored flags. The black horizontal stripe in the current Sudanese flag is a reference to this Mahdist-era black flag, between 1899 and 1956, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was administered jointly as a condominium by Egypt and the United Kingdom. The condominium did not have its own flag, instead the flag of Egypt, a flag did exist as a rank flag for the British Governor General of the Sudan. As no badge or coat of arms existed for Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, upon independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom on 1 January 1956, Sudan adopted a blue-yellow-green tricolor as its national flag. This flag remained in use until 1970, when the current flag was adopted, the colours of the flag represented the River Nile, the Sahara Desert and farmlands. They were chosen as they were neutral between ethnic groups and political parties, Sudan Emblem of Sudan Flag of South Sudan Sudan at Flags of the World
Flag of Sudan
–
Sudan
36.
Flag of Syria
–
As a result of the ongoing Syrian civil war, there are currently two governments claiming to be the de jure government of Syria, using different flags to represent the state. The current flag was first adopted in 1958 to represent Syria as part of the United Arab Republic, since its first adoption, variations of the red-white-black flag have been used in various Arab Unions of Syria with Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Iraq. Although Syria is not part of any Arab state union, the flag of the United Arab Republic was readopted to show Syrias commitment to Arab unity. The usage of the flag has become disputed because it is associated with the Baath Party and has come to represent parties loyal to Assads government in the Syrian civil war. The Syrian flag is described in Article 6 of the Syrian Constitution, the first paragraph of the Article states, The flag of the Syrian Arab Republic consists of three colours, red, white and black, with two green stars, of five angles each. The flag is rectangular, with its width measuring two thirds of its length and it is divided into three rectangles of identical dimensions and have the same length as the flag. The upper one is red, the middle being white and the one is black. The modified independence flag began to be used as a display of the protesting opposition in late 2011. The opposition wanted to distinguish themselves from the current Syrian government, khaled Kamal, an official from the Syrian National Council, now believes this flag to also represent independence and the end of Bashar al-Assads government. Today the flag is used in areas controlled by the Syrian National Coalition. The use of the independence flag is similar to the Libyan rebels use of the pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag from the era of the Kingdom of Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafis green flag. The original 1,2 aspect ratio flag has been used by the opposition unofficially on several occasions, the first native Syrian flag was that of the short-lived Kingdom of Syria. The Ottoman flag had been used in Syria until Ottomans left the country on 18 September 1918, in 1918, the official flag of Syria was the Faysal flag, the flag of the Arab revolt between 1916 and 1918. It was officially adopted by the Hashemite family on 30 September 1918, the Faysal flag was then redesigned with the 7-pointed white star and was in use until 24 July 1920. This flag was, however, was adopted by Jordan somewhat later, the kingdom lasted for just over 4 months in 1920 before being occupied by France and formally incorporated into the French colonial empire for some 12 years. The last French troops left Syria in August 1946, the Faysal flag was abandoned with the arrival of French colonials to Syria. The French High Commissioner for Syria, General Henri Gouraud adopted the new flag of the French Mandate of Syria on 24 July 1920, gourauds flag was in use until 1 September 1920, after which Syria was split into separate territories, each eventually given its own flag. The Prime Minister of Syria under French Mandate, Jamil al-Ulshi and this flag was in use until 1930
Flag of Syria
–
Syrian Arab Republic
37.
Flag of Tunisia
–
The red and white flag of Tunisia, adopted as national flag in 1959, has its origins the naval ensign of the Kingdom of Tunis adopted in 1831 by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud. The star and crescent recalls the Ottoman flag and is therefore an indication of Tunisias history as a part of the Ottoman Empire, the current official design dates to 1999. Until the mid-18th century, the design and significance of maritime flags flying on ships in Tunis were unknown, thereafter, and until the early 19th century, the flag was composed of horizontal blue, red and green stripes, identifying the Ottoman regency in Tunis. According to Ottfried Neubecker, the bey of Tunis also had his own flag. This flag was most likely a simple personal banner of the ruler, as it floated above the Bardo Palace, the Citadel of Tunis, on navy ships, and also in the center of the coat of arms in Tunisia. It was used at a number of public ceremonies—including at the proclamation of the Ottoman constitution on 21 March 1840—until the abolition of the Bey monarchy on 25 July 1957. Featured in the center of the stripe was the Zulfiqar, the legendary Islamic sword of Ali, with the blade in white. The red and yellow stripes each contained five equidistant symbols, whose order was alternated between each stripe, the first yellow stripe contains three red stars and two blue disks. The second stripe, red in color, contains three green disksand two white stars, the third stripe is identical to the first, with the exception that the star in its center is white, while the fourth stripe is identical to the second stripe. Several Muslim countries along the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea used a red flag similar to the flag of the Ottoman Empire, during the era of the French protectorate in Tunisia, French authorities did not change the Tunisian flag. In the same vein, vexillologist Whitney Smith stated that the addition of the French flag was modification of the unofficial Tunisian national flag and he added, Tunisia, a French protectorate, retained its national flag on land and at sea. Nevertheless, in the late 19th Century or early 20th Century an unofficial version of the flag was used with the tricolor canton, in 1925 a formal proposal was made to adopt that flag as official, but no action was taken. That flag, featured on the cover of issue, does not appear to have been illustrated in any vexillological source. 99-56 of 30 June 1999, adopted on 3 July by the Chamber of Deputies, formalized the Tunisian flag for the first time in law, the flag is in the form of a red rectangle with a width equal to two-thirds of its length. In the middle of the flag is a disk whose diameter is equal to one-third of the length of the rectangle. A red five-pointed star is located to the right of the disk, the location of the stars five points is determined by an imaginary disk centered on the stars center, its diameter equal to roughly 15% the length of the flag. The points of the star are equidistant from each other, in addition, at the top of the flag used by the President of the Republic, the words for the nation are written in gold. For the Tunisian embassy in France, the red represents the blood of martyrs killed during the Turkish conquest of Tunisia in 1574
Flag of Tunisia
–
Tunisia
38.
Flag of the United Arab Emirates
–
The flag of the United Arab Emirates contains the Pan-Arab colors red, green, white, and black, which symbolize Arabian unity. It was adopted on December 2,1971, merchant ships may fly the alternative civil ensign, a red flag with the national flag in the canton. Each of the seven emirates within the United Arab Emirates has its own flag, except for Fujairah, the flags are derived from the red flags traditionally used by the different Arab emirates around the Persian Gulf. Under the protection of the British Empire from 1820, it was decided to add a field at the hoist of the flag. The same basic pattern can be seen in the flag of Bahrain, the flag of Abu Dhabi is an otherwise plain-red flag with a white canton, i. e. a small white rectangle in the upper hoist of the flag. The flags of Ajman and Dubai are identical and they are both plain red with a white bar at the hoist, i. e. closest to the flag staff. Before 1952, the flag of Fujairah was plain red, in 1952, the emirates name was added to the flag, and a red flag with a white border was adopted as an ensign. This continued to be the flag until Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi abolished the red flag. The flags of Ras al-Khaimah and Sharjah are identical as they are ruled by two branches of the same house. They show a red rectangle on a white background. The Flag of Umm al-Quwain consists of a red background, a bar at the hoist similar the flags of Ajman and Dubai. Emblem of the United Arab Emirates Trucial States First raising of the flag on 2 December,1971 United Arab Emirates at Flags of the World
Flag of the United Arab Emirates
–
National flag and ensign. Flag ratio: 1:2
39.
Flag of Yemen
–
The Flag of Yemen was adopted on May 22,1990, the day that North Yemen and South Yemen were unified. The flag is essentially the Arab Liberation Flag of 1952, introduced after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 in which Arab nationalism was a dominant theme. The Arab Liberation Flag served as the inspiration for the flags of both North and South Yemen prior to unification, as well as for the current flags of Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria. According to the description, the red stands for the unity and the bloodshed of martyrs. However, the fact that the design is equivalent to an inversion of the design of the flag of the German Empire has caused some controversy. Before Yemen was unified into the present-day Republic of Yemen in 1990, the North used the flag on the right from 1927 to 1962, when it became the Yemen Arab Republic. The flag of the Yemen Arab Republic was the Arab Liberation Flag with a star in the center of the white band. The flag of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen in the South was the Arab Liberation Flag with a chevron with a red star next to the hoist. Emblem of Yemen Pan-Arabism Pan-Arab colors Yemen at Flags of the World
Flag of Yemen
–
Yemen
40.
List of states with limited recognition
–
A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as de jure sovereign states, but have not been universally recognized as such. These entities often have de facto control of their territory, a number of such entities have existed in the past. There are two traditional doctrines that provide indicia of how a de jure sovereign state comes into being, according to declarative theory, an entitys statehood is independent of its recognition by other states. By contrast, the constitutive theory defines a state as a person of international law if it is recognised as such by other states that are already a member of the international community. Proto-states often reference either or both doctrines in order to legitimise their claims to statehood, there are, for example, entities which meet the declarative criteria, but whose statehood is not recognised by any other states. Non-recognition is often a result of conflicts with other countries that claim those entities as integral parts of their territory, in other cases, two or more partially recognised entities may claim the same territorial area, with each of them de facto in control of a portion of it. Entities that are recognised by only a minority of the worlds states usually reference the declarative doctrine to legitimise their claims, the international community can judge this military presence too intrusive, reducing the entity to a puppet state where effective sovereignty is retained by the foreign power. Historical cases in this sense can be seen in Japanese-led Manchukuo or the German-created Slovak Republic and Independent State of Croatia before, in the 1996 case Loizidou vs. Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights judged Turkey for having exercised authority in the territory of Northern Cyprus. Historically this has happened in the case of the Holy See, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is currently in this position. See list of governments in exile for unrecognised governments without control over the territory claimed, some states are slow to establish relations with new states and thus do not recognise them, despite having no dispute and sometimes favorable relations. These are excluded from the list, there are 193 United Nations member states. The Holy See and the State of Palestine have observer status in the United Nations. Some states maintain informal relations with states that do not officially recognise them, the Republic of China is one such state, as it maintains unofficial relations with many other states through its Economic and Cultural Offices, which allow regular consular services. This allows the ROC to have economic relations even with states that do not formally recognise it, a total of 56 states, including Germany, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom, maintain some form of unofficial mission in the ROC. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a sovereign entity and is not included. It has established full diplomatic relations with 105 sovereign states as a subject of international law. Five more states maintain neither and do not recognise its passports, Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, uncontacted peoples who either live in societies that cannot be defined as states or whose statuses as such are not definitively known. Entities considered to be micronations are not included, even though micronations generally claim to be sovereign and independent, it is often up to debate whether a micronation truly controls its claimed territory
List of states with limited recognition
–
Women in
Somaliland, wearing the colors of the Somaliland flag.
41.
Arab League
–
The Arab League, formally the League of Arab States, is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members, Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members, but Syrias participation has been suspended since November 2011, the League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter, which outlines the principles for economic activities in the region, each member state has one vote in the League Council, and decisions are binding only for those states that have voted for them. Furthermore, the signing of an agreement on Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation on 13 April 1950 committed the signatories to coordination of military defence measures. In March 2015, the Arab League General Secretary announced the establishment of a Joint Arab Force with the aim of counteracting extremism, the decision was reached while Operation Decisive Storm was intensifying in Yemen. Participation in the project is voluntary, and the army intervenes only at the request of one of the member states. The growing militarization of the region and the increase in violent civil wars as well as terrorist movements are the reason behind the creation of the JAF, financed by the rich Gulf countries. In the early 1970s, the Economic Council of the League of Arab States put forward a proposal to create the Joint Arab Chambers of Commerce across the European states and that led, under the decree of the League of Arab States no. Following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945 and it aimed to be a regional organisation of Arab states with a focus to developing the economy, resolving disputes and coordinating political aims. Other countries later joined the league, each country was given one vote in the council. It was followed by the creation of a defence treaty two years later. A common market was established in 1965, the Arab League member states cover over 13,000,000 km2 and straddles two continents, Africa and Asia. The area largely consists of deserts, such as the Sahara. The area comprises deep forests in southern Arabia and parts of the worlds longest river, the Charter of the Arab League, also known as the Pact of the League of Arab States, is the founding treaty of the Arab League. Adopted in 1945, it stipulates that the League of Arab States shall be composed of the, starting with only six members in 1945, the Arab League now occupies an area spanning around 14 million km² and counts 22 members, and 4 observer states. The 22 members today include three of the largest African countries and the largest country in the Middle East, there was a continual increase in membership during the second half of the 20th century, with an additional 15 Arab states being admitted. Syria was suspended following the 2011 uprising, as of 2016, there are a total of 22 member states
Arab League
–
Flag
42.
Sovereign state
–
A sovereign state is, in international law, a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralized government that has sovereignty over a geographic area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, one government, and it is also normally understood that a sovereign state is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state. The existence or disappearance of a state is a question of fact, States came into existence as people gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state. States are but one of political orders that emerged from feudal Europe, others being city states, leagues. Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of sovereignty based on territoriality. It is a system of states, multinational corporations. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused and that position was reflected and constituted in the notion that their sovereignty was either completely lacking, or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of civilised people. Lassa Oppenheim said There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is a fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon. In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all. The right of nations to determine their own status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. The Westphalian model of sovereignty has increasingly come under fire from the non-west as a system imposed solely by Western Colonialism. What this model did was make religion a subordinate to politics and this system does not fit in the Islamic world because concepts such as separation of church and state and individual conscience are not recognised in the Islamic religion as social systems. Nation denotes a people who are believed to or deemed to share common customs, religion, language, origins, however, the adjectives national and international are frequently used to refer to matters pertaining to what are strictly sovereign states, as in national capital, international law. State refers to the set of governing and supportive institutions that have sovereignty over a definite territory, State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations, There is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. In actual practice, the criteria are mainly political, not legal, in international law, however, there are several theories of when a state should be recognised as sovereign
Sovereign state
–
Member states of the
United Nations, all of which are sovereign states, though not all sovereign states are necessarily members
43.
Flag of Angola
–
The national flag of Angola came into use at when Angola gained independence on November 11,1975. It is split horizontally into a red half and a lower black half with an Emblem itself resting at the center. It features a half gear wheel crossed by a machete. The MPLA flag is similar to the flag of Angola, the Angolan flag is a horizontal bicolor of red and black with a yellow emblem in the center. The emblem consists of a five pointed-star within a half gear wheel crossed by a machete, as outlined in the Constitution of Angola, the red half of the flag signifies bloodshed during Angolas independence struggle, and the black half symbolizes Africa. In the central emblem, the gear represents industrial workers, the machete represents peasantry, the flag is most recently described and explained in article 162 of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Angola of August 25,1992. In 2003, a new, more optimistic flag was proposed by the Parliaments Constitutional Commission of the National Assembly, the sun design in the middle is meant to be reminiscent of cave paintings found in Tchitundo-Hulu cave. The flag maintained the same proportions of 2,3. Angola at Flags of the World http, //www. angola. org/referenc/proposed_flag. html
Flag of Angola
–
Flag of Angola
44.
Flag of Benin
–
The national flag of Benin is a flag consisting of two horizontal yellow and red bands on the fly side and a green vertical band at the hoist. Adopted in 1959 to replace the French Tricolour, it was the flag of the Republic of Dahomey until 1975, the new regime renamed the country and changed the flag to a green field with a red star in the canton. This version was utilized until the regime collapsed in 1990, coinciding with the Revolutions of 1989, the new government promptly restored the original pre-1975 flag. Under French colonial rule over Dahomey, French authorities forbade the colony from having its own regional flag and this was because they were worried that this could increase nationalistic sentiment and lead to calls for independence. However, with the rise of the movement in Africa. This was granted on December 4,1958, and a search for a national flag began soon after, the new flag was chosen on November 16,1959, and remained unchanged when Dahomey became independent less than a year later on August 1,1960. In 1972, a coup took place in the country. In order to symbolize the revolutionary change, the renamed the country to Benin. This featured a green field charged with a red star in the top-left canton. However, the flag was never adopted by law, making it only the de facto flag of Benin. The socialist regime was replaced and the flag from 1959 was reinstated on August 1,1990. The colours of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings, nationally, the yellow and green allude to the northern savannas and palm groves located in the south of the country, while the red symbolizes the blood shed by those who fought for Dahomey. Furthermore, the colours are the same as the ones utilized in the flag of Ethiopia and this honours the oldest independent country in Africa and the only nation other than Liberia to remain independent during the Scramble for Africa. Benin at Flags of the World
Flag of Benin
–
Benin
45.
Flag of Botswana
–
The national flag of Botswana consists of a light blue field cut horizontally in the centre by a black stripe with a thin white frame. Adopted in 1966 to replace the Union Jack, it has been the flag of the Republic of Botswana since the country gained independence that year. It is one of the few African flags that utilizes neither the colours of the Pan-Africanist movement nor the colours of the leading political party. In 1885, Bechuanaland became a protectorate of the United Kingdom within its colonial empire and this occurred after the leaders of the Tswana people negotiated with the British to offer them protection from the Boers, who were invading their lands from the neighbouring South African Republic. In spite of this protection, South Africa continued to pressure the British to allow them to annex Bechuanaland into their union. However, this did not occur, due to opposition from the Batswana people, and Bechuanaland gained independence from Britain in 1966. Before it gained independence, Botswana did not have its own distinctive colonial flag, when Botswanas national flag was created in 1966, it was symbolically designed to contrast with the flag of South Africa, since the latter country was ruled under an apartheid regime. Hence, the stripe with the white frame came to epitomize the peace. The new flag was first hoisted at midnight on September 30,1966, the colours of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The blue also alludes to the featured on the coat of arms of Botswana—Pula, which means Let there be rain in Setswana—as well as life. The black band with the frame has two meanings. Firstly, they symbolize the harmony and cooperation between the people of different races who live in Botswana, as well as the diversity of the country. Furthermore, they represent the stripes of the zebra, the animal of Botswana. Botswana at Flags of the World
Flag of Botswana
–
Botswana
46.
Flag of Burkina Faso
–
The national flag of Burkina Faso is formed by two equal horizontal bands of red and green, with a yellow five-pointed star resting in the center. The flag was adopted on 4 August 1984, the flag is coloured in the popular Pan-African colours of the Ethiopian flag, reflecting both a break with the country’s colonial past and its unity with other African ex-colonies. The red is said to symbolize the revolution and the green the abundance of agricultural and natural riches. The yellow star placed over the red and green stripes is the light of the revolution. The flag was adopted following the coup of 1983 which brought Thomas Sankara to power, a lower banner bears the national motto in French, Unity - Progress - Justice. The original flag of Upper Volta, adopted at independence, contained three stripes of black, white, and red. These colours represented the three tributaries of the Volta River, which flows south through the country, the Black Volta, the White Volta. It is similar to the old Imperial German flag, a lower banner declared in French, Motherland or Death, We Shall Overcome. Flag of Upper Volta Burkina Faso at Flags of the World
Flag of Burkina Faso
–
Burkina Faso
47.
Flag of Burundi
–
The national flag of Burundi was adopted on 28 June 1967 after the countrys independence from Belgium on 1 July 1962. It consists of a saltire which divides the field into alternating red. The center of the saltire merges into a disk, on which there are three red solid six-pointed stars outlined in green. The ratio of the flag was 2,3 until 27 September 1982, the flag is divided into four parts by a white cross. The upper and lower parts are red in color while the left, white color of the cross represents peace, green represents the nations hopes placed on future development and red symbolizes the suffering of the nation during its freedom struggle. The three stars in triangular configuration stand for the three ethnic groups of Burundi, the Hutu, the Twa and the Tutsi. The three stars stand for the three elements of the national motto, Unité, Travail, Progrès, which can be seen on the coat of arms of Burundi. They also represent the loyalty that the citizens of the nations have pledged to their God, king, when the monarchy ruled over Burundi the flag featured a karyenda. It was believed that the messages could be understood only by the rulers who made it the laws of the state. In November 1966 the karyenda was removed from the following the abolition of the monarchy. The karyenda was replaced with a plant which is an important agricultural product of the country. Burundi at Flags of the World
Flag of Burundi
–
Flag of Burundi
48.
Flag of Cameroon
–
The national flag of Cameroon was adopted in its present form on 20 May 1975 after Cameroon became a unitary state. It is a tricolor of green, red and yellow. There is a variation in the size of the central star. The color scheme uses the traditional Pan-African colors, the center stripe is thought to stand for unity, red is the colour of unity, and the star is referred to as the star of unity. The yellow stands for the sun, and also the savannas in the part of the country. The previous flag of Cameroon had a color scheme. It was adopted after British South Cameroons joined the State of Cameroon, the original flag, made law by Law 46 of 26 October 1957, was the simple tricolor. It was confirmed on 21 February 1960 in the new constitution, coat of arms of Cameroon Cameroon at Flags of the World
Flag of Cameroon
–
Cameroon
.svg)
