1.
Glossary of vexillology
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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
2.
Civil flag
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A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on nongovernmental installations or craft. The use of flags was more common in the past to denote buildings or ships not manned by the military. In some countries, the flag is the same as the war flag or state flag but without the coat of arms, such as in the case of Spain. In others, it is an alteration of the war flag, in Scandinavia, state and war flags can be double and triple-tailed variants of the Nordic Cross flag. Many countries, particularly those with a British heritage, still have distinctive civil flags for use at sea, many based on the Red Ensign
3.
State flag
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There are two separate meanings for the term of state flag in vexillology, the flag of the government of a sovereign state and the flag of an individual subnational state. A state flag is a variant of a national flag specifically designated and restricted by law or custom to use by a government or its agencies. For this reason they are referred to as government flags. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to differentiate them from civil flags. In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by government ships such as guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the blue ensign, state flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organisations, these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns. To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more referred to as the flag of the state of X. For this usage, see also, Flags of the Australian states and territories Flags of Brazilian states Flags of the U. S. states Flags of German states Znamierowski, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
4.
Ensign
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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
5.
Triband (flag)
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The triband is one of the most common designs of flag, and is the design of some 30% of all current national flags. As the name suggests, the feature of the design of a triband is three parallel bands of colour. If the three bands have three different colors, the triband is a tricolour, in its simplest form, the triband consists of three equally sized horizontal or vertical stripes and nothing else. Examples of horizontal tribands include the flags of Austria and Germany. In each of these pairs, the second named flag is also a tricolour, diagonal tribands are less common, and often do not have stripes of equal areas or widths. An example is the flag of the Republic of the Congo, such flags are often not considered tribands by vexillologists, but rather are described as having a single diagonal stripe on a one- or two-coloured background. More complex tribands include flags charged or defaced with an emblem or flags with bands of unequal size, the most famous complex triband is arguably the national flag of Canada, which is charged with a maple leaf and has bands of uneven size. The ratio of the bands on this flag has led to the term Canadian pale to refer to any central vertical band on a triband which is twice the size of the bands on either side. Some tribands, such as the flag of the Gambia, are fimbriated and this means that between the stripes there are narrower stripes. This is sometimes done to increase contrast between multiple stripes or to follow the rule of tincture, though in cases the fimbriation also has specific symbolism. Below is a list of tribands organized by continent, some of them are charged, i. e. they have some additional symbol apart from the three simple coloured fields
6.
National flag
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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
7.
Kuwait
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Kuwait /kuːˈweɪt/, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq. As of 2016, Kuwait has a population of 4.2 million people,1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 2.9 million are expatriates, expatriates account for 70% of the population. Oil reserves were discovered in 1938, from 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization. In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability, in 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. The Iraqi occupation came to an end in 1991 after military intervention by coalition forces, at the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure. Kuwait is a constitutional emirate with a political system. It has an income economy backed by the worlds sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world, according to the World Bank, the country has the fourth highest per capita income in the world. The Constitution was promulgated in 1962, making Kuwait the most democratic country in the region, Kuwait ranks highly in regional metrics of gender equality, as it has the regions highest Global Gender Gap ranking. During the Ubaid period, Kuwait was the site of interaction between the peoples of Mesopotamia and Neolithic Eastern Arabia, mainly centered in As-Subiya in northern Kuwait. The earliest evidence of habitation in Kuwait dates back 8000 B. C. where Mesolithic tools were found in Burgan. As-Subiya in northern Kuwait is the earliest evidence of urbanization in the whole Persian Gulf basin area, mesopotamians first settled in the Kuwaiti island of Failaka in 2000 B. C. Traders from the Sumerian city of Ur inhabited Failaka and ran a mercantile business, the island had many Mesopotamian-style buildings typical of those found in Iraq dating from around 2000 B. C. The Neolithic inhabitants of Kuwait were among the worlds earliest maritime traders, one of the worlds earliest reed-boats was discovered in northern Kuwait dating back to the Ubaid period. In 3rd century BC, the ancient Greeks colonized the bay of Kuwait under Alexander the Great, according to Strabo and Arrian, Alexander the Great named Failaka Ikaros because it resembled the Aegean island of that name in size and shape. Remains of Greek colonization include a large Hellenistic fort and Greek temples, in 224 AD, Kuwait became part of the Sassanid Empire. At the time of the Sassanid Empire, Kuwait was known as Meshan, Akkaz was a Partho-Sassanian site, the Sassanid religions tower of silence was discovered in northern Akkaz
8.
Arabic
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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
9.
Persian Gulf
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The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz, the Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War and it is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the largely air- and land-based conflict that followed Iraqs invasion of Kuwait. The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, the body of water is historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf. Some Arab governments refer to it as the Arabian Gulf or The Gulf, the name Gulf of Iran is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. The Persian Gulf is geologically young, having been formed around 15,000 years ago. Its length is 989 kilometres, with Iran covering most of the northern coast, the Persian Gulf is about 56 km wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Persian Gulfs southern limit as The Northwestern limit of Gulf of Oman and this limit is defined as A line joining Ràs Limah on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh on the coast of Iran. The Persian Gulf and its areas are the worlds largest single source of crude oil. Safaniya Oil Field, the worlds largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf, large gas finds have also been made, with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line. Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquefied natural gas, the oil-rich countries that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. In 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire established the first ancient empire in Persis, consequently, in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. In the travel account of Pythagoras, several chapters are related to description of his travels accompanied by the Achaemenid king Darius the Great, to Susa and Persepolis, and the area is described. This water channel separates the Iran Plateau from the Arabia Plate, has enjoyed an Iranian Identity since at least 2200 years ago. Before being given its present name, the Persian Gulf was called many different names, the classical Greek writers, like Herodotus, called it the Red Sea. In Babylonian texts, it was known as the sea above Akkad, the name of the gulf, historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf after the land of Persia, has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s
10.
Crescent and star
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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
11.
Bordure
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In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself. It is sometimes reckoned as an ordinary and sometimes as a subordinary, a chief overlies a bordure, unless the bordure is added to a coat that previously included a chief, or so it is often said. In practice, the order in which things are to each other can usually be inferred from the blazon. Like any ordinary or other charge, a bordure may be of a single plain tincture or divided, like any ordinary, it may be smooth or subjected to any of the lines of variation, it may form a field for other charges. These variations are effectively exploited in the Scottish system of cadency, rarely a bordure is of the same tincture as the field on which it lies, in this case the term embordured is employed. This was an unusual practice even centuries ago and is all. This large number is to be taken as semy, and not as the number shown. The bordure has no diminutive, though a bordure diminished is occasionally employed - as in Or, cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. James and John Knapton, et al
12.
Shahada
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The Shahada, is an Islamic creed declaring belief in the oneness of God and the acceptance of Muhammad as Gods prophet. The declaration, in its shortest form, reads, لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muḥammadur-rasūlu-llāh There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God. Audio audio The noun šahāda, from the verbal root šahida meaning to observe, witness, testify, the Islamic creed is also called, in the dual form, šahādatān. The expression al-šahāda is used in Quran as one of the titles of God, in Sunni Islam, the shahada has two parts, la ilaha illallah, and Muhammadun rasul Allah, which are sometimes referred to as the first shahada and the second shahada. The first statement of the shahada is also known as the tahlīl, in the Quran, the first shahadah takes the form la ilaha illallah twice, and allahu la ilaha illa hu much more often. It appears in the form la ilaha illa Hu in many places. It appears in these forms about 30 times in the Quran, islams monotheistic nature is reflected in the first shahada, which declares belief in the oneness of God and that he is the only entity truly worthy of worship. The second shahada indicates the means by which God has offered guidance to human beings, the verse reminds Muslims that they accept not only the prophecy of Muhammad but also the long line of prophets who preceded him. While the first part is seen as a truth, the second is specific to Islam. Shahada is a statement of both ritual and worship, recitation of the shahādah is the most common statement of faith for Muslims. In Sunni Islam, it is counted as the first of the Five Pillars of Islam, while the Shii Twelvers and it is whispered by the father into the ear of a newborn child, and it is whispered into the ear of a dying person. The five canonical daily prayers include a recitation of the shahada. Recitation of the shahada in front of witnesses is also the first and this occasion often attracts more than the two required witnesses and sometimes includes a party-like celebration to welcome the convert into their new faith. In accordance with the importance played by the notion of intention in Islamic doctrine. Intention is what acts of devotion from mundane acts and a simple reading of the shahada from invoking it as a ritual activity. Though the two phrases of the shahada are both present in the Quran, they are not found there side by side as in the shahada formula. An inscription in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem reads There is no god but God alone, He has no partner with him, Muhammad is the messenger of God. Another variant appears in coins minted after the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, although it is not clear when the shahada first came into common use among Muslims, it is clear that the sentiments it expresses were part of the Quran and Islamic doctrine from the earliest period
13.
Pan-Arab colors
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The Pan-Arab colours are black, white, green, and red. Individually, each of the four Pan-Arab colours were intended to represent a certain Arab dynasty, or era. The four colours derived their potency from a verse by 14th century Iraqi poet Safi Al-Din Al-Hilli, « White are our acts, black our battles, green our fields, Pan-Arab colours were first combined in 1916 in the flag of the Arab Revolt. It may be noted that while Libya is an Arab country and has a flag with the four colours. From the 1950s onwards, a sub-set of the Pan-Arab colours and these consist of a tricolour of red, white and black bands, with green given less prominence. The Arab Liberation colours were inspired by the use of the Arab Liberation Flag in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, list of Arab flags Pan-Arabism Tricolour Pan-Slavic colors Pan-African colours Pan-Arab colors Evolution of the Arab Flag, by Dr. Mahdi Abdul-Hadi
14.
Kite
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A kite is traditionally a tethered heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag. A kite consists of wings, tethers, pulleys, and anchors, Kites often have a bridle to guide the face of the kite at the correct angle so the wind can lift it. A kites wing also may be so designed so a bridle is not needed, when kiting a sailplane for launch, a kite may have fixed or moving anchors. Untraditionally in technical kiting, a kite consists of tether-set-coupled wing sets, even in technical kiting, though, the lift that sustains the kite in flight is generated when air moves around the kites surface, producing low pressure above and high pressure below the wings. The interaction with the wind also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind, the resultant force vector from the lift and drag force components is opposed by the tension of one or more of the lines or tethers to which the kite is attached. The anchor point of the line may be static or moving. The same principles of fluid flow apply in liquids and kites are used under water. A hybrid tethered craft comprising both a lighter-than-air balloon as well as a lifting surface is called a kytoon. Kites have a long and varied history and many different types are flown individually, Kites may be flown for recreation, art or other practical uses. Sport kites can be flown in aerial ballet, sometimes as part of a competition, even Man-lifting kites have been made. The kite has been claimed as the invention of the 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers Mozi, by 549 AD paper kites were certainly being flown, as it was recorded that in that year a paper kite was used as a message for a rescue mission. Ancient and medieval Chinese sources describe kites being used for measuring distances, testing the wind, lifting men, signaling, the earliest known Chinese kites were flat and often rectangular. Later, tailless kites incorporated a stabilizing bowline, Kites were decorated with mythological motifs and legendary figures, some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying. From China, kites were introduced to Cambodia, Thailand, India, Japan, Korea, after its introduction into India, the kite further evolved into the fighter kite, known as the patang in India, where thousands are flown every year on festivals such as Makar Sankranti. Kites were known throughout Polynesia, as far as New Zealand, anthropomorphic kites made from cloth and wood were used in religious ceremonies to send prayers to the gods. Polynesian kite traditions are used by anthropologists get an idea of early primitive Asian traditions that are believed to have at one time existed in Asia, Kites were late to arrive in Europe, although windsock-like banners were known and used by the Romans. Stories of kites were first brought to Europe by Marco Polo towards the end of the 13th century, although they were initially regarded as mere curiosities, by the 18th and 19th centuries kites were being used as vehicles for scientific research. In 1750 Benjamin Franklin published a proposal for an experiment to prove that lightning was caused by electricity by flying a kite in a storm that appeared capable of becoming a lightning storm
15.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
16.
Peter Lynn
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Peter Lynn is a New Zealand kitemaker, engineer and inventor. He spends much of the year travelling worldwide and displaying his kites at International Kite Festivals, Lynn, together with his wife Elwyn, established a kite business at Ashburton, New Zealand, in 1973, producing single-line kites for children. In 1974 he developed the Peter Lynn Triangular box kite, a triangular form cellular single line kite. Beginning in 1984 with the Centipede design, he developed large creature-themed display kites for the growing number of international kite festivals. These large-scale sparless kites include the manta ray, octopus, puffer-fish, gecko, in 1987 he began developing power kites for traction uses, and designing boats, buggies, boards and snow sleds to use with them. The sport of kite buggying in its modern form began from a craft he developed. It was equipped with three skis and was unsuccessful on the water. In 1990 he converted it to a land buggy by replacing the skis with wheels, more than 10,000 of his buggies are now in use, and there are also many other kite buggy manufacturers. Kite buggying has become a worldwide sport. In 1994 he developed the ‘super-ripstop/thru cord’ ram air kite construction system for large display, in 1995 he designed the ram-air inflated Megabite, a 635 square metre kite. It was accepted as the world’s largest kite by Guinness in 1997, when on the ground, more than 1000 people can comfortably stroll around inside it. He also designed the current Guinness record holder, a 1019 square metre Kuwait flag and that same year, he built two additional identically sized kites, allowing for more exhibitions of the Worlds Largest Kites around the world. In 1997 he developed the first ‘hybrid’ traction kite and it is referred to as hybrid as the form is a single skin kite supported by a combination of both aerodynamic forces and a flexible frame. Conventional traction kites use either a rigid frame inflated with a prior to launching or ram air inflated cavities. In 1999 he developed the first bridleless arch style ram air kite, arc style kites are generally more efficient and are more resistant to luffing relative to leading edge inflatable sled kites but have slightly lower lift coefficient. More recently he has developed the KiteSled, for kite powered snow expeditioning and it steers by bending its skis, which are constructed from multiple longitudinal elements dovetailed together. Using KiteSleds, in May 2006 Australians Patrick Spiers and Ben Deacon completed a 700 km trans-Greenland journey that they believe was 20% faster than would have been possible by kite skiing, Lynn has also contributed to the theoretical underpinnings of kite flying through a series of scientific papers. In other fields, his inventions include,1975, the original ‘tipping blade’ portable sawmill system, using a single saw blade which rotates 90 degrees at the end of each pass through a log to enable the production of sawn timber in one operation
17.
Flags of the World
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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
18.
Flag of Algeria
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The national flag of Algeria consists of two equal vertical bars, green and white, charged in the center with a red star and crescent. The flag was adopted on 3 July 1962, a similar version was used by the Algerian government in exile from 1958–1962. The Western blazon is per pale Vert and Argent, a crescent, Algerian ships fly it as their ensign, except for ships of the Algerian National Navy, which use one charged with two white crossed anchors in the canton as the naval ensign. Formerly, the two crossed anchors in the canton were red, according to algeria-un.411 and the position 600 on the normal spectre. Algeria at Flags of the World http, //www. flagscorner. com/algeria-flag/
19.
Flag of Bahrain
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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
20.
Flag of Chad
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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
21.
Flag of the Comoros
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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
22.
Flag of Djibouti
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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
23.
Flag of Egypt
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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
24.
Flag of Iraq
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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
25.
Flag of Jordan
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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
26.
Flag of Lebanon
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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
27.
Flag of Libya
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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
28.
Flag of Mauritania
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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
29.
Flag of Morocco
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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
30.
Flag of Oman
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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
31.
Flag of Palestine
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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
32.
Flag of Qatar
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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
33.
Flag of Saudi Arabia
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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
34.
Flag of Western Sahara
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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
35.
Flag of Somalia
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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
36.
Flag of Somaliland
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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
37.
Flag of Sudan
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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
38.
Flag of Syria
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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
39.
Flag of Tunisia
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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
40.
Flag of the United Arab Emirates
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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
41.
Flag of Yemen
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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
42.
Arab League
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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
43.
Flag of Afghanistan
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The flag of Afghanistan has had more changes since the start of the 20th century than has that of any other country in the world. Afghanistan has had 21 different flags since the first flag when the Hotaki dynasty which made Afghanistan independent was established in 1709, the current flag was adopted by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2013. This flag is similar to the one flown in Afghanistan during the monarchy between 1930 and 1973, the difference is the addition of the shahadah at the top of the coat of arms in the center. This flag consists of three stripes of the black, red, and green. This has been present on most flags of Afghanistan in the last twenty years, the center emblem is the classical emblem of Afghanistan with a mosque with its mihrab facing Mecca. The current Afghan flag, together with the flag of Cambodia, hold the distinction of being the only two state flags to feature a building
44.
Flag of Armenia
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The national flag of Armenia, the Armenian Tricolour, consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, red on the top, blue in the middle, and orange on the bottom. The Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted the current flag on 24 August 1990, on 15 June 2006, the Law on the National Flag of Armenia, governing its usage, was passed by the National Assembly of Armenia. Throughout history, there have many variations of the Armenian flag. In ancient times, Armenian dynasties were represented by different symbolic animals displayed on their flags, in the twentieth century, various Soviet flags represented the Armenian SSR. The meanings of the colors are interpreted in different ways. For example, red stands for the blood of the 1.5 million Armenians killed in the Armenian Genocide, blue is for the Armenian pure sky, the blue emblematizes the will of the people of Armenia to live beneath peaceful skies. The orange emblematizes the creative talent and hard-working nature of the people of Armenia, in 2012, the Armenian National Institute of Standards issued specifications about the construction and colors on the national flag. Todays tricolor flag bears little resemblance to the earliest Armenian flags, in ancient times, armies went into battle behind carvings mounted on poles. The carvings might represent a dragon, an eagle, a lion or some object of the gods. With the advent of Christianity, the Armenian empire adopted many different flags representing various dynasties, the Artaxiad Dynastys flag, for instance, consisted of a red cloth displaying two eagles gazing at each other, separated by a flower. After Armenia was split between the Persian and the Ottoman Empires, the idea of an Armenian flag ceased to exist for some time, alishans first design was very similar to todays Armenian flag, a horizontal tricolor. However, it looked more like a variation of the current flag of Bulgaria. While in France, Alishan also designed a flag, identified today as the Nationalist Armenian Flag. It too was a tricolor, but unlike the previous design and its colors were red, green, and blue, from left to right, representing the rainbow that Noah saw after landing on Mount Ararat. In 1828, Persian Armenia was annexed to the Russian Empire after the last Russo-Persian War, when the Russian Empire collapsed, Russian Armenia declared its independence and joined the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, together with Georgia and Azerbaijan. This unified state hardly lasted a year and was soon dissolved, since the Republic was short-lived, it did not use any flags or symbols. Nevertheless, some consider a horizontal gold, black, and red tricolor, similar to that of the German flag but arranged differently. The federation was dissolved on May 26,1918, when Georgia declared its independence as the Democratic Republic of Georgia
45.
Flag of Azerbaijan
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The flag of Azerbaijan is a horizontal tricolour featuring three equally sized fesses of blue, red, and green, with a white crescent and an eight-pointed star in the center. The tricolour replaced an earlier design used by the Azerbaijan SSR, the blue symbolizes Azerbaijans Turkic heritage, the red stands for progress, and the green represents Islam. The official colors and size were adopted on February 5,1991 and this flag was used from November 9,1918 to 1920, when Azerbaijan was independent, and it was revived with slight variations on February 5,1991. The nickname for the flag is Üçrəngli Bayraq, which means The Tricolour Flag, the flag is referred to in the Constitution and mentioned two times in the national anthem. On land, the flag is used as the civil, state and war flag, at sea, it is used as the civil, state, the flag also has official status in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. A presidential decree declared November 9, the date when in 1918 this flag was adopted as the flag of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The national flag of Azerbaijan consists of three stripes of equal width, from top to bottom, light blue, red. In the center are a crescent and eight-pointed star. Upper stripe is blue, middle stripe is red, and the one is green. Width of the flag constitutes half of its length, further specifications of the national flag were detailed in the Presidential Decree On the National Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued on February 5,1991. The ratio was kept at 1,2, which was used in the Soviet era, each stripe is one-third of the total height of the flag and extends the full length. The star and crescent were placed in a box that has a ratio of 3,4, the outside diameter of both the crescent and the red inside circle intersects with the diameter of the star. The diameter of the star is one-sixth the height of the flag, the flag is also described in the technical specification AZS 001-2006. Published by the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patents of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2006, the colors of the national flag are green, red, sky blue, and white. Exact specifications for its colors were issued in the 2004 decree On the Rules of the National Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the middle of the flag, and appearing on both front and back, are a white crescent and an eight-pointed star. According to historian Nasib Nasibli, Ali bey Huseynzade, one of the ideologists of Azerbaijans independence, while the crescent and star are typically seen as markers of Islam, some historians and researchers disagree about why an eight-pointed star is used on the flag of Azerbaijan. Fatali Khan Khoyski points to the eight letters in the word Azerbaijan as written in Arabic, the eight points of the star are also thought to stand for the eight Turkic peoples of Azerbaijan. The problem is there are only seven Turkic peoples, Azeris, Ottomans, Jagatais, Tatars, Kipchaks, Selijuks and its possible the Kipchaks actually reflect two peoples, the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, which would make eight
46.
Flag of Bangladesh
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The national flag of Bangladesh was adopted officially on 17 January 1972. It consists of a red disc on top of a green field, the red disc represents the sun rising over Bengal, and also the blood of those who died for the independence of Bangladesh. The green field stands for the lushness of the land of Bangladesh, the flag is based on a similar flag used during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which had a yellow map of the country inside the red disc. In 1972 this map was removed from the flag, one reason given was the difficulty for rendering the map correctly on both sides of the flag. The civil ensign and naval ensign place it in the canton of a red or white field, the flag was made from clothes donated by Bazlur Rahman Lasker, the owner of Apollo Tailors, Dhaka New Market. A map of East Pakistan was first traced on a paper from an atlas by Hasanul Haq Inu, Yousuf Salahuddin Ahmed and Enamul Haq, at Enamuls room in Quaid-I Azam Hall. Later the map was painted in the red circle by Shib Narayan Das, according to CIA World Fact Book, the green used in the flag represent the lushness of the green landscape of the country. On January 13,1972 the flag was modified, the map from the center was removed and the red disk was moved towards the hoist. The red in the center is symbolic representation of the blood Bengalis shed in Bangladesh Liberation War, the red circle will have a radius of one-fifth of the length of the flag. Its centre will be placed on the point of the perpendicular drawn from the nine-twentieth part of the length of the flag. The green base of the flag will be of Procion Brilliant Green H-2RS50 parts per 1000, the red circular part will be of Procion Brilliant Orange H-2RS60 parts per 1000. Depending on the size of the building the flag sizes will be 10 ft ×6 ft,5 ft ×3 ft,2 1⁄2 ft ×1 1⁄2 ft. The size of the flag for cars is 12 1⁄2 in ×7 1⁄2 in, the national flag of Bangladesh is flown on all working days on important government buildings and offices, e. g. the president house, legislative assembly buildings, etc. Birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, any other day notified by the Government of Bangladesh. Following days are notified by the government, National Mourning Day of Bangladesh on 15 August, list of Bangladeshi flags National symbols of Bangladesh Bangladesh at Flags of the World Farooq, AKM. In Islam, Sirajul, Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia, National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
47.
Flag of Bhutan
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The national flag of Bhutan is one of the national symbols of Bhutan. The flag is based upon the tradition of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and features Druk, the basic design of the flag by Mayum Choying Wangmo Dorji dates to 1947. A version was displayed in 1949 at the signing of the Indo-Bhutan Treaty, the Bhutanese subsequently redesigned their flag to match the measurements of the flag of India, which they believed fluttered better than their own. Other modifications such as changing the red color to orange led to the current design. The National Assembly of Bhutan codified a code of conduct in 1972 to formalize the design and establish protocol regarding acceptable flag sizes. Historically Bhutan is known by names, but the Bhutanese call the country Druk after the name of the Bhutanese thunder dragon. The monastery that Tsangpa Gyare built that year was named Druk Sewa Jangchubling, the Druk school later split into three lineages. One of these three, Drukpa, was founded by Tsangpa Gyares nephew and spiritual heir Önrey Dharma Sengye, the nation itself would also later become known as Druk. This legend offers one explanation for how the symbolism of the came to form the basis of the national flag of Bhutan. The current flag is divided diagonally from the lower corner, with the upper triangle yellow. Centred along the line is a large black and white dragon facing away from the hoist side. The dragon is holding a norbu, or jewel, in each of its claws, the background colours of the flag, yellow and orange, are identified as Pantone 116 and 165 respectively. Equivalents of these shades and the white of the Druk are specified by other codes according to particular matching systems as indicated below. The dimensions of the flag must maintain a 3,2 ratio. The following sizes have been declared standard by the Government of Bhutan,21 ft ×14 ft 12 ft ×8 ft 6 ft ×4 ft 3 ft ×2 ft 9 in ×6 in, for car flags. The orange half signifies Buddhist spiritual tradition, particularly the Drukpa Kagyu, Druk, the Thunder Dragon, spreads equally over the line between the colors. The white color of Druk signifies the purity of inner thoughts and this report is therefore a significant primary source for information about the history of the Bhutanese flag. But in the description of the flag from 1949, the document is not in accord with photos of the flag
48.
Flag of Brunei
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The flag of Brunei has a centered crest of Brunei on a yellow field cut by black and white diagonal stripes. The yellow field represents the sultan of Brunei, the crest consists of a crescent facing upwards, joined with a parasol, with hands on the sides. Black and white stripes run across the flag, the crescent symbolizes Islam, the parasol symbolizes monarchy, and the hands at the side symbolize the benevolence of the government. The black and white stripes represent Bruneis chief ministers who were once joint-regents and then – after the sultan came of age – senior advisors, the Pengiran Bendahara, on the crescent is the national motto in Arabic, “Always render service with Gods guidance”. Below this is a banner inscribed with Brunei Darussalam, the flag in its present form, except for the crest, has been in use since 1906 when Brunei became a British protectorate, following the signing of an agreement between Brunei and Great Britain. Even though Brunei was only nominally independent after this, Bruneians retained certain symbols like the flag, the crest was superimposed in 1959 after the promulgation of the Constitution of 29 September 1959. The design was retained when the country gained independence on 1 January 1984 as Brunei Darussalam. The standard of Her Majesty the Raja Isteri is light yellow, the Perdana Wazir has also a personal standard granted to him by His Majesty the Sultan. The standard is white superimposed in the centre with the state crest in light yellow, the crest is supported by si kikil, a kris crossed by its sheath. The personal standards of the Pengiran Bendahara, Pengiran Digadong, Pengiran Pemancha and Pengiran Temenggong are white, green, black, the Sultan had also bestowed personal flags to lesser officials known as Pengiran Cheteria and to Pengiran and other subjects. Their personal standards incorporate the state crest in red on a background at the top left corner of the flags. Brunei at Flags of the World National Flag and Crest Government of Brunei Darussalam National Flag and Crest, Prime Ministers Office Flag and Crest Description History Brunei Flag
49.
Flag of Cambodia
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The national flag of Cambodia in its present form was originally adopted in 1948 and readopted in 1993, after the Constituent Assembly election in 1993 and restoration of the monarchy. Since around 1850, the Cambodian flag has featured a depiction of Angkor Wat in the centre, the current flag, with a blue border and red central was adopted following Cambodias independence in 1948. It was used until 9 October 1970, when a new flag was introduced for Lon Nols Khmer Republic that lasted until the takeover of the Khmer Rouge in 1975. The subsequent state of Democratic Kampuchea, which existed from 1975 to 1979, the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea was established in 1979, after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. The Kampuchean National United Front for National Salvation revived the flag adopted by the Khmer Issarak in the days of resistance for the new state. This flag had the colour pattern as the DK flag. When the PRK renamed itself as State of Cambodia in 1989, the UNTAC flag was used during the 1992–1993 transitional period along with the flag of the SOC within Cambodia. In 1993, the 1948 Cambodian flag was readopted, the current Cambodian flag, together with the flag of Afghanistan, hold the distinction of being the only two state flags to feature a building. Red and blue are traditional colours of Cambodia, the flag used today is the same as that established in 1948, although the older flag is sometimes said to have used a red outline for Angkor Wat while the current flag uses black specifically. Since that time, five other intervening designs have been used, almost all made use of the image of the temple of Angkor Wat in one form or another. This famous temple site, which dates from the 12th century, was built by the Mahidharapura monarchs and it has five towers, but these were not always all depicted in the stylised version used on flags. The monarchy was restored in September 1993, the 1948 flag having been readopted in June of that year, the Royal Standard of the King of Cambodia is the personal flag of the Cambodian monarch. It was officially adopted in 1993, but its use dates back to 1941. It is also considered among the symbols of Cambodia. List of Cambodian flags 3. http, //flagscorner. com/cambodia-flag/ Cambodia at Flags of the World
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