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| Flag ofHejaz | |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 10 June 1916 |
| Design | A red triangle based at thehoist to which three parallel horizontal colours are attached, black at the top, followed by green in the middle and white at the bottom. |
| Designed by | Mark Sykes |
Theflag of the Arab Revolt (Arabic:علم الثورة العربية), also used as theflag of Hejaz (Arabic:علم مملكة الحجاز), was aflag used byHussein bin Ali and his allies, theArab nationalists, during theArab Revolt against theOttoman Empire duringWorld War I, and as the first flag of theKingdom of Hejaz. It was designed byMark Sykes, but is highly reminiscent of previous Arab flags, such as the flags of theal-Muntada al-Adabi,al-ʽAhd andal-Fatat.
The flag consists of three horizontal stripes (black, white, and green) and a red triangle on the hoist side, usingIslamic religious tradition, each color has a symbolic meaning: black represents theAbbasid dynasty or theRashidun caliphs, white represents theUmayyad dynasty, and green representsIslam (or possibly, but it is not certain, theFatimid dynasty). The red triangle represents theHashemite dynasty, to whichHussein bin Ali belonged.
The flag became a symbol of Arab nationalism and unity and thecolors derived from it are still used today in various forms in the flags ofJordan,Kuwait,Sudan,Syria, theUnited Arab Emirates,Palestine, theSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, andLibya.
The Arab revolt flag influenced the relatedArab Liberation Flag, which was adopted as a result of the1952 Egyptian revolution. The tricolor flag consists of red, white, and black horizontal stripes. Variants of the flag are currently used as the national flags ofEgypt,Iraq,Sudan, andYemen.
The horizontal colors stand for theAbbasid Caliphate (black),Umayyad Caliphate (white) andRashidun Caliphate (green).[1][2] The red triangle has been described as referring to theHashemites[3][2] or theashraf of Mecca.[1]
According toTim Marshall, white was the Umayyad colour in memory ofMuhammad's first military victory, black was the Abbasid colour to mark a new era and to mourn the dead of theBattle of Karbala, and green was the colour of the Prophet's coat and of his followers as they conquered Mecca.[2] Alternatively, the colours' symbolism has been described as follows: white for the DamasceneUmayyad Caliphate, green forAli, red for theKharijites, and black forMuhammad, showing the "political use of religion" in opposition to the increasingly secularized Turkish rule.[4]
Similarly, Marshall explains the use of the Europeantricolor as a sign of the break with the Ottoman past, while the colours are deeply Islamic without using the star and crescent used by the Ottomans.[2] The explanation given in the official note of the ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Revolt, celebrating Hussein's decree on the adoption of the flag, was that black represented theBlack Standard of Muhammad (theal-ʿuqāb "eagle"), hiscompanions, and the Abbasid Caliphate, the green represented theAhl al-Bayt or Prophetic Family, white various Arab rulers, and red the Hashemites.[3]
It has been suggested that the flag was designed by the British diplomat SirMark Sykes, in an effort to create a feeling of "Arab-ness" to fuel the revolt.[5] According toStanford University historian Joshua Teitelbaum, this claim is made both by Sykes' 1923 biographer and byKing Hussein bin Ali, who in 1918 toldWoodrow Wilson that it symbolizedHashemite rule over the Arab world.[1] According to one version, Sykes, keen to challenge the French flag being flown in French-controlled Arab territories, offered several designs to Hussein, who chose the one that was then used.[3]
Although the Arab Revolt was limited in scope and supported by the British, the flag influenced thenational flags of a number of emergingArab states after World War I. Flags inspired by that of the Arab revolt include those ofPalestine,Jordan,Kuwait,Sudan,Syria, theSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic andLibya.[citation needed]
The Hashemites were allies of the British in the conflict against the Ottoman Empire. After the war ended, the Hashemites achieved or were granted rule in theHejaz region ofArabia,Jordan, formally known as theHashemite Kingdom of Jordan,Iraq, and briefly inSyria.
TheArab Kingdom of Syria was dissolved after only a few months of existence after theFrench conquest in 1920. The Hashemites were overthrown in the Hejaz in 1925 by theSultanate of Najd after theSaudi conquest of Hejaz, and inIraq in 1958 by acoup d'etat, but retained power inJordan.
A 60 m × 30 m version of the flag currently flies from theAqaba Flagpole, currently the seventh tallest freestandingflagpole in the world, located inAqaba, Jordan.[6]
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