 | |
| Alaya Rengîn (lit. 'The Colourful Flag') | |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | c. 1927 byRepublic of Ararat[1] 1992 byKurdistan Region |
| Design | Ared,white, andgreen tricolour, with ayellow 21 rayed sun in the center (Kurdish Sun). |
Theflag of Kurdistan (Kurdish:ئاڵای کوردستان,Alaya Kurdistanê) is the flag ofKurds[2][3][1] and was created by theSociety for the Rise of Kurdistan in 1920. It would later, in different variants, be adopted as the national flag of different Kurdish states includingRepublic of Ararat,Republic of Mahabad and most recently byKurdistan Region in 1992. Moreover, theKingdom of Kurdistan used the crescent flag (shown below) which was also considered a Kurdish flag.[1]
In October 1918, near the end of World War I,Mahmud Barzanji broke away from the Ottoman Empire and established theKurdish state. As it was initially subordinate to Britain, the polity flew the BritishUnion Jack until it revolted in May 1919.[4]
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Second flag of theKurdish state (during the 1919 anti-British revolt), also the flag of theKingdom of Kurdistan (1921–1925).In May 1919, the Kurdish State revolted against the British Empire, and adopted acrescent flag. The British Empire conquered the Kurdish state in June 1919.[5][6]
After the establishment of theKingdom of Kurdistan in 1921, Thecrescent flag was again hoisted inSulaymaniyah byMahmud Barzanji. According to historianRafiq Hilmi, the Kingdom of Kurdistan considered the crescent flag as the national flag of Kurds. He wrote: "A big meeting was held at the house of Şêx Qadir, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and with official permission, the official Kurdish flag was raised. On the day of the meeting, about 10,000 people gathered in front of the Grand Mosque."[1]
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Flag of theRepublic of Ararat (1927–1930) adopted by Xoybûn.This flag was created in 1920 by the Society for the Rise of Kurdistan (CTK). Shortly after, it was used by the nationalist partyXoybûn who hoisted the flag over the city ofAğrı during theArarat rebellion. In his memoirDoza Kurdistan, Kurdish politician Kadri Cemilpaşa of the CTK declared that this flag was the national Kurdish flag whose colors and shape had now been defined. In 1925, during the trial of CTK politicians inTurkey, they stated that theOttoman flag was dead and that the Kurdish flag would shine like a sun.[1]
Flag of theRepublic of MahabadPrior to the declaration of theRepublic of Mahabad fromIran in 1946, Kurdish leaders in Iran fromDemocratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) with support from Kurds in Iraq, had prepared the flag to be used as the national flag of the Mahabad Republic. The prepared flag was altered and approved by the KDPI who went on to hoist it in the official office of the Iranian government inMahabad on 17 December 1945. When the republic was declared on 22 January 1946, the flag was hoisted at the main square whileEy Reqîb was being sung. In his speech, PresidentQazi Muhammad declared the flag as "flag of Kurdistan" and it was hoisted in all towns which was under his control. Days before the collapse of the republic, President Muhammad handed over the flag on his desk toMustafa Barzani, leader ofKurdistan Democratic Party, who had fled to Mahabad after the1943 Barzani revolt.[1]
The Kurdish flag is the most important symbol of cohesive Kurdish identity. Since it was first hoisted in 1946 to represent the concept of an independentKurdistan (called theRepublic of Mahabad and founded in Iranian territory) it has become a symbol of the national identity of Kurds.[7]
The main characteristic of the flag is the blazing golden sun emblem (Roj in Kurdish) at its center. The emblem's sun disk has 21 rays, equal in size and shape, with the single odd ray at top and the two even rays on the bottom.
The symbolism of the colours is:[8][9]
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red RGB: (235,35,35) HEX: #ED2024 | Symbolizes the blood of the martyrs and the continued struggle for freedom and dignity. |
| Green RGB: (39,138,65) HEX: #278E43 | Expresses the beauty and landscapes of Kurdistan. Life and vitality. |
| Yellow RGB: (250,185,20) HEX: #FEBD11 | Represents the source of life and light of the people. The sun is an ancient symbol and twenty one sunbeams represent March 21,Newroz. |
| White RGB: (255,255,255) HEX: #FFFFFF | Represent peace and equality. |
In the fall of 2006, theIraqi Kurdish leadership gave orders for Kurdish officials to stop flying the Iraqi flag under decree number 60 "to hoist the flag of Iraqi Kurdistan".Masoud Barzani issued orders that theBa'athist flag should be lowered and all regions in Iraqi Kurdistan should "hoist only the Kurdistan flag" because the symbols of Ba'athism were associated with theAnfal genocide where 180,000 people died. When the Ba'athist symbols were removed from the Iraqi flag in 2008, the KRG hoisted the Iraqi flag to fly alongside the Kurdish flag, reported to still be the practice as of March 2013. Flying the Iraqi flag side by side with the Kurdish flag is symbolic of their acceptance ofIraqi federalism.[7]
The flag appeared in Kurdish media throughout the 1990s withMED TV,Kurdsat,Kurdistan TV and their affiliates broadcasting with the flag appearing frequently in their programming allowing it to become a symbol of Kurdish statehood.[10][11]
![The tricolor flag of TEV-DEM, adopted c. 2012 for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.[12][13]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFlag_of_Rojava.svg)
Since 1993, the Kurdish Flag Day is celebrated on December 17.[14][15][16]
