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, Image = Flag of Armenia.svg , Use = 111000 , Symbol = , Proportion = 1:2 , Adoption = 28 May 1918 (re-adopted on 24 August 1990) , Design = A horizontal tricolour of
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
, blue, and apricot , Designer =
Stepan Malkhasyants Stepanos Sargsi Malkhasiants ( hy, Ստեփան Սարգսի Մալխասյանց; – July 21, 1947) was an Armenian academician, philologist, linguist, and lexicographer. An expert in classical Armenian literature, Malkhasiants wrote the ...
, Image2 = Flag of the President of Armenia.svg, 200px , Nickname2 = , Morenicks2 = , Use2 =
Presidential Standard The presidential standard or presidential flag is the flag that is used in many countries as a symbol of the head of state or president. In some countries it may be for exclusive use of the president or only raised where the president is present. An ...
, Symbol2 = , Proportion2 = 1:2 , Adoption2 = , Design2 = A horizontal tricolour of
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
, blue, and
orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
defaced with the Presidential seal at its centre. , Designer2 = The national flag of Armenia, the Armenian Tricolour, consists of three horizontal bands of equal width,
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
on the top, blue in the middle, and apricot 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 The National Assembly of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Ազգային ժողով, ''Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov'' or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ ''Azgayin Zhoghov'', ''AZh''), also infor ...
. Throughout history, there have been 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 many different ways. The red stands for the Armenian Highlands, the Armenian people's continued struggle for survival, maintenance of the Christian faith and Armenia's independence and freedom. Blue is for the Armenian peaceful skies. And orange represents the nation's talent and hard-work.


Design

In 2012, the Armenian National Institute of Standards (SARM) issued specifications about the construction and colors on the national flag.: The official definition of the colors, as stated in the Constitution of Armenia, is:


History

Today's 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 mysterious object of the gods". With the advent of Christianity, the Armenian empire adopted many different flags representing various dynasties. The Artaxiad Dynasty's flag, for instance, consisted of a red cloth displaying two eagles gazing at each other, separated by an eight-pointed star which might represent a flower or some mysterious object.


Middle Ages

During the invasion of the Arabs, despite stronger resistance than even the Persian, Armenia came under control
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
, and on its territory the Armenian Emirate was created, stretching from modern Baku and Derbent in the east to the sources of the Euphrates in the west and from the Terek River in the north to Lake Urmia in the south. The emirate received a flag, which is a black cloth without any additional elements on it. In 885, Armenia gained independence and the flag, which is a dark red canvas with the image of a white leopard and a Christian cross on it. Now the "Ani leopard" from this flag is also an element of the flag and coat of arms of the second largest city and cultural capital of Armenia - the city of Gyumri. Unlike the flags of Greater Armenia, the flag of
Armenian Kingdom The Kingdom of Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք '; la, Armenia Maior), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Empire, was a monarchy in the Ancient Near East which existed from 331 BC ...
was not the flag of the ruling dynasty. In 1080, the Kingdom of Cilicia was founded. For almost four centuries, three royal dynasties have changed there, and each of them changed the country's flag to its own, dynastic one.


19th century

After Armenia was split between the
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
s, the idea of an Armenian flag ceased to exist for some time. The
Armenian Catholic Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
priest Father
Ghevont Alishan __NOTOC__ Ghevont Alishan () (1820-1901; also spelled Ghevond Alishan, or Leonzio Alishan in Italian or Léonce Alichan in French) was an ordained Armenian Catholic priest, historian and a poet. He was awarded by the Legion of Honour of the Frenc ...
created a new flag for Armenia in 1885, after the Armenian Students Association of Paris requested one for the funeral of the French writer Victor Hugo. Alishan's first design was very similar to today's Armenian flag: a horizontal tricolor. However, it looked more like an upside-down variation of the current flag of Bulgaria. The top band was red, symbolizing the first Sunday of Easter (called "Red" Sunday), followed by a green band to represent the "Green" Sunday of Easter, and finally an arbitrary color, white, was chosen to complete the combination. While in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Alishan also designed a second flag, identified today as the "Nationalist Armenian Flag". It too was a tricolor, but unlike the previous design, this one was a vertical tricolor similar to the French flag. Its colors were red, green, and blue, from left to right, representing the rainbow that Noah saw after landing on Mount Ararat.


First Republic of Armenia

After gaining independence, the First Republic of Armenia adopted the modern Armenian tricolor. Upon
Stepan Malkhasyants Stepanos Sargsi Malkhasiants ( hy, Ստեփան Սարգսի Մալխասյանց; – July 21, 1947) was an Armenian academician, philologist, linguist, and lexicographer. An expert in classical Armenian literature, Malkhasiants wrote the ...
's appearance in the Armenian National Council, the independent Armenian government selected the colors used during the
Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries duri ...
period: red, blue and yellow. An earlier prototype, which was eventually rejected, was the rainbow flag. This prototype can be seen at the Martiros Saryan House Museum in Yerevan, Armenia. They chose to replace the yellow with orange "because it merged better with the other two colors, presenting a more pleasing composition". The flag of independent Armenia then had a ratio of 2:3, but on 24 August 1990, when the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted it as the flag of the Republic of Armenia, the ratio was changed to 1:2.


Early Soviet Armenia and the Transcaucasian SFSR

On 29 November 1920 Bolsheviks established the Armenian SSR. An old flag was introduced and fixed in the Constitution, accepted on 2 February 1922 by the First Congress of Soviets of the Armenian SSR. That flag existed only for a month, because on 12 March the Armenian SSR united with the
Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...
and the Azerbaijan SSR under the Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR). On 30 December 1922 the Transcaucasian SFSR became one of the four Soviet republics that united to form the USSR. The flag of the republic had a hammer and sickle inserted into a star with initials "ЗСФСР" (ZSFSR) written in Russian sans-serif script. These letters stand for ''Закавказская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика'' (''Zakavkazskaya Sovetskaya Federativnaya Socialisticheskaya Respublika'', "Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic"). In 1936, the TSFSR was broken up into its two constituent regions, which were named the Georgian SSR and the Armenian SSR.


Armenian SSR

As a republic of the USSR, the Armenian SSR introduced its first flag in 1936. Very similar to the flag of the Soviet Union, it was red and featured a yellow hammer and sickle in the corner. Underneath that, there were "H-Kh-S-H" initials written in Armenian serif script. These initials, in the
Western Armenian language Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...
, stand for ''Haygagan Khorhurtayin Sodzialistakan Hanrabedutyun'', or the "Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic". In the 1940s, the flag was altered to use the
Eastern Armenian language Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, as we ...
spoken in the Republic. The initials were changed to "H-S-S-R" meaning "Hayastani Sovetakan Sotsialistikakan Respublika" in the Eastern Armenian pronunciation. In 1952, a new flag was introduced. The initials were removed completely and in their place a horizontal blue stripe was added. In late May 1988, amid rising nationalist tensions from '' glasnost'' and '' perestroika'', Armenia's new Communist party leader allowed the banned tricolour of the DRA to fly in
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
for the first time in over sixty years. A year later, following a
Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...
-themed mass demonstration where the tricolour was flown, he urged its official recognition. This came on 24 August 1990, a day after the Armenian Supreme Soviet declared the republic's sovereignty and renamed the country the Republic of Armenia. At that point, just over a year before Armenia declared its formal independence from the USSR, the tricolour replaced the 1952 flag.


Usage

The 2006 law on the National Flag of Armenia states that the flag has to be raised on the following public buildings: *Residence of the President *Parliament *Government *Constitutional Court *Office of Public Prosecutor *
Central Bank of Armenia The Central Bank of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Կենտրոնական Բանկ, translit=Hayastani Kentronakan Bank) is the central bank of Armenia with its headquarters in Yerevan. The CBA is an independent institution responsible for issu ...
*Other governmental buildings The law requires the lowering of the flag to the midpoint of the flagpole on the days of mourning or during mourning ceremonies. A black ribbon needs to be placed at the top of the flag; the length of the ribbon should be equal to the length of the flag. The flying flag has to be raised in its entirety, clean, and unfaded; moreover, the lower part of the flag should be at least 2.5 m off the ground.


National flag days

The day of the National Flag of Armenia is marked on 15 June every year. The day is chosen for the reason that the Armenian law on the National Flag of Armenia was passed on 15 June 2006. The day of the Armenian tricolour was celebrated for the first time on 15 June 2010 in
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
. The daily display of the Armenian flag is encouraged, but legally required only on the following days: * 1 January, 2 JanuaryNew Year * 6 JanuaryChristmas * 8 MarchInternational Women's Day * 7 AprilMotherhood and Beauty Day * 1 MayInternational Worker's Solidarity Day * 9 MayVictory and Peace Day * 28 MayFirst Armenian Republic Day, 1918 * 5 JulyConstitution Day, 1995 * 21 SeptemberIndependence Day, 1991 * 7 December Spitak Earthquake Memorial Day, 1988


Sub-national flags


Municipalities

File:Flag of Ashtarak, Armenia.svg,
Ashtarak Ashtarak (Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of the Aragatsotn pr ...
File:Flag of Abovyan.png,
Abovyan Abovyan or Abovian ( hy, Աբովյան), is a town and urban municipal community in Armenia within the Kotayk Province. It is located northeast of Yerevan and southeast of the province centre Hrazdan. As of the 2011 census, the population of ...
File:Flag of Gyumri.svg, Gyumri File:Flag of Ejmiatsin.svg, Vagharshapat File:Flag of Yerevan.svg,
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...


Influence

The national flag is also mentioned in the song " Mer Hayrenik" (Our Fatherland), the national anthem of Armenia. Specifically, the second and third stanzas sing about the creation of the national flag:


Flag of Artsakh

On 2 June 1992, the Republic of Artsakh, a ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' independent republic in South Caucasus, adopted a flag derived from the flag of Armenia, with only a white pattern added. A white, five-toothed, stepped carpet pattern was added to the flag, beginning at the two verges of the cloth's right side and connecting at a point equal to one-third of the distance from that side. The white pattern symbolizes the current separation of Artsakh from Armenia proper and its aspiration for eventual union with "the Fatherland". This symbolises the
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
heritage, culture and population of the area and represents Artsakh as being a separated region of Armenia by the triangular shape and the zigzag cutting through the flag. The pattern is also similar to the designs used on rugs. The ratio of the flag's breadth to its length is 1:2, same as the Armenian Tricolor.


Flag of the Pan-Armenian Games

In addition to the flag of Artsakh, the Armenian flag colors influenced the design of the
Pan-Armenian Games The Pan-Armenian Games ( hy, Համահայկական խաղեր) are a multi-sport event, held between competitors from the Armenian diaspora and Armenia. They consist of various competitions in individual and team sports among the Armenian athle ...
flag. In the center of the light blue flag are six interlocking rings, derived from the
Olympic rings The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
. The sixth, orange-colored ring, interlocks with the blue and red rings, which symbolize Armenia. Above the rings is a flame in the colors of the Armenian flag.


See also

*
Coat of arms of Armenia The national coat of arms of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինանշանը, ''Hayastani zinanshan'') was adopted on April 19, 1992, by resolution of the Armenian Supreme Council. On June 15, 2006, the Armenian Parliament passed the law on t ...
*
List of Armenian flags This is a list of flags associated with Armenia. National flags President's flag Military Municipalities and Cities Political flags Religious flags Historical Flag Proposals Armenian people in other countries See also * F ...
* Flag of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic


References


External links

* *
VEXILLOGRAPHIA - Флаги Армении


- Symbolic values and information about the Armenian flag and coat of arms
Yeraguyn.com
- The Flag of the Republic of Armenia (in English, Armenian and Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Armenia Armenia National symbols of Armenia Armenia Armenia Armenia Armenia