The Assyrian flag ( syr, ܐܬܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܬܐ or ) is the flag widely used to represent the Assyrian nation in the homeland and in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

. Its two components, the star of Utu/Shamash, which was a symbol for the god

Shamash Utu (dUD " Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god ...

, and which was also standardly used on poles since the

Akkadian Empire The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one r ...

as a symbol for the nation, is combined with the ancient symbol of the god Ashur. George Bit Atanus first designed the flag in 1968; the Assyrian Universal Alliance, Assyrian National Federation and

Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party The Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party ( syr, ܓܒܐ ܕܝܡܘܩܪܛܝܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ, Gaba Demoqrataya d-Bet-Nahrain), usually abbreviated as BNDP is an Assyrian political party in Iraq led by Romeo Nissan Hakkari. One of the party's goals is to ...

all adopted the flag in 1971. The flag has a white background with a golden circle at the center, surrounded by a four-pointed star in blue. Four triple-colored (red-white-blue), widening, wavy stripes connect the center to the four corners of the flag. The figure of pre-

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Assyrian God Ashur, known from Iron Age iconography, features above the centre.

Symbolism

The golden circle at the center represents the sun, which, by its exploding and leaping flames, generates heat and light to sustain the earth and all its living things. The four-pointed star surrounding the sun symbolizes the land, its light

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

color symbolizing

tranquility Tranquillity (also spelled tranquility) is the quality or state of being tranquil; that is, calm, serene, and worry-free. The word tranquillity appears in numerous texts ranging from the religious writings of Buddhism, where the term ''passaddhi'' ...

. The wavy stripes extending from the center to the four corners of the flag represent the three major rivers of the

Assyrian homeland The Assyrian homeland, Assyria ( syc, ܐܬܘܪ, Āṯūr or syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêth Nahrin) refers to the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. T ...

: the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

, the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

, and the

Great Zab The Great Zab or Upper Zab ( (''al-Zāb al-Kabīr''), or , , ''(zāba ʻalya)'') is an approximately long river flowing through Turkey and Iraq. It rises in Turkey near Lake Van and joins the Tigris in Iraq south of Mosul. The drainage basin o ...

. The lines are small at the center and become wider as they spread out from the circle. The dark blue represents the Euphrates. The red stripes, whose blood-red hue stands for courage, glory, and pride, represent the Tigris. The

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

lines in between the two great rivers symbolize the Great Zab; its white color stands for tranquility and peace. Some interpret the red, white, and blue will gather all the Assyrians back to their homeland to stand strong and fight for what they want and what they have gained. The star on the flag is the old star symbol associated with

, also known as Utu, the sun deity also associated with the planet Saturn. He was worshipped in the ancient Mesopotamian region. He was apparently the deity who provided leaders like

Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...

Ur-Nammu Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, Ur-Gur, Sumerian: , ruled c. 2112 BC – 2094 BC middle chronology, or possibly c. 2048–2030 BC short chronology) founded the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries ...

, and

Gudea Gudea ( Sumerian: , ''Gu3-de2-a'') was a ruler ('' ensi'') of the state of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, who ruled circa 2080–2060 BC (short chronology) or 2144-2124 BC ( middle chronology). He probably did not come from the city, but had mar ...

with divine laws. The archer figure symbolizes the pre-Christian god Ashur.

Previous flags

Prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Western Assyrians from the Tur Abdin region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

designed an Assyrian flag consisting of a horizontal tricolor with the colors pink, white, and red, with three white stars at the upper hoist. The pink, white, and red bars represented the loyalty, purity, and determination of the Assyrian people, and the three white stars represent the three names or components of the Assyrian nation, Assyrians,

Syriacs Terms for Syriac Christians are endonymic (native) and exonymic (foreign) terms, that are used as designations for ''Syriac Christians'', as adherents of Syriac Christianity. In its widest scope, Syriac Christianity encompass all Christian deno ...

, and Chaldeans. This flag was used durin
delegation meetings
with Assyrian politicians and Western powers post World War I. It was also in use by the Assyrian National Federation, later renamed the Assyrian American Federation and the Assyrian American National Federation, from its founding in 1933 until 1975 when they adopted the current Assyrian flag. During the First World War, the

Assyrian volunteers The Assyrian volunteers was an ethnic Assyrian military force during WW1, led mainly by General Agha Petros Elia of Baz and several tribal leaders known as Maliks ( syr, ܡܠܟ) under the spiritual leadership of the Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Shi ...

commanded by Agha Petros used a red flag with a white cross. Agha Petros' personal standard was the flag of the Volunteers but made of silk, with a golden fringe added, and the words "Trust God and follow the Cross" written in

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...

above the cross.

Gallery

Variants File:Flag of Assyria.svg, The

flag with the image of Assur in red (adopted in 1971) File: Flag of the Assyrians (gold and blue Assur).svg, The Assyrian flag with the image of Assur in shades of gold and blue, adopted by the Assyrian Universal Alliance File:Flag of the Assyrians (gold Assur).svg, The Assyrian flag with the image of Assur in gold File:Flag of the Assyrians (no Assur).svg, The Assyrian flag without the image of Assur. This version has been used by the Nineveh Plain Protection Units. Inspirations File:Ashur5.jpg, The Assyrian star in the 1968 flag is borrowed from the ancient Assyro-Babylonian symbol of

. File:Ashur god.jpg, The " feather-robed archer" figure in the 1968 flag is inspired by

Assyrian Empire Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyr ...

period iconography. File:Shamash-sun-symbol (3 rays).svg, A stylized version of the sun symbol of Shamash File:Kawkbo Othuroyo b-'Idto d-Mor Gabriel 1.jpg, Star symbol in the Mor Gabriel monastery Other flags File:Flag of the Syriac-Aramaic People.svg, Aramean-Syriac flag. File:Chaldean_flag.svg, Chaldean flag, adopted in late 1999 File:Gozartoflag.svg, Tricolor used by the Syriac Union Party and Syriac Military Council representing Assyrian-Syriac people in SDF-controlled Northern Syria File: Flag of Iraq (1959–1963).svg, The flag of Iraq 1959-1963 included a red

Star of Ishtar The Star of Ishtar or Star of Inanna is a Mesopotamian symbol of the ancient Sumerian goddess Inanna and her East Semitic counterpart Ishtar. The owl was also one of Ishtar's primary symbols. Ishtar is mostly associated with the planet Venus, ...

symbolic of the Assyrian minority.

References

External links

The Origins and Description of the Assyrian Flag
* ttp://www.aina.org/aol/flag.htm Assyrian International News Agency (AINA)br>Assyrian flag at Flags of the World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assyrian Flag Ethnic flags Assyrian nationalism Religious flags Flags of indigenous peoples Flags introduced in 1971

Symbolism

Previous flags

Gallery

See also

References

External links