The

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

of Egypt ( Arabic: ) is a

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

consisting of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black bands of the Egyptian revolutionary flag that dates back to the 1952 Egyptian Revolution. The flag bears Egypt's national emblem, the Egyptian eagle of Saladin, centred in the white band.

Symbolism

In 1952, the Egyptian Free Officers who toppled King Farouk in the 23 July Revolution assigned specific symbolism to each of the three bands of the revolutionary and liberation flag. The red band symbolizes the Egyptians’ bloods in the war against colonization. The white band symbolizes the purity of the Egyptians’ hearts. The black band below the white symbolizes the manner in which darkness is overcome. Egypt's Revolutionary and Liberation flag, which was designed on 23 July 1952, was then an inspiration to several Arab countries and was adopted by many Arab states. The same horizontal tricolour is used by Iraq,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and Yemen (and formerly Libya), the only difference being the presence (or absence) of distinguishing national emblems in the white band.

Colours scheme

History

The development of the modern Egyptian flag was determined first by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, under whom Egypt was united with

, and later by the rise of

Egyptian nationalism Egyptian nationalism is based on Egyptians and Egyptian culture. Egyptian nationalism has typically been a civic nationalism that has emphasized the unity of Egyptians regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Egyptian nationalism first manifes ...

and

revolutionary ideas In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

among the Egyptian Army.

Muhammad Ali Dynasty (1805–1922)

When

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

successfully seized power in Egypt, at that time the country was officially an

Eyalet Eyalets ( Ottoman Turkish: ایالت, , English: State), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were a primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government ...

( Egypt Eyalet) of the Ottoman Empire. However, throughout his reign, and that of his sons and grandsons, Egypt enjoyed virtual independence as an own

Khedivate The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ota, خدیویت مصر ') was an autonomous Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and e ...

. The meaning of the three stars and crescents has been suggested that this was to symbolise the victory of his armies in three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe), and his own sovereignty over Egypt,

, and

Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...

. The similarity with the

flag of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire used various of flags, especially as naval ensigns, during its history. The star and crescent came into use in the second half of the 18th century. A ' (decree) from 1793 required that the ships of the Ottoman Navy were to u ...

was deliberate, as Muhammad Ali harbored grandiose ambitions of deposing the Ottoman dynasty, and seizing the sultanic throne himself. 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, igniting ever greater nationalist resentment. 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 crossW. Smith, O. Neubecker: ''Die Zeichen der Menschen und Völker: Unsere Welt in Fahnen und Flaggen''. Reich Verlag Luzern, 1975, were used in protests against the British (the latter symbolizing that both Egypt's

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

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 ...

communities supported the Egyptian nationalist movement against the occupation). File:Flag of Egypt (1844-1867).svg, Flag used in the Egypt Eyalet (1844–1867) File:Flag of Muhammad Ali.svg, Flag used in Egypt during the rules of Isma'il Pasha and Tewfik Pasha (1867–1881) File:Egypt flag 1882.svg, Flag of the Khedivate of Egypt (1881–1914) and the Sultanate of Egypt (1914–1922)

Kingdom of Egypt (1922–1953)

In 1922, the UK agreed to formally recognize Egyptian independence, but only on the condition that the

Sultan of Egypt Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally i ...

Fuad I Fuad I ( ar, فؤاد الأول ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; tr, I. Fuad or ; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sulta ...

, change his title to King. Upon so doing, the now King Fuad issued a Royal Decree formally adopting a new national flag of a white crescent with three white stars on a green background in it. The three stars symbolised the three component territories of the Kingdom, namely Egypt, Nubia, and

, whilst the green signifies the agricultural nature of the country, other sources suggest that it symbolised the predominant religion of the country,

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. It has also been suggested that the three stars represented the three religious communities of the country:

s, Christians and Jews.

Republic of Egypt (1953–1958) – Egyptian Free Officers movement

Following the Revolution of 1952, the Egyptian free officers retained the flag of the Kingdom, but also introduced the Revolutionary and Liberation flag of red, white, and black horizontal bands, with the emblem of the Revolution, the Eagle of Saladin, in the center band. This earlier version of the eagle differs somewhat from the one later adopted. Even when the Kingdom was formally abolished by the declaration of the Republic on July 18, 1953, the flag of the Kingdom remained in official use, until

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

announced the formation of a new regional political union and changed the name to United Arab Republic in 1958.Podeh, Elie. "The symbolism of the Arab flag in modern Arab states: between commonality and uniqueness." Nations and Nationalism 17.2 (2011): p. 435. The new flag symbolised a break from the Ottoman-inspired flags of the monarchical period, placing emphasis on the Arab nationalism then espoused by the Nasser government.

United Arab Republic – Egyptian and Syrian Union under President Gamal Abdel Nasser (1958–1972)

In 1958, Egypt and

united as the United Arab Republic (UAR) and adopted a national flag based on the original Egyptian Liberation flag after the revolution, but with two green stars (representing the two countries of the union) replacing the former Egyptian Eagle in the white band. A modified version of that eagle was then adopted as the UAR's coat of arms. The flag with the 2 green stars, representing the two nations is now still used as the national flag of Syria. This flag was briefly used by the Yemen Arab Republic for two months.

Federation of Arab Republics (1972–1984) – A regional union attempt by Muammar Gaddafi

Though Syria withdrew from the UAR in 1961, Egypt continued to use the official name of the United Arab Republic until 1971, when the country was renamed officially as the Arab Republic of Egypt. In 1972, when Egypt formed the Federation of Arab Republics along with Syria, and Libya, the UAR's flag (whose design Syria would reuse for their own flag, eight years later) was replaced by a common flag for the Federation, once again based on the Arab Liberation flag. The two green stars in the white band were replaced by the

Hawk of Qureish The Hawk of Quraish ( ar, صَقْرُ قُرَيْشٍ, ṣāqr Quraysh) is a symbol which is found on a number of emblems, coats of arms and flags of several states of the Arab League. The Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula, today especially those fro ...

, which had been the

coat of arms of Syria The current coat of arms of Syria or coat of arms of the Syrian Arab Republic () was adopted in 1980, following the 1977 dissolution of the Federation of Arab Republics, whose coat of arms had until then been used by its constituent states. This ...

prior to the formation of the UAR in 1958. The Hawk of Qureish was also adopted as the Federation's coat of arms.

Arab Republic of Egypt (1984–present) – President Abdel Fattah El Sissi

Whilst the Federation of Arab Republics was dissolved in 1977, Egypt retained the Federation's flag until October 4, 1984, when the black Hawk of Qureish was replaced in the white band (and on the coat of arms) by the Eagle of Saladin (the 1958 version as opposed to the 1952 version). The shield held by the eagle is coloured entirely gold and white, as opposed to the colours seen on the shield on Egypt's coat of arms.

Rules governing the hoisting of the flag

The flag is hoisted on all Egyptian governmental buildings on Fridays, national holidays, the opening session of the House of Representatives, and any other occasions as determined by the Minister of the Interior. The flag is hoisted daily on border posts, customs buildings, Egyptian consulates and embassies overseas on Revolution Day (July 23), and other national holidays, as well as during the visit of the

Egyptian President The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyp ...

to the country hosting the diplomatic mission. Abusing the flag in any way is a criminal offense and is punishable under law as it implies the contempt of the power of the state. Penal provisions also govern abuse of foreign flags or national emblems of other countries.

References

Sources

External links

* {{Egypt topics Egypt Egypt