Flag of Iran
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The current flag of Iran was adopted on July 29, 1980, and is a reflection of the changes brought to Iran by the Islamic Revolution. The basic design of the flag is three horizantal bands of green above white above red, symbolizing vigour, peace, and courage. The traditional green, white, and red of the Iranian flag date back to the 18th century, although there is no agreed explanation of the colors. The colors were arranged in horizontal stripes in 1906. In 1980 a new flag was introduced with the additional emblems expressive of the Islamic Revolution. The emblem in the center of the flag is a highly stylized composite of various elements representing different facets of Islamic life: Allah, the Book, the Sword, the five principles of Islam, balance, unity, neutrality, and the universal government of the downtrodden. Along the edges of the green and red stripes appears a stylized version of the Kufic script used for the Qur'an. The phrase Allahu Akbar ("God is Great") is repeated 22 times. This is the date in the Islamic calendar on which Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile in 1979.
This basic design has been used since the beginning of the 20th century. The coat of arms of Iran has been placed in the center of the white band which is meant to have multiple meanings, but is essentially a geometrically-symmetric form of the word Allah as well as overlapping parts of the Islamic phrase "la ilaha illa Allah" (there is no god but God), forming a monogram.
The symbol consists of four crescents and a sword. The four crescents form the word Allah: from right to left the first crescent is the letter 'Aleph', the second one is the letter 'Laam', the sword (straight line) is the second 'Laam', and the third and forth crescents together form the letter 'Heh'. Above the sword (central part) is a tashdid (a diacritical mark for gemination resembling a letter W). The sword represents a powerful and sovereign state. The shape of the emblem is chosen to remind people of a red tulip, for the memory of the (young) people who died for Iran, building on a legendary belief that red tulips grow on the blood of martyrs, valuing patriotism and self-sacrifice. It also bears strong resemblance to ancient Iranian Sassanid art forms usually found on royal crowns and coins. The symbol was designed by Hamid Nadimi, and was officially approved by Ayatollah Khomeini on May 9, 1980.
A further change to the flag following the Revolution has been the addition of writing on the borders between the white, and the green and red bands reading, Allahu Akbar ("God is great"). There are 22 (2x11) copies of this inscription, symbolic of the 22nd day of the 11th month (Bahman) in the Persian calendar — the date of the Islamic revolution (22 Bahman 1357 = February 11, 1979). The addition of this writing renders the flag non-reversible.
Physical requirements for the Iranian flag, the exact shape of the emblem and a compass and straightedge construction are described in the national Iranian standard ISIRI 1 (in Persian).
[edit] The meaning of colors
- Green: Symbol of happiness and glad
- White: Symbol of Peace (Taken from Zoroastrian symbol)
- Red: Symbol of the martyrs blood
These three colors were being used from long time back in Iranian (Persian) symbols. ّFor example in the paintings of a palace in Susa you can see these three colors in this order.
[edit] Historical
Flags, standards and banners have always been important national and imperial symbols for Iranians, both in war and peace. Xenophon tells us that Cyrus the Great's standard was a golden eagle with spread wings mounted on a long shaft. In this use of the eagle motif as a national symbol probably lies the origin of the eagle symbols of such countries as Prussia, Russia, Austria, Poland, France and America in modern times[citation needed], for the Seleucids, Romans and Crusaders all adopted Iranian heraldic motifs.
The best-known symbol of Iran in recent centuries, however, has been the lion and sun motif, which is probably a graphic expression of the astrological configuration of the sun in the sign of Leo, although both celestial and animal figures independently have a long history in Iranian heraldry.
The lion and sun emblem is very ancient, and the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi writes in Shahnameh that it was used by Rostam, the legendary Iranian national hero. Late in the nineteenth century an earlier scimitar motif was combined with the lion and sun and superimposed on a tricolour of green, white and red, and, with minor modifications, this remained the official flag until the revolution of 1979.
[edit] Achaemenid Empire (559–323 BCE)
During the Achaemenid, especially at the time of Cyrus the Great, the Persian Imperial Flag was made of up of a kinglike image, rectangular in shape, split into four equivalent triangles. Each two of these four train triangles had the same colour.
The national Iranian Flag was, however, the same as the Derafshe Kaviani as cited earlier. Since the excavations at Persepolis however, archaeologists have found a standard, depicting a falcon (shahin) with open wings, regarding which the current belief is that this was the official flag of Iran under the reign of Cyrus the Great and his heirs.
[edit] Sassanid Dynasty (224–642 CE)
See main article: Derafsh Kaviani
The Flag at this historical juncture was again made of rectangular leather, covered with a thin layer of silk ornamented with jewels, in the center of which there was a four cornered star, pointing to the four corners of the world. This is the same star referred to as Akhtare Kaviani (the Kaviani star) by Ferdowsi in the epics of Shahnameh (the Book of Kings). This Flag was larger than the original Derafshe Kaviani installed on a long javelin, the tip of which was shown above the flag. At the bottom of this flag there were woven strings of yellow, magenta and scarlet, hanging from them were large jewels. The flag was destroyed by Arabs after the decisive Sassanid defeat against invading Muslim Arabs.
[edit] Islamic Conquest of Iran
The Sassanid empire collapsed with the emergence of an Islamic Empire in the Middle East. Since Islam strictly prohibited figurative or other expressive symbols as idol worship, all the traditional symbology used in Iranian flags was eliminated. Throughout this period there were no fixed flags within Iran and the use of Islamic banners was common.
[edit] Ghaznavid Dynasty (975–1186 CE)
Mahmud of Ghaznavid (998–1030) reinstated the use of symbolic expressions on the Iranian flag. The flag developed by Mahmud contained an inscribed golden moon drawn on a solid black background. Fifty five years later, the moon was replaced by the figure of a lion at the behest of Sultan Mas'ud I, whose decision was merely a reflection of his personal habit of hunting lions. Allegedly The lion and Sun emblem remained a fixture on the Iranian flag from that date onwards until the Iranian revolution in 1979 [1].
A third flag has been attributed to the Ghaznavid Empire, with a silver crescent moon and a peacock on a green field. [2]
 Reconstruction of the flag adopted by Mahmud (998-1030) |
 Reconstruction of the flag adopted by Mas'ud (1030-1186) |
[edit] Khwarezmian Empire (992–1220 CE)
The Khwarezmian Shahs flew a plain black flag.
 Flag of the Khwarezmian Shahs (992-1220) |
[edit] Il-Khanate (1256–1335 CE)
According to the Catalan Atlas, the Il-Khans flew a golden yellow flag with a red square in its centre. The Atlas is not a reliable source, however, so the flag may never have existed.
 Il-Khanate Flag as depicted in the Catalan Atlas. |
[edit] Safavid Dynasty (1502–1736 CE)
Among the Safavids, who ruled Iran over 220 years, only two kings, namely Shah Ismail I and Shah Tahmasp I, did not have the lion and the sun figures on their flags. The former opted for a solid green with a full moon at the top, while the latter replaced the lion with the lamb, which represented his birthday month, Farvardin the first month of the Iranian year (April 19 – March 20) and Hamal in Syriac calendar.
In the remaining years of the Safavid rule, green was the official color of the flag with the lion and the sun emblems gold-embroidered on it.
Although the lion was the inseparable part of the flag throughout the Safavid years, its posture changed many times. Often it appeared in a sitting posture, and occasionally in profile. The sun, too was sometimes attached to the lion and sometimes positioned right above and away from it.
 The Flag of Shah Ismail I (1502-1524) |
 The Flag of Shah Tahmasb I with a lamb (1524-1576) |
 Safavid Flag (1576-1665) |
 Safavid Flag (1665-1722) |
[edit] Afsharid Dynasty (1730–1796 CE)
Nader Shah, the founder of Afsharid dynasty and a self-styled ruler who salvaged Iran from a feudalistic state to form a unified country, made giant military advances toward India and China (on the eastern frontier), Khwarizm and Samarkand (located on the North Eastern part of Persia), and Kirkuk and Bagdad in today’s Iraq. As such, flags, especially military ones, would come to signify a lot during all these grand scale military adventures.
Nader's royal flag was made of yellow and red silk with the traditional sun and lion figures.
Nader also adopted two unadorned flags as imperial standards. One of them, a tricolor of red, blue, and white, also served as the national flag, and was the precursor to the modern Iranian flag. Nader used blue instead of green in order to distance himself from the Safavid dynasty. [3]
 Royal Flag of Nader Shah (1736-1747) |
 Imperial Standard of the Afsharid Dynasty (1736-1796) |
 Imperial Standard and State Flag of the Afsharid Dynasty (1737-1796) |
[edit] Zand Dynasty (1750–1794 CE)
The Zand Dynasty had a triangular white flag with a green border and the Lion and Sun in the centre.
 Zand Dynasty Flag (1750-1794) |
[edit] Qajar Dynasty (1779–1924 CE)
Agha Mohammad Khan, the founding father of the Qajar dynasty, brought about some basic changes in the shape and color combination of the Iranian flag as well. For the first time the shape of the flag was changed from triangular to rectangular. Out of personal vendetta with Nadir Shah whom he had fought against, he ordered the established colors be removed and replaced with a solid red color as the background and a white circle in the middle with the sun and the lion. What was outstandingly different here was a sword placed in the hands of the lion.
Later, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, devised two rather different flags suitable for war and peace purposes. A totally red flag with a sitting lion and the sun on its back served as the war flag; while a green flag with basically the same figures, was used as peace flag. Ironically, the lion on the peace flag was holding the sword.
During Fath Ali Shah's reign a third flag would also be introduced for diplomatic and protocol purposes. This third flag would be white and also utilise the lion and sword. In a painting depicting the Iranian special envoy to the Russian royal court, Abolhassan Shirazi, having audience with Czar, a white flag with the lion, sun and sword figures, is carried by the Iranian delegation. Fath Ali Shah is also credited with the introduction of a crown figure positioned on top of the sun.
At this same time another great flag was introduced by one of the great Qajar bureaucrats, Amir Kabir. The flag he introduced was similar to that of the diplomatic flag of Fath Ali Shah except it was a tricolour and rectangular as opposed to triangular. Amir Kabir's flag contained a ten centimeter green band on top of the white flag and a red band on the bottom. Fath Ali Shah successfully requested that Amir Kabir's flag should not carry an image of the crown that existed on all other state flags at the time.
The tricolour of the Amir Kabir flag eventually became the defacto standard while the Fath Ali Shah flags gradually fell from use.
The Qajar dynasty also saw the Iranian Constitutional Revolution which formalised the state of the Iranian flag. Following the reign of Mozaffar-od Din Shah Qajar the first and second Iranian Parliaments decided in the Article 5 of the constitution that: “the official colors of the Iranian flag are green, white, and red along with the lion and the sun signs.”
However, there was no mention of the sword and no details were determined as to the order of these colors or the location of the signs. This last omission was due to the presence of some Muslim clergies in the Parliament, who would believed that the use of an animated figure on the flag was against Islam. The secular MPs had to resort to some lengthy justifications to convince the Muslim MPs to finally ratify the clause.
It was also decided that the three colours should have symbolic meanings: Green, as the color of Islam, red a symbol of the blood of martyrs, and white the universal symbol of peace and the primary color of the Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of the pre-Islamic Iran. References were also made to the importance Iranian people attach to the month of Mordad, corresponding to Asad in Syrian calendar and Imam Ali’s title (“Asadullah”, the lion of God) creating a form of Islamic justification for the presence of the Lion and Sun.
 The Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan (1779-c.1797) |
 Flag introduced during Fath Ali Shah Qajar's reign. (c.1797-c.1848) |
 The Tricolor Flag of Amir Kabir. (c. 1848-1907) |
.svg/120px-Flag_of_Persia_(1907).svg.png){kind=small} National Flag (1906-1925) and Civil Ensign (1910-1925) |
.svg/120px-Flag_of_Persia_(1910).svg.png){kind=small} State Flag with Lion and Sun (1906-1925) |
[edit] Pahlavi Dynasty (1925–1979 CE)
The Pahlavi Dynasty maintained the same flag as the Qajar Dynasty; however, the Qajar crown riding on the top of the flag was changed to a Pahlavi crown. Furthermore, in 1957, Manouchehr Eghbal, the prime minister of the time, issued a directive setting standards for the flag's exact measurements.
The Imperial Standard consists of a pale-blue field with the official flag in the top corner next to the mast and the Pahlavi coat of arms in the centre. At the top of the coat of arms is the Pahlavi crown, created for the Coronation of Reza Shah the Great in 1926. Beneath is the Imperial Motto:
- "Marā dād farmud, va Khod Dāvar Ast" ("Justice he bids me do, As he will judge me")
.svg/120px-Flag_of_Iran_(1925).svg.png){kind=small} National flag and Civil Ensign (1925-1964) |
.svg/120px-State_Flag_of_Iran_(1925).svg.png){kind=small} State flag (1925-1964) |
.svg/120px-Flag_of_Iran_(1964).svg.png) National flag and Civil Ensign (1964-1980) |
 State flag (1964-1980) |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Iran at Flags of the World
- http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/iran-flag.htm
- http://www.geocities.com/rooyintan/Flags_Persia.html
- http://www.sikh-studies.co.uk/khanda.htm
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