FLAG OF IRAQ: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The flag of Iraq is the national flag of this West Asian republic. It is composed of three horizontal stripes of equal size; the upper one is red, the middle white and the lower one, black. In the white strip there is an inscription in Arabic that reads Allahu Akbar (Allah is greater), in green.

Historically, the flags that have been flown on Iraqi territory have been numerous. Some came with the Ottoman Empire, as well as the different Persian dynasties. However, the first flag of Iraq arrived in 1921 with the founding of the Kingdom of Iraq, which kept the Pan-Arab colors.

Iraq flag. (Unknown, published by Iraqi governemt, vectorized by User: Militaryace based on the work of User: Hoshie, via Wikimedia Commons).

The current design of the flag corresponded to the Baath Party, which came to power after a coup in 1963. Since then, the flag has been modified four times and in the last one different proposals were developed that were discarded.

The colors of the Iraqi flag are Pan-Arabs, and therefore represent the unity of all the nations of this region. Due to its inscription in Arabic, the flag is raised with the pole on the right side, because the aliphate is read from right to left.

History of the flag

The current borders of Iraq were defined after the First World War. Before that, present-day Iraq belonged for centuries to a historical region: Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire by which the country was ruled finally dissolved under Persian and Greek control. It was at this time that the Sassanid Empire began to rule, which was the last Persian before the conquest of Islam, and remained in the third century.

Flag of the Sassanid Empire. (Oneasy, from Wikimedia Commons).

Conversion to Islam

Most of the population began to become Muslim through conquest. These became the formation of the Rashidun caliphate in the 7th century. This was succeeded by the Umayyad caliphate, and finally, in the eighteenth century, the Abbasid caliphate was created, which moved its capital from Damascus to Baghdad.

Flag of the Abbasid Caliphate. (PavelD, from Wikimedia Commons).

Ilkanato

In 1258 there was a Mongol invasion that put an end to the caliphate, which was replaced by the Ilkhanate, one of the four divisions of the Mongol Empire.

This state, although it embraced Buddhism and Christianity at first, declared itself Muslim in its governing structures over time. Their flag was a yellow cloth with a red square in the middle.

Ilkhanate flag. (Orange Tuesday, from Wikimedia Commons).

Dynastic successors

The Ilkhanate fell in the 14th century, which led to the current Iraqi territory being ruled by Mongol dynasties such as the Yalayerí, who faced the first Turkmen tribes such as the Kara Koyunlu dynasty. The flag of the latter was light blue on which a black silhouette was positioned.

Flag of the Kara Koyunlu dynasty. (Törə Bəy Türkman, from Wikimedia Commons).

One of the successors of this state was one of the most important empires of the time: the Timurid Empire, which spread throughout Central Asia from the late 14th to the early 16th century. Its flag was a black cloth on which three red circles were placed.

Flag of the Timurid Empire. (User: Stannered, via Wikimedia Commons).

However, in Iraqi territory after the Kara Koyunlu dynasty the Ak Koyunlu tribal federation, also known as the Turkmen of the White Sheep, was formed. Their flag was also a blue cloth with a white symbol superimposed.

Ak Koyunlu flag. (Sir Iain, via Wikimedia Commons).

Ottoman empire

Most of present-day Iraqi territory was dominated by the Kara Koyunlu and the Ak Koyunlu in the 14th and 15th centuries. As early as the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire was extended enough to consolidate its rule in ancient Mesopotamia. These were constituted in the Eyalet of Baghdad, but later it was divided into three provinces or vilayets: Mosul, Baghdad and Basra.

In the Ottoman Empire numerous symbols were used, with a lax officiality. Most of these had the crescent on green backgrounds with yellow tones.

This was changing over time until red and white began to predominate. This is how the flag of the Ottoman Empire was approved in 1844, consisting of a white crescent and star on a red background.

Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1844-1920). (By Kerem Ozca (en.wikipedia.org), via Wikimedia Commons).

Safavid dynasty

Although the Ottomans controlled most of the territory, the neighboring Safavid dynasty, who were Muslims who controlled Persia, occupied Iraqi territory in several short periods of the fourteenth (1508-1533) and fifteenth (1622-1638) centuries. In addition, they maintained control over part of the eastern part of present-day Iraq.

The Persian symbols were clear. A green background flag was established. These emblems varied according to the king who was ruling at the time. Tahmasp I, one of the most important and long-lived, established a sun and a sheep on the green background. This symbol remained until 1576.

Flag of the Safavid dynasty under the reign of Tahmasp I. (1524-1576). (Mysid, via Wikimedia Commons).

Later, Ismaíl II replaced the sheep with a lion. Over time, this became the characteristic symbol of Persia and future Iran. Glory is one of the main representations of this symbol.

Flag of the Safavid dynasty under the reign of Ismail II. (1576-1732). (Safavid_Flag.png: Orange Tuesday (talk) The original uploader was Orange Tuesday at English Wikipedia.derivative work: Himasaram, via Wikimedia Commons).

British Mandate

The Ptoman Empire actively participated in World War I as part of the central powers. During the conflict, the British Empire, which was fighting for the Allies, occupied the Ottoman provinces of present-day Iraq. Although in the first instance they were defeated, finally the British made effective control of the territory.

After the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire was dissolved. At first it was proposed to create a British Mandate of Mesopotamia under orders of the League of Nations. Either way, the mandate was established, but for this the British imposed as king of nascent Iraq the Hashemite Faisal I.

The borders of Iraq were established arbitrarily, without taking into account ethnic differences or the will of the Kurdish north or the Assyrians for self-determination.

First Iraqi flag

From the beginning, a flag was established for the country, with the colors that would be known as Pan-Arabs. It consisted of three horizontal stripes of black, white and green with a red triangle on the side of the shaft. This was inspired by the flag of the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) against the Ottoman Empire.

Flag of Kingdom of Iraq. (1921-1924) and the Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan (1958). (Orange Tuesday, via Wikimedia Commons).

In 1924, the flag underwent its most important modification. The red triangle ceased to be such, becoming two-pointed when forming a trapezoid. Inside it were placed two white six-point stars, one on top of the other.

Iraq flag. (1924-1959). (By Zscout370 via Wikimedia Commons).

Kingdom of Iraq

Independence took a long time to materialize. In 1921, the monarch was legitimized through a plebiscite, but it was not until 1932 when the independence of the Kingdom of Iraq was formally produced.

This new state kept the same flag that was used during the British mandate. In addition, this Sunni monarchy faced political instability and during World War II had a brief pro-Nazi rule fought by the Allies. Subsequently, Iraq and became a member of the Arab League and the United Nations.

Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan

The Iraqi Hashemite monarchy had much in common with the Jordanian. In 1958, Syria and Egypt joined in a federation called the United Arab Republic. In response, both Hashemite monarchies were united in the Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan.

This federation was short-lived, since in the same 1958 a revolution took place that deposed the monarchy in Iraq. The flag they used was the very first Iraqi flag, tricolor with the triangle on the side of the flagpole.

July 14 Revolution

The Hashemite monarchy of Iraq saw its end after the Revolution of July 14, 1958. Officers of the 19th Brigade under the leadership of Abd al-Karim Qasim and Abdul Salam Arif carried out a coup that proclaimed a republic, in turn nullifying the union with Jordan.

After the regime change, a new flag was adopted in the country. This consisted of a tricolor of three vertical stripes of black, white and green. In the central part, a red eight-pointed star with a yellow circle in the middle was added to represent Kurdistan, whose symbol is the sun.

Furthermore, the star was used to represent Iraqi historical heritage, as well as the Assyrian minority. The flag is still used today by the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq.

Flag of the Republic of Iraq. (1958-1963). (Orzetto ~ commonswiki (first-uploaded file version), AnonMoos, etc., from Wikimedia Commons).

1963 coup

In 1963, Abd al-Karim Qasim was assassinated and deposed. In this way, the Baath Arab Socialist Party came to power in Iraq. The appointed prime minister was General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. A new symbology, which is still preserved, was established at that historical moment.

The flag chosen at that time was a tricolor of equal horizontal stripes. Its colors were red, white and black and in the central part three green five-pointed stars were added.

This flag was practically the same as the United Arab Republic, made up of Syria and Egypt. The objective was the incorporation of Iraq to a future federative project. Syria, for its part, adopted the same flag.

In the absence of hope for Arab reunification and the establishment of an authoritarian regime led by Saddam Hussein, the meaning of the stars changed. From 1986 it went on to represent the elements of the Baath Party motto: union, freedom and socialism.

Flag of the Republic of Iraq. (1958-1963). (Orzetto ~ commonswiki (first-uploaded file version), AnonMoos, etc., from Wikimedia Commons).

Saddam Hussein calligraphy

The authoritarian drift of the Baath Party was transformed into a personalist dictatorship headed by Saddam Hussein. Since 1979 the dictator implanted a regime that maintained tense relations with his neighbors and that took his mark on any aspect of public life.

The dictator invaded neighboring Kuwait, claiming historical ties that would unite him to Iraq, and for that reason he was isolated by the international community.

In 1991 the flag changed. To it was added the inscription Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest), known as takbīr in Arabic. This text was written in the calligraphy of the dictator Saddam Hussein himself.

The adoption of this flag responded to an attempt by Hussein to rebuild ties with religious leaders after the 1991 invasion of Kuwait. When the inscription is read from right to left, the flag is raised with the flagpole on the right side.

Flag of the Iraqi Republic. (1991-2004). (From openclipart.org, by Lauris Kaplinski., Via Wikimedia Commons).

Change after the US invasion

A coalition led by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq in 2003. This led to the overthrow of the Hussein government and the start of the Iraq war, which continues today. A new flag became necessary to replace the dictator's calligraphy and the symbol related to the Baath Party.

The Iraqi transitional government received different pressures to change the flag. Some groups, like the Kurds, chose to remove any pan-Arab traces from the Iraqi flag. Others, on the other hand, did not identify the flag as a symbol of Hussein as it was prior to his dictatorship.

In April 2004, the Iraqi Governing Council announced a new flag for the country that broke with tradition and was the product of a contest with 30 options. Its designer was the Iraqi artist and architect Rifat Chadirji.

The symbol generated strong opposition from religious groups who saw in it an American imposition, in addition to having linked the blue of the flag with Israel. The design darkened its tones in April 2004 and was planned as a temporary flag, until the adoption of a definitive one.

Flag proposed in 2004

The controversial flag was a mostly white cloth with a stylized crescent moon in the center, colored a pale blue. Two horizontal blue stripes separated by a yellow one were positioned at the bottom. The crescent represents Islam and its color represents the Turkmen community.

The blue stripes are identified with the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, while the yellow is the one that is identified with the Kurds. The white color, predominant in the proposed flag, is the symbol of purity. The flag was never adopted after criticism.

Iraq flag proposal. (2004). (Member of Coalition Provisional Authority, from Wikimedia Commons).

Calligraphy change

Faced with the opposition of changing the flag to the one designed by Chadirji, on August 5 a new flag was made official. His only change was from Saddam Hussein's calligraphy to Kufic calligraphy. In it the takbīr was kept: Allahu Akbar.

Flag of the Republic of Iraq. (2004-2008). (CIA. Users Vispec, Urmas, Kookaburra, Dbenbenn and Nightstallion have previously improved this image., Via Wikimedia Commons).

Adoption of the current flag

Nonconformity with the Iraqi temporary flag continued. In 2008, the Council of Representatives approved a new design, in the interest of continuing to replace the symbols of the Baath Party. Before the formalization of the act, several designs were proposed.

One of the main groups critical of the flag was the Kurds. They proposed a flag that did not include the three green stars and would instead add a green eight-pointed star with a yellow circle in the middle of the takbīr.

Iraq flag proposal with green star. (2008). (Abjiklam. Source code from this image, from Wikimedia Commons).

Finally, in January 2008 the Council of Representatives approved the current flag. It simply removed the three stars, leaving only the takbīr in Kufic calligraphy. The approved design should have been temporary and in effect for only one year, but there have been no changes since.

New proposals

In July 2008, the Iraqi Parliament held a competition to design a new flag, from which six designs were chosen. However, the competition never had a winner.

Another of the proposals that were presented for the inclusion of the Kurds was to keep the same flag from 2004 but changing the color of the takbīr to yellow. This tonality would represent the Kurds, but it was not carried out either.

Proposed Iraqi flag with the takbīr in yellow. (2008). (Abjiklam. Source code from this image, from Wikimedia Commons).

The flag is still not a closed matter and from 2012 onwards, new initiatives have been organized that may lead to the construction of a new national symbol.

Meaning of the flag

Pan-Arabism is the main element of this flag. Its existence corresponds to the origin of the flag in the Arab Rebellion and the combination of these four colors represents the unity between the Arab peoples and states.

However, the origin of the colors can be attributed to the different Islamic dynasties. Red is the color of the Hashemite dynasty, while white is that of the Umayya dynasty. That of the Fatimid Caliphate would respond to the green color, but the black would be identifying the Abbasid Caliphate.

In another interpretation, red would be the symbol of the fight for freedom. As is customary for flags, white would represent peace, as well as a bright future. Green is the color of Islam, which is why it receives great preponderance as it is present in the flag right in the religious message.

References

Agence France Press. (September 24, 2012). Iraq aims to unite with new national anthem, flag. The Daily Star. Recovered from dailystar.com.lb.
BBC News. (April 27, 2004). Iraqis unimpressed by flag design. BBC News. Recovered from news.bbc.co.uk.
Charif, C. (January 15, 2008). Iraq's new flag half satisfies everyone. Radio Netherlands. Recovered from radionetherlands.nl.
Davis, E. (2005). Memories of state: Politics, history, and collective identity in modern Iraq. Univ of California Press.
Garrels, A. (January 12, 2008). Iraq to Restore Former Baath Party Followers. NPR. Recovered from npr.org.
Reuters. (January 22, 2008). Iraq launches its flag, but only for one year. The country. Recovered from elpais.com.
Smith, W. (2015). Flag of Iraq. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.
Traboulsi, F. (nd). The New Iraqi Flag. An exercise in identity manipulation. Bidoun. Recovered from bidoun.org.
Tripp, C. (2002). A history of Iraq. Cambridge University Press.

FLAG OF IRAQ: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025