FLAG OF JORDAN: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The flag of Jordan is the national symbol of this Middle Eastern Hashemite kingdom. It is made up of three horizontal stripes of the same size, black, white and green. In addition, in the area of the shaft there is a red triangle containing a white seven-pointed star.

The colors of the Jordanian flag are Pan-Arabs and its composition is clearly inspired by the flag of the Arab Rebellion of 1916. This is the official symbol of the country since 1928 and has not had any changes since then.

Flag of Jordan. (User: SKopp).

Before the existence of Jordan as a state, the territory was occupied by all kinds of empires and caliphates. The current Jordanian territory has been part of large states, prior to the Arab reality that occurred after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, of which it was also part.

The meaning of the colors represents Pan-Arabism. The black stripe represents the Abbasid caliphate, the white stripe the Umayyad, and the green stripe the Fatimid. The red triangle is the one that identifies the Hashemite dynasty and the Arab Rebellion. The seven-pointed star represents the seven verses of the Fatiha, the first chapter of the Qur'an.

History of the flag

Jordan as a state is a recent invention, so its flag was established entirely in the 20th century. However, before that there were different governments for many centuries that flew their flags on behalf of the systems that were maintained.

Although hominids have lived in Jordan for more than 200,000 years, the flags arrived much later. One of the first kingdoms proper to the region known as Transjordan were the Ammonites, Edomites and Moabites. These kingdoms clashed with the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judea in the 9th century BC. Later, the region was dominated by Assyrians and Babylonians.

Achaemenid Empire

The fall of the Babylonians was motivated by the invasion of Cyrus the Great, who established a great Persian empire. This received the name of the Achaemenid Empire and its power extended from 538 BC to 333 BC.

This new and great state occupied practically the entire Middle East, in addition to Persia. One of the main symbols was the banner of Cyrus the Great. Its background color was reddish garnet and above it, the main symbol was a large yellow bird.

Banner of Cyrus the Great in the Achaemenid Empire. (Sodacan, from Wikimedia Commons).

Stone Arabia

The invasion of the Macedonian Alexander the Great ended the Persian rule in the area in 332 BC However, this emperor died in 323 BC, and the territory was divided. The Nabataeans, Arab nomads, settled in the south of the territory creating an independent kingdom that became an important commercial hub in the area.

Finally, this monarchy gave way to the Roman conquest in 106 BC, led by the Emperor Trajan. Since then the Roman rule began. A group of ten cities, including Amman, were awarded the status of Decalópolis by the Roman authorities.

The territory was constituted as Arabia Petraea, one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. This covered the entire area formerly occupied by the Nabataeans, as well as the Sinai Peninsula and the northern Arabian Peninsula.

Vexillum of the Roman Empire

The Roman provinces did not maintain symbols individually. The empire also did not have a flag to formally identify it, but it did have a vexillum. This was a banner that was arranged vertically along a flagpole.

The colors of the vexillum were garnet and gold and had the inscription SPQR, which meant Senate and Roman People. This was a reference to the unity of the government with the people.

Vexillum of the Roman Empire. (Ssolbergj)

Subsequently, the Roman Empire converted to Christianity in 390 AD and was divided into the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. Transjordan continued in the eastern half, which was transformed into the Byzantine Empire. However, the Sassanid Empire attacked this territory until it ended up controlling it.

Sassanid empire

Also known as the Neo-Persian Empire, the Sassanid Empire dominated the entire Middle East for almost 400 years and was the great rival of the Byzantines. Since the 4th century it was consolidated in the Transjordan area. This was the last great Persian empire before that area was Islamized.

One of the most important banners of this empire kept a red frame within which a purple square was found. Four yellow X-shaped figures were imposed on it, accompanied by four circles in each triangle formed.

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

Gasanids

Byzantine rule in Transjordan did not imply the exclusivity of Christian rule in the region. The Gasanid kingdom was a patronage and puppet state of the Byzantine Empire. Although it was founded by exiles from Yemen, its conversion to Christianity blossomed an alliance with the empire.

The Gasanids remained faithful in the fight against the Arabs and the Persians. Its flag consisted simply of a red flag.

Flag of the Gasanid Kingdom. (220-638). (from Himasaram).

Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate

By 629, the Byzantines and Gasanids were defeated by an attack by the Rashidun Caliphate at the Battle of Mu'tah. Finally, the Byzantines were overtaken by the Muslims in 636, initiating Islamic rule in Transjordan.

In this way, the Rashidun Caliphate came to take power, but was quickly succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate, between 661 and 750. This new regime promoted the construction of different types of castles. Subsequently, the Abbasid Caliphate took power in 750, after defeating the Umayyad.

The Abbasid Caliphate remained until the arrival of the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate and the subsequent start of the Crusades. His flag was a black cloth.

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

Fatimid caliphate

In the 10th century, the Fatimid Caliphate arrived in Transjordan. This consisted of a Shiite regime that had spread across North Africa and ascended to the Middle East. The state maintained a strong presence in and around Egypt.

The Fatimid power in Transjordan was late, when it was imposed in 969. Later, different attacks, especially from Saladin, caused the caliphate to fall. The flag they used was a white cloth, which was opposed to the black Abbasid.

Flag of the Fatimid Caliphate. (Ham105).

Kingdom of Jerusalem

Christianity in Europe was forced to rescue the Holy Land where Jesus Christ had been born and lived from different Islamic domains. The crusades were military movements led from European kingdoms to take control of this area. Although the largest occupied territory was west of the Jordan River in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, from 1099 Transjordan was also occupied.

In the territory the Lordship of Transjordan was formed, which was nothing more than a vassal state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This lordship was maintained between 1118 and 1187. The flag of the Kingdom of Jerusalem consisted of a white cloth that included in its central part a yellow Jerusalem cross.

Flag of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. (Ec. Domnowall)

Ayyubid Dynasty and Mamluk Sultanate

Saladin's troops fought hard against the crusader state, weakening its power until after the Battle of Hattin Transjordan was lost. Saladin, head of the Ayyubid dynasty, was the one who took control, before which the region quickly became Islamized again.

The flag that the Ayyubid dynasty used consisted of a yellow cloth.

Flag of the Ayyubid dynasty. (Ch1902).

The consolidation of Islamic power in Transjordan only came after the Mamluk invasion of the entire region. Then Transjordan became part of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which divided it into two provinces: Karak and Damascus. The Mamluks had to face different invasions such as the Mongol.

The flag of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was also yellow, but at its far right it had two points outlined in a circle. On the left side, the flag featured a white crescent, representative of Islam.

Flag of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. (Original: ProducerVector: Ryucloud).

Ottoman empire

Few empires have been as strong in the Middle East as the Ottomans were. In the year 1516, the Ottoman Caliphate conquered the former Mamluk territories. The region became an epicenter of Bedouin Arabs before the consent of the Ottoman regime on the territory.

Faced with attacks from different factions, Transjordan became a complicated and anarchic scene. This manifested itself with special force many centuries after the conquest, especially in the 19th century. Between 1803 and 1812 the Wahhabi Islamists held the region under control. The conflicts also manifested themselves in peasant revolts.

First of all, Transjordan belonged to the vilayet of Syria from 1864, as part of the Ottoman Empire. Regardless of that, there were many flags that the Ottoman Empire flew.

In the first place, these were made up of the color green, but it was not until 1844 when a flag was officially established for the empire. Its color was red on which a white crescent and star was placed.

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

Fall of the Ottoman Empire

The end of the First World War brought the end of empires in Europe and also in Asia. One of the main losers was the Ottoman Empire, which in addition to disintegrating lost all its dominions, including those of the Middle East.

In 1916 there was the Arab Rebellion, which was an attempt led by the Sherif of Mecca to form a large Arab state that spanned from Syria to the south of the Arabian peninsula.

After this movement there was the partition of the region by the European powers, especially France and the United Kingdom. This generated the creation of new previously non-existent frontiers.

United Arab Kingdom of Syria

In 1920 the first Arab state was formed in Transjordan. His character was completely ephemeral, surviving just four months. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, Sharif Hussein's troops arrived in Damascus in the framework of the Arab Rebellion, which established the beginning of the United Arab Kingdom of Syria. The end of this system came with the French invasion at the Battle of Maysalun.

This brief state featured a flag. This is very similar to the current flag, although the order of the stripes showed differences. His clear inspiration was the flag of the Arab Rebellion. The colors became black, green and in the lower band, white. The flag was the first used officially to represent Transjordan.

Flag of the United Arab Kingdom of Syria. (1920). (Ch1902).

Emirate of Transjordan

From Transjordan the refusal of the European powers to form an Arab state was viewed with rejection. Abdulá Hussein established as of April 11, 1921 the Emirate of Transjordan in a territory that had been anarchized. The British eventually accepted the new Hashemite king of Transjordan and eventually recognized him as an ally.

Autonomy was also reflected in the approval of a new flag in 1928. This is the same current flag, but with other dimensions, especially in the extension of the red triangle located on the flagpole.

Flag of the Emirate of Transjordan. (1928-1946). (SKopp).

Part of the British Mandate of Palestine

The Emirate of Transjordan was consolidated by joining the League of Nations as part of the British Mandate for Palestine. However, the level of self-government in the region on the east bank of the Jordan River was different.

On land, the most prominent symbol was the Union Jack. On the Mediterranean coasts a colonial flag typical of the British Mandate was used, but this was never presented in Transjordan.

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The independence of Jordan was slow in coming, as it was not consolidated until the end of World War II. The signing of the Treaty of London on March 22, 1946 consummated this fact, when the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan became independent. In 1949, the name was shortened to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Throughout the independent life the same flag of 1928 was continued to be used

Meaning of the flag

Pan-Arabism is the lynchpin of the Jordanian flag. This symbol is inspired by that of the Arab Revolt and the union of all those colors can be a representative of the unity between the different Arab countries.

Specifically, the Jordanian flag has historical significance, as each strip represents a caliphate from the past. The black strip is the one that identifies the Abbasid Caliphate, as its flag was at the time. The Umayyad dynasty is represented with the color white and the Fatimid Caliphate did the same in green. Also, the color red is related to the ruling Hashemite dynasty.

The seven-pointed star is the other most prominent element of this national pavilion. In theory, this star would also represent unity in the Arab people. However, its meaning is primarily religious.

The seven points represent the seven verses of the Fatiha, which is the first chapter of the sacred text of Islam, the Qur'an. These are constituted in God, humility, virtue, aspiration, social justice, national spirit and humanity.

References

King Abdullah II. (sf). Hashemite Flags. King Abdullah II. Recovered from kingabdullah.jo.
Rogan, E. and Tell, T. (1994). Village, Steppe and State: The Social Origins of Modern Jordan. British Academic Press. 37-47. Recovered from books.google.com.
Robins, P. (2004). A history of Jordan. Cambridge University Press.
Smith, W. (2018). Flag of Jordan. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.
The Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. (sf). Flag of Jordan. The Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Recovered from.jordanembassyus.org.

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