FLAG OF LEBANON: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The flag of Lebanon is the national symbol of this republic of the Middle East. It is made up of two horizontal red stripes that occupy a quarter of the flag each and are located at the upper and lower ends. The central strip is white and in the middle of it a green cedar is positioned.

For centuries, the current territory of Lebanon was occupied by different empires and kingdoms. Christianization and later Islamization was also reflected in the symbols. The first of them that corresponded to Lebanon was during the autonomy of Mount Lebanon in the Ottoman Empire.

Flag of Lebanon. (Traced based on the CIA World Factbook with some modification done to the colors based on information at Vexilla mundi.).

Cedar is the symbol of Lebanon, and came to the flag with the beginning of French rule after the First World War. The tree represents eternity, hope, and endurance, among other meanings. The color red was added with independence in 1943 and is identified with spilled blood, while white would be peace.

History of the flag

The present territory of Lebanon has been populated at least since Antiquity. It has always stood out in the region for the presence of its natural resources. One of the most relevant groups at this time were the Phoenicians, who around 1200 BC founded one of the most outstanding civilizations in the Mediterranean.

Its alphabet, commercial and navigational capabilities made this civilization stand out for centuries. His interests were mainly concentrated on the coast and the sea. It is estimated that one of the flags they could use was a bicolor with two vertical stripes of blue and red.

Flag of Phenicia. (Gustavo ronconi),

Achaemenid Empire

Phenicia was threatened by great empires that began to conquer the Middle East. Although the Babylonians came first, they were followed by the Persians. The invasion came from the Achaemenid Empire, led by the Persian Cyrus the Great. Their dominance on the Mediterranean coasts ended after the invasion of Alexander the Great around the 3rd century BC.

Cyrus the Great maintained a characteristic banner. In garnet color it was possible to distinguish a bird with open wings in yellow.

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

Following the invasion of Alexander the Great, the Seleucid Empire conquered the area. This Hellenic empire did not last long, because the Romans prevailed in the region in the 1st century BC.

Roman empire

Roman rule on this coast was consolidated from the 1st century BC. Lebanon belonged to the Roman province of Syria. Later and after the emergence of Christianity, the region was Christianized from the second century.

The Roman Empire did not maintain a specific flag. However, it did have a vexillum. This was a banner that stretched vertically. Its main color was garnet and the most important symbol was imposed on it: SPQR, which meant Senate and Roman People.

Vexillum of the Roman Empire. (Ssolbergj)

Byzantine and Sasanian Empire

After the division of the Roman Empire in 390, the current Lebanon became part of the Byzantine Empire or the Eastern Roman Empire. Christianity continued to strengthen in Lebanon in the 4th centuries thanks to the spread led by a monk named Maron. Thus, the Maronites began to be persecuted.

Control of the Byzantine Empire would fall in 619 with the arrival of the Persians in the Sassanid Empire. Dominion in this area lasted only ten years. Its flag kept a purple field with a red border. Inside the central part a kind of yellow X was imposed.

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

Caliphates

The Arab occupation of territories considered sacred to Christians led to the emergence of the Crusades, which were European military outposts to reconquer the region.

The current Lebanon was the protagonist in the first crusade. Its southern half was part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the main Crusader state founded in 1099. The northern part, on the other hand, was part of the County of Tripoli, a crusader vassal state.

The contact of the French in the Crusades with the Maronite Christians led the latter to join the Catholic Church. That made Lebanon an exception, having Catholic Christians who were not subordinate to local or Byzantine patriarchs.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem had a white cloth for its flag. Above it and imposingly in the central part a yellow Jerusalem cross was added.

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

Instead, the County of Tripoli kept a red shield on which the silhouette of a cross in gold was imposed.

Coat of arms of the County of Tripoli. (He leaves).

Mamluk Sultanate

Christian rule in the area came to an end after the invasion of the Mamluk Sultanate in the 13th century. This returned Lebanon to Muslim control. The Lebanese coasts began to be profitable for the shipping trade. The Mamluks remained in the area until the 16th century.

The rompers had a yellow flag. In its right part it was closed through two points in the shape of a semicircle. The body of the flag also included a white crescent, a symbol of Islam.

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

Emirate of Mount Lebanon

Sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks in 1516, making Greater Syria a part of the Ottoman Empire. The following year, the Sultan appointed a Sunni Turkmen from the Assaf clan as governor of Beirut and Tripoli. This government was unable to control Druze and Shiite areas.

For the 16th century, Mount Lebanon takes on a new meaning, since the Emirate of Mount Lebanon was founded, an equal part of the Ottoman Empire, but with autonomy and without being part of another province, as it is mostly Maronite and Druze.

Due to commercial influence, Italian was one of the main languages spoken, although the French continued to have great influence, especially in the Christian missions. First of all, the ruling dynasty was the Maan.

The emirs of the Maan dynasty had a square flag. This was divided into two triangular parts, colored white and red. Between them a green laurel wreath was positioned.

Flag of the Maan dynasty in the Emirate of Mount Lebanon. (Gustavo ronconi).

Chehab dynasty

In 1697 the last Emir Maan died without male offspring, before the Ottomans gave an allied family, the Chehab, power. These remained at the head of the emirate until 1842. In the same way as the previous dynasty, the Chehab led a political regime close to Europe.

The Chehab were Sunni Muslims, which generated tensions with the Druze, who felt at a disadvantage compared to the Maronites. The religion of the dynasty was reflected in its flag. This consisted of a light blue cloth with a white crescent in the center.

Flag of the Chehab dynasty of the Emirate of Mount Lebanon. (Gustavo ronconi).

Province of the Ottoman Empire

The Chehab dynasty was relieved by the Ottoman Empire and the situation between Maronites and Druze was at risk of war around 1840. As Lebanon was an influential region for Europe, the Western powers supported the constitution of a dual prefectural regime, to divide the territory in the north for the Maronites and the south for the Druze. Given the existence of mixed religious settlements, the plan was not carried out and the Ottoman troops intervened.

Between 1840 and 1860, different massacres of the Maronites were perpetrated by the Druze. Again, the European powers forced the Ottoman Empire to create an autonomous province of Mount Lebanon in 1861. The governor of this province had to be a Christian.

Being an integral part of the structure of the Ottoman Empire, this province began to use its flag, approved in 1844. It consisted of a red cloth with the white crescent and star superimposed.

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

Greater Lebanon State

From the beginning of the 20th century a Lebanese national identity began to develop. That translated into the need to visualize it through a flag. Politicians such as Shucri el-Khoury proposed as early as 1907 to add the cedar of Lebanon to the Ottoman flag as a symbol of recognition of the privileges of this state. He himself proposed in 1913 the Lebanese flag, which would be a white cloth on which a green cedar would be imposed.

World War I marked the end of the Ottoman Empire. Its collapse implied an occupation of Lebanese territory by British and French forces. Shucri el-Khoury continued to propose a Lebanese flag, glorifying the eternal cedar, but relating it to two new colors: the blue and red of the French flag.

El-Khoury proposed this design in recognition of France for being the liberator and guardian of the independence of Lebanon. However, between 1818 and 1819 the white flag with the cedar in the center was raised in Lebanon.

Adoption of the tricolor flag

On May 30, 1919, the French military administrator of Lebanon recognized that from different institutions white flags with cedars were being raised next to the French flag.

In addition, he validated the Lebanese yearnings for independence, although he admitted that the use of the French tricolor was a popular request for an annexation or at least a protectorate.

French power continued to spread over time. In 1920 the independence of Syria was proclaimed, whose territorial limits excluded Lebanon. On March 22, 1920, a demonstration was held in the then Lebanese capital of Baabda to demand the incorporation of the French tricolor flag with the cedar as a symbol.

Finally, the flag was officially adopted in 1926 with the approval of the constitution. Article 5 of this fundamental norm established the definition of the flag of the Lebanese Republic, still under French sovereignty. The flag was kept until 1943.

Flag of the State of the French Greater Lebanon and of the Lebanese Republic. (1920-1943). (Ch1902).

Lebanese Republic

World War II precipitated Lebanese independence. The French Vichy Government, which was on the side of the Axis Powers, took possession of Lebanon. Faced with the threat of the Nazis, British forces occupied the territory. Later Charles de Gaulle visited him and promised independence.

Following the 1943 elections, the new Lebanese government unilaterally abolished the French mandate. The occupying power arrested the entire government, and in these events the flag was created. Finally, the French liberated the government a few weeks later and accepted the country's independence.

Creation of the Lebanese flag

In the framework of this process, the Lebanese flag was modified in the final months of 1943. Following a proposal by seven deputies in parliament, article 5 of the constitution was modified to establish three horizontal bands on the flag. In this way, the smaller red stripes were added at the ends, leaving the white one in the center with the cedar.

The insurrectionary climate during the declaration of the end of the French mandate and the suspension of the constitution marked the creation of the flag. This would have been quickly formed by a member of parliament spontaneously and was welcomed by seven of his colleagues. The created sketch was signed by the deputies.

Sketch of the flag of Lebanon signed by deputies. (1943). (Created by a group of Lebanese Officials).

According to the founder of the Lebanese Phalanges, Pierre Gemayel, the flag would have been adopted after the proposal of his party. This would have been inspired by the color red, by the Kaisites, and white, by the Yemenites, which would have been historically in dispute.

Gemayel presented this proposal, designed by Henri Philippe Pharaoun, to the deputies, who ended up approving the constitutional reform.

This has been the Lebanese flag since independence. It is still considered today a symbol of unity among the Lebanese regardless of their religion or ethnicity.

Meaning of the flag

Cedar is the quintessential symbol of Lebanon. Their presence is a representation of Mount Lebanon and the geography of the country. It is, in turn, representative of eternity, peace and sanctity, as well as the longevity that the country should have. There are references to cedar in the Bible, as well as in much later literature.

The green color of the cedar also represents hope and freedom. Being a tree, it identifies with an element that is always present and has witnessed the past but remains for the future. Resistance is also associated with cedar, for its strength against shocks.

On the other hand, the colors of the flag have a traditional and a specific representation. White is associated with purity and peace, while red is associated with Lebanese blood spilled to maintain the country.

However, and according to the conception of the Lebanese Phalanges, it could be the union between the Kaisites, identified with red, and the Yemenites or Maronites, with white.

References

Antonuccio, P. (director). (1980). Lebanon: the absurd war.. Venezuela: Andrés Bello Catholic University.
Charaf, J. (2004). Histoire du drapeau libanais. Male. 92-98. Recovered from archive.org.
Hiro, D. (1993). Lebanon: Fire and embers. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Recovered from dentistwoodgreen.co.uk.
Moussalem, C. (November 20, 2018). Le drapeau du Liban, between histoire et symboles. Le Petit Journal. Recovered from lepetitjournal.com.
Nantes, J. (1964). History of Lebanon. Editorial Oceánidas: Caracas, Venezuela; Madrid Spain.
Salmán, S. (1982). Lebanon during the Druze mandate. Editorial Lisbona: Caracas, Venezuela; Madrid Spain.
Smith, W. (2015). Flag of Lebanon. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.

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