Flag of Iran

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 horizontal 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 20^th 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 Fact|date=July 2008. 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 [http://www.isiri.org/std/1.htm ISIRI 1] (in Persian).

The modern interpretation of colors

*Green: Islamic faith of the people of Iran
*White: Symbol of Peace
*Red: Symbol of the martyrs blood

Historical Flags

Earlier Historical Flags

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.

The best-known symbol of Iran in recent centuries, however, has been the lion and sun motif, which is a graphic expression of the astrological configuration of the sun in the house of Leo, although both celestial and animal figures independently have a long history in Iranian heraldry.

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.

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.

In the excavations at Persepolis, 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.

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.

Islamic 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.

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.

A second flag has been attributed to the Ghaznavid Empire, with a silver crescent moon and a peacock on a green field. [http://flagspot.net/flags/tr_imp.html]

Khwarezmian Empire (992–1220 CE)

The Khwarezmian Shahs flew a plain black flag.

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.

ee also

* Coat of arms of Iran
* Imperial Standards of Iran
* The Lion and Sun

External links

*FOTW|id=ir|title=Iran
* http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/iran-flag.htm
* http://www.geocities.com/rooyintan/Flags_Persia.html
* http://www.iranica.com/articles/v10f1/v10f103a.html