Egyptian flag

War Flag or Navy

The national flag of Egypt was adopted on October 4, 1984. It is a flag made up of three horizontal stripes of the same size, red (the upper one), white (the central one) and black. (the lower one). The red color alludes to the history of the country, it is adopted from the flag that was used during the 19th century, but the origin of the elements of this flag is Ottoman. White represents the 1952 Revolution that allowed the bloodless deposition of King Farouk I and ended with the definitive proclamation of the Republic after overthrowing Fuad II the following year. The color black symbolizes the end of the oppression exerted by British colonialism on the Egyptian people. In the central part of the flag, the coat of arms of Egypt is represented within the white stripe.

History

In the early 19th century, Mehmet Ali, the Ottoman pasha of Egypt, created what can be considered the country's first national flag. It was composed of three crescents (symbol of Islam) with three five-pointed stars to the right of each one, on a red background. There are two possible interpretations of this flag: the first defends that it means the victory of the Egyptian Armies in three continents (Africa, Europe and Asia), while the other theory proposes that it means the sovereignty of Mehmet Ali over Egypt, Nubia and Sudan.

When the United Kingdom made Egypt a protectorate in 1914 (although the British had actually controlled the country since 1882), it did not change the existing flag.

In 1922, the United Kingdom recognized the country's independence, and a new flag was adopted, this time made up of a crescent moon with three stars on a green background.

In 1952, the Movement of Free Officers deposed King Farouk I and a year later definitively proclaimed the Republic. The new government created a new flag, made up of three stripes (red-white-black) like the current one, but the eagle carried a crescent moon and stars.

In 1958 Egypt and Syria joined, forming the United Arab Republic. The flag of the new State was the same as the previous one, but instead of a shield it had two green five-pointed stars (representing the two countries). Although the union broke up in 1961, Egypt continued to use the same flag until January 1, 1972, when a flag very similar to the current one was adopted, but with some small differences in the design of the shield. This flag was in force until the adoption of the current one in 1984.

Historical flags

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  Flag of the Sultanate Mamluk of Egypt (1250-1517)

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  Flag under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, in the nineteenth century.

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  Flag of the Virreinate of Egypt (1831-1914)
  Flag of the British Protector (1914-1922).

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  Flag of the Kingdom of Egypt (1922-1953).

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  Flag of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 (1953-1958).

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  Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1961)
  Flag of Egypt (1961-1972).

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  Flag of Egypt (1972-1984).