Flag of the Arab Revolt


The flag of the Arab Revolt, also known as the flag of Hejaz, was a flag used by the Arab nationalists during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and as the first flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz.

History

It has been suggested that the flag was designed by the British diplomat Sir Mark Sykes, in an effort to create a feeling of "Arab-ness" in order to fuel the revolt. According to Stanford University historian Joshua Teitelbaum, this claim is made both by Sykes' 1923 biographer and by Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi, who in 1918 told Woodrow Wilson that it symbolished Hashemite rule over the Arab world. According to one version, Sykes, keen to challenge the French flag being flown in French-controlled Arab territories, offered several designs to Hussein, who chose the one that was then used.
Although the Arab Revolt was limited in scope and supported by the British, the flag influenced the national flags of a number of emerging Arab states after World War I. Flags inspired by that of the Arab revolt include those of Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Somaliland, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Libya.
The horizontal colors stand for the Abbasid, Umayyad and Fatimid or Rashidun Caliphates. The red triangle has been described as referring to the Hashemite dynasty, or the ashraf of Mecca., his companions and the Abbasid empire, the green represented the Prophet's family, white various Arab rulers, and red the Hashemites.
The Hashemites were allies of the British in the conflict against the Ottoman Empire. After the war ended, the Hashemites achieved or were granted rule in the Hejaz region of Arabia, Jordan, formally known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, briefly in Greater Syria, and Iraq.
Greater Syria was dissolved after only a few months of existence, in 1920. The Hashemites were overthrown in the Hejaz in 1925 by the House of Saud, and in Iraq in 1958 by a coup d'etat, but retained power in Jordan.
A 60 m × 30 m version of the flag currently flies from the Aqaba Flagpole, currently the sixth tallest freestanding flagpole in the world, located in Aqaba, Jordan.

Description

The flag contains the four Pan-Arab colors: black, white, green and red. There are three horizontal stripes: black, green, and white, going down the flag. There is also a red triangle on the hoist side of the flag.