List of Egyptian flags

This is a list of flags used by and in Egypt. For more information about the national flag, visit the article Flag of Egypt.

National flags[]

Date	Use	Description
1984 – present	Current national flag (adopted by Law No. 144 of 1984)	Tricolour made of three equal horizontal bands—coloured red (top), white (middle) and black (bottom)—with the golden Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band.^[1]
1972 – 1984	Flag of Egypt as part of the Federation of Arab Republics (adopted by Law No. 3 of 1971)	Tricolour made of three equal horizontal bands—coloured red (top), white (middle) and black (bottom)—with the golden Hawk of Quraysh centered in the white band.^[1]
1958 – 1972	Flag of Egypt as part of the United Arab Republic (adopted by Law by Resolution No. 12 of 1958)	Tricolour made of three equal horizontal bands—coloured red (top), white (middle) and black (bottom)—with two five-pointed green stars in the white band, symbolizing Egypt and Syria.^[2]
1952 – 1958	Flag of the Egyptian Revolution and the Republic of Egypt	Following the Revolution of 1952, the Free Officers retained the flag of the Kingdom, but also introduced the Arab Liberation flag of red, white, and black horizontal bands, with the emblem of the Revolution, the Eagle of Saladin, in the center band, with a green escutcheon with a white crescent and five stars.
1923 – 1958	Flag of the Kingdom of Egypt and the Co-Official Flag of the Arab Republic of Egypt (adopted by Law No. 47 of 1923)	Green flag with a white crescent containing three five-pointed white stars.^[3]

Standards[]

Presidential standards[]

Throughout the republican era, the Standard of the President of Egypt has been identical to the national flag, with the addition of the coat of arms (eagle or hawk) in the upper-left corner.^[1] Even though the Constitution of Egypt states that the President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (article 150), the flag of the Supreme Commander differs from the Presidential Standard. It is identical to the national flag, with the addition in the upper-left corner of a white Eagle of Saladin contained between two crossed swords. The Supreme Commander also has his own naval ensign, air force flag and air defence flag. Military ordinances state that the flags of the Supreme Commander must be hoisted during the President's visits to each military unit. The national flag must be hoisted in the middle, with the Presidential Standard on its right side, and the flag of the Supreme Commander on its left side.^[4]

Date	Use	Description
1984 – present	Current Presidential Standard	Identical to the current national flag—tricolour featuring the golden Eagle of Saladin—with a second Eagle of Saladin added in the upper-left corner of the red band.^[4]
1972 – 1984	Federation of Arab Republics Presidential Standard	Identical to Federation of Arab Republics' flag—tricolour featuring the golden Eagle of Quraish on the upper-left corner of red band.^[4]
1958 – 1972	Standard of President of Egypt at sea

Royal standards[]

Date	Use	Description
1923 – 1953	Standard of the King of Egypt (adopted by Royal Ordinance No. 90 of 1923)	Identical to the national flag of the Kingdom of Egypt, with the royal crown added in the upper-left corner.
? – 1953	Naval Ensign of the King of Egypt
1946 – 1953	Flag of the King's Air Force (adopted by Royal Decree No. 40 of 1946)
1946 – 1953	Flag of the King's Airplane (adopted by Royal Decree No. 40 of 1946)
1946 – 1953	Standard of the Crown Prince (adopted by Royal Decree No. 28 of 1946)
1946 – 1953	Naval Ensign of the Crown Prince (adopted by Royal Decree No. 28 of 1946)
1946 – 1953	Flag of the Crown Prince's Air Force and Airplane (adopted by Royal Decree No. 28 of 1946)

Military flags[]

Date	Use	Description
1922 – 1958	War flag of Egypt	The flag of Egypt from 1922 to 1958 with two crossed swords in white in the canton^[5]
1922 – 1958	Naval ensign and jack of Egypt	The flag of Egypt from 1922 to 1958 with two crossed anchors in white in the canton^[5]
1922 – 1958	Air force ensign of Egypt	The flag of Egypt from 1922 to 1958 in the canton on a sky blue field with the roundel at the fly^[6]
1958 – 1972	War flag of the United Arab Republic	The flag of the United Arab Republic with two crossed swords in white in the canton^[5]^[7]
1958 – 1972	Naval ensign and jack of the United Arab Republic	The flag of the United Arab Republic with two crossed anchors in white in the canton^[5]^[7]
1958 – 1972	Air force ensign of the United Arab Republic	The flag of the United Arab Republic in the canton on a sky blue field with the roundel at the fly^[7]
1972 – 1984	War flag of Egypt	The flag of Egypt within the Federation of Arab Republics with two crossed swords in white in the canton^[5]
1972 – 1984	Naval ensign and jack of Egypt	The flag of Egypt within the Federation of Arab Republics with two crossed anchors in white in the canton^[5]
1984 – Current	War flag of Egypt	The flag of Egypt with two crossed swords in white in the canton^[5]^[8]
1984 – Current	Naval ensign and jack of Egypt	The flag of Egypt with two crossed anchors in white in the canton^[5]^[8]
1984 – Current	Flag of the Egyptian Navy	The flag of Egypt in the canton on a blue field with the two crossed white anchor surrounded by a wreath at the fly^[8]
1984 – Current	Air force ensign of Egypt	The flag of Egypt in the canton on a sky blue field with the roundel at the fly^[8]
1984 – Current	Masthead pennant of the Egyptian Navy
1984 – Current	Flag of the Egyptian Air Defense Forces

Air Force rank flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1932 – 1958	Air Force rank flag of the Commander in Chief
	1932 – 1958	Air Force rank flag of Wing Commander
	1932 – 1958	Air Force rank flag of senior flight officer

Navy rank flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1922 – 1958	Flag of admiral
	1922 – 1958	Flag of vice admiral
	1922 – 1958	Flag of senior officer
	1984 – Current	Flag of vice admiral
	1984 – Current	Flag of rear admiral
	1984 – Current	Flag of senior officer

Army rank flags[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1922 – 1958	Flag of major general
	1922 – 1958	Flag of lieutenant general

Flags of governorates[]

Flag	Date	Use	Description
		Alexandria Governorate
		Aswan Governorate
		Asyut Governorate
		Beheira Governorate
		Beni Suef Governorate
		Cairo Governorate
		Dakahlia Governorate
		Damietta Governorate
		Faiyum Governorate
		Gharbia Governorate
		Giza Governorate
		Ismailia Governorate
		Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate
		Matruh Governorate
		Minya Governorate
		Monufia Governorate
		New Valley Governorate
		North Sinai Governorate
		Port Said Governorate
		Qalyubia Governorate
		Qena Governorate
		Red Sea Governorate
		Sharqia Governorate
		Sohag Governorate
		South Sinai Governorate
		Suez Governorate
		Luxor Governorate The flag depicted here was that of the City of Luxor, which became a separate governorate in December 2009. It is unclear whether the change in administrative status has led to a flag change.

Unofficial flags[]

Date	Use	Description
1952 – 1958	Arab Liberation Flag used after the Revolution of 1952 The green monarchical flag (see above) remained the national flag of Egypt until 1958, even after the proclamation of the Republic. The Arab Liberation Flag never attained official status, although it was hoisted alongside the green flag during popular, national occasions.^[2]	Tricolour made of three equal horizontal bands—coloured red (top), white (middle) and black (bottom)—with the republican eagle bearing the green field, and white crescent and stars of the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan centred in the white band.
1919	Flag used during the anti-British Revolution of 1919	Green flag with a white crescent and a white cross symbolizing the common struggle of Egyptian Muslims and Egyptian Christians against the British occupation.^[3] Associated with the Wafd Party.
1950s	Proposed flag for the Republic of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952	Egypt became a republic in 1953, the year after King Farouk was toppled in the revolution, and several proposals for a new national flag were made combining elements of the old flag of the kingdom with the Arab Liberation Flag. This design features the entire flag of the Kingdom of Egypt in the canton of the Arab Liberation tricolour (i.e. the Arab Liberation Flag without the Eagle of Saladin).
1950s	Proposed flag for the Republic of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952	Egypt became a republic in 1953, the year after King Farouk was toppled in the revolution, and several proposals for a new national flag were made combining elements of the old flag of the kingdom with the Arab Liberation Flag. This design features the Arab Liberation tricolour in the canton of the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt, the latter modified with the white crescent and stars re-positioned to the right to accommodate the tricolour in the canton.
1950s	Proposed flag for the Republic of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952	Egypt became a republic in 1953, the year after King Farouk was toppled in the revolution, and several proposals for a new national flag were made combining elements of the old flag of the kingdom with the Arab Liberation Flag. This design features the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt - white crescent and stars on a green field - inverted horizontally on the left, and the Arab Liberation tricolour as an elongated chevron on the right.
1950s	Proposed flag for the Republic of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952	Egypt became a republic in 1953, the year after King Farouk was toppled in the revolution, and several proposals for a new national flag were made combining elements of the old flag of the kingdom with the Arab Liberation Flag. This design features the Arab Liberation tricolour, with the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt inverted horizontally as a chevron on the right.
1950s	Proposed flag for the Republic of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952	Egypt became a republic in 1953, the year after King Farouk was toppled in the revolution, and several proposals for a new national flag were made combining elements of the old flag of the kingdom with the Arab Liberation Flag. This design features the white crescent and stars on a green field of the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt rotated 90° crowned by a white representation of the three Pyramids of Giza all appearing on the left, and the Arab Liberation tricolour on the right.
1950s	Proposed flag for the Republic of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952	Egypt became a republic in 1953, the year after King Farouk was toppled in the revolution, and several proposals for a new national flag were made combining elements of the old flag of the kingdom with the Arab Liberation Flag. This design features a white representation of the River Nile on the green field of the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt, with the Arab Liberation tricolour in a right-hand side canton onto which the crescent and three stars of the flag of the Kingdom of Egypt are placed and rendered in gold.

Historical flags[]

Date	Use	Description
1914 – 1923	Flag of the Sultanate of Egypt	Identical to the national flag used between 1867 and 1881 (see description below).^[3]
1881 – 1914	Flag of the Khedivate of Egypt under British occupation	Identical to the national flag used between 1826 and 1867 (see description below).^[3]
1867 – 1881	Flag of the Khedivate of Egypt	Red flag with three white crescents, each containing a five-pointed white star.^[3]
1844 – 1867	Flag of self-declared Khedivate of Egypt introduced by Muhammad Ali	Red flag with a white crescent containing a five-pointed white star.^[3]
1793 - 1844	Flag of Ottoman Egypt	Red flag with a white crescent containing a seven-pointed white star.^[3]
14th century	Flag of pre-Ottoman Mamluk Egypt (1341-1517), according to the Catalan Atlas (1375)
12 till 14th century	Flag of Egypt under the Ayyubid Dynasty (1171-1341)
10 till 12th century	White dynastic color of the Fatimid Caliphate,^[9] with capital in Cairo from 973 to 1171
8 till 10th (till 13th century at Baghdad)	Black Standard of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258)^[10]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c el Ansary 2001, p. 146
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b el Ansary 2001, p. 145
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g el Ansary 2001, p. 144
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c el Ansary 2001, p. 147
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Breschi, Roberto. "Egitto". Bandiere, Passato E Presente. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ Flags of all Nations BR20. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1955. scan of original page available at Alamy stock photos.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Pedersen, Christian Fogd (1971). The international flag book in color (in English and Danish). New York, Morrow. pp. 64. ISBN 0688018831. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Egypt: Armed Forces flags". FOTW. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ Hathaway, Jane (2012). A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. SUNY Press. p. 97. ISBN 9780791486108.
^ The Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyad Caliphate adopted black for its rāyaʾ for which their partisans were called the musawwids. Tabari (1995), Jane McAuliffe (ed.), Abbāsid Authority Affirmed, 28, SUNY, p. 124 Their rivals chose other colours in reaction; among these, forces loyal to Marwan II adopted red. Patricia Crone (2012). The Nativist Prophets of Early Islam. p. 122.. The choice of black as the colour of the Abbasid Revolution was already motivated by the "black standards out of Khorasan" tradition associated with the Mahdi. The contrast of white vs. black as the Umayyad vs. Abbasid dynastic colour over time developed in white as the colour of Shia Islam and black as the colour of Sunni Islam: "The proselytes of the ʿAbbasid revolution took full advantage of the eschatological expectations raised by black banners in their campaign to undermine the Umayyad dynasty from within. Even after the ʿAbbasids had triumphed over the Umayyads in 750, they continued to deploy black as their dynastic colour; not only the banners but the headdresses and garments of the ʿAbbasid caliphs were black [...] The ubiquitous black created a striking contrast with the banners and dynastic color of the Umayyads, which had been white [...] The Ismaili Shiʿite counter-caliphate founded by the Fatimids took white as its dynastic color, creating a visual contrast to the ʿAbbasid enemy [...] white became the Shiʿite color, in deliberate opposition to the black of the ʿAbbasid 'establishment'." Jane Hathaway, A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen, 2012, p. 97f. After the revolution, Islamic apocalyptic circles admitted that the Abbasid banners would be black but asserted that the Mahdi's standard would be black and larger. David Cook (2002). Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic, p. 153. Anti-Abbasid circles cursed "the black banners from the East", "first and last". Patricia Crone (2012). The Nativist Prophets of Early Islam. p. 243.

Bibliography[]

el Ansary, Nasser (2001). "Évolution du drapeau égyptien" [Evolution of the Egyptian flag]. L'Encyclopédie des souverains d'Égypte des pharaons à nos jours [The Encyclopedia of rulers of Egypt from the Pharaohs until today] (in French). Alleur: Éditions du Perron. pp. 142–147. ISBN 978-2-87114-173-0. OCLC 48965345.

External links[]

"Historical flags of Egypt" (PDF) (in Arabic). Egypt State Information Service. Archived from the original (PDF, 3.59 MB) on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2010-07-13.

[Ansary_146-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c el Ansary 2001, p. 146

[Ansary_145-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b el Ansary 2001, p. 145

[Ansary_144-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g el Ansary 2001, p. 144

[Ansary_147-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c el Ansary 2001, p. 147

[RBVEX-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Breschi, Roberto. "Egitto". Bandiere, Passato E Presente. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

[6] Flags of all Nations BR20. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1955. scan of original page available at Alamy stock photos.

[intflag-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Pedersen, Christian Fogd (1971). The international flag book in color (in English and Danish). New York, Morrow. pp. 64. ISBN 0688018831. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

[FOTW-MILITARY-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Egypt: Armed Forces flags". FOTW. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

[9] Hathaway, Jane (2012). A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. SUNY Press. p. 97. ISBN 9780791486108.

[10] The Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyad Caliphate adopted black for its rāyaʾ for which their partisans were called the musawwids. Tabari (1995), Jane McAuliffe (ed.), Abbāsid Authority Affirmed, 28, SUNY, p. 124 Their rivals chose other colours in reaction; among these, forces loyal to Marwan II adopted red. Patricia Crone (2012). The Nativist Prophets of Early Islam. p. 122.. The choice of black as the colour of the Abbasid Revolution was already motivated by the "black standards out of Khorasan" tradition associated with the Mahdi. The contrast of white vs. black as the Umayyad vs. Abbasid dynastic colour over time developed in white as the colour of Shia Islam and black as the colour of Sunni Islam: "The proselytes of the ʿAbbasid revolution took full advantage of the eschatological expectations raised by black banners in their campaign to undermine the Umayyad dynasty from within. Even after the ʿAbbasids had triumphed over the Umayyads in 750, they continued to deploy black as their dynastic colour; not only the banners but the headdresses and garments of the ʿAbbasid caliphs were black [...] The ubiquitous black created a striking contrast with the banners and dynastic color of the Umayyads, which had been white [...] The Ismaili Shiʿite counter-caliphate founded by the Fatimids took white as its dynastic color, creating a visual contrast to the ʿAbbasid enemy [...] white became the Shiʿite color, in deliberate opposition to the black of the ʿAbbasid 'establishment'." Jane Hathaway, A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen, 2012, p. 97f. After the revolution, Islamic apocalyptic circles admitted that the Abbasid banners would be black but asserted that the Mahdi's standard would be black and larger. David Cook (2002). Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic, p. 153. Anti-Abbasid circles cursed "the black banners from the East", "first and last". Patricia Crone (2012). The Nativist Prophets of Early Islam. p. 243.

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