Flag of Jordan - Colours, Meaning, History ??

The people of Jordan officially adopted their flag on April 18th, 1928. The flag features a horizontal black, white and green band connected by a red chevron. The hoist side has a seven-pointed star on red chevron.

History of the Flag of Jordan

Jordan was inhabited since the Paleolithic age. Several kingdoms ruled the region, including the Roman and Ottoman empires. During the Ottoman Empire’s rule, the country flew a plain red flag with a five-pointed white star and a crescent moon. The Ottomans ruled Jordan until the First World War when the great Arab Revolt overthrew them in 1916. The young Arabs designed a flag that represented their aspirations in a Turkish-dominated empire. The Arab Revolt used a black-green-white horizontal tricolor flag, which had a red triangle at the hoist to symbolize the Arab revolution and their conquest of the Ottoman Turks between the years 1916 to 1918. The Arab Revolts raised their flag for the first time in Jerusalem in 1917.

In 1921, the area became the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate. The first Emir of this dynasty was Abdullah I from the Hashemite dynasty. He modified the Original Arab Revolt flag and the flag flown at the time was a black-white-green horizontal tricolor featuring a seven-pointed star and a red triangle. In 1939, the country adopted a longer red chevron after the area ceased to be an Emirate. After adopting the national flag in 1928, the Jordanians finally attained freedom in 1946. However, following the Jordan and Iraq announcement of an Arab Union Federation, the original Arab Revolt Flag that had no star was used.

What is the meaning behind the colors on the Jordan Flag?

Colour
Jordan based their current flag on the one used during the Arab revolt. The colors of the flag are the Pan-Arab Colors:

Black represents the Abbasid.
White represents the Umayyad dynasty and a peaceful and bright future.
Green represents the Fatimid Caliphates.
Red represents the Hashemite dynasty, the current ruling dynasty. It also symbolizes the Arab revolt (bloody struggle for freedom).

The star is a symbol of the unity of the Arab people. The seven-pointed star is a representation of the seven verses of Al-Fatiha (the first chapter of the Quran). The seven points symbolize faith in one God, national spirit, humility, aspiration, and social justice.

Shape
The proportion of the flag of Jordan is 1:2 and features a horizontal triband consisting of black, white, green, with a red on the hoist side consisting of a white star.

Interesting Facts about the Jordanian Flag

The Jordanian flag was similar to the Turkish flag when it was occupied under the Ottoman Empire.
According to the constitution, the length of the flag should be twice the width. The three horizontal bands are equal and parallel. The chevron base is equal to the width of the flag with an altitude half the length of the flag. The star should be at the center at the intersection of the lines and bisect the chevron angles.
According to legend, the Arab revolutionaries based their flag on the words of Ṣafī ad-Dīn al-Ḥilli’s 13th-century poem. The words said that “white [pure] are our deeds, black are our battles, green are our fields, red [bloody] are our swords.”

Do you know any other interesting facts about the flag of Jordan? Share your thoughts below.