Flag of Lebanon

Lebanon

Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	December 7, 1943
Design	A horizontal triband of red, white (double height) and red; charged with a green Lebanon Cedar.

The flag of Lebanon (Arabic: علم لبنان‎‎) is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is to be two times a red one (ratio 1:2:1)—a Spanish fess. The green cedar (Lebanon Cedar) in the middle touches each of the red stripes and its width is one third of the width of the flag.

Symbolism

The presence and position of the Cedar in the middle of the flag is directly inspired by the mountains of Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani). The Cedar is a symbol of holiness, eternity and peace. As an emblem of longevity, the cedar of Lebanon has its origin in many biblical references.

Cedrus libani.

The cedar of Lebanon is mentioned seventy-seven times in the Bible, especially in the book Psalms chapter 92 verse 13 where it says that "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon" and Chapter 104, verse 16, where it is stated: "[t]he trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted".

Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), marveling at the cedars of Lebanon during his trip to the Orient with his daughter Julia, had these words: "[t]he cedars of Lebanon are the relics of centuries and nature, the most famous natural landmarks in the universe. They know the history of the earth, better than the story itself".

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), who loved the cedars and also had visited Lebanon in 1935, wrote in his work Citadel "[t]he peace is a long growing tree. We need, as the cedar, to rock its unity".

For the Lebanese, the cedar is a symbol of hope, freedom and memory. In 1920, in a text of the proclamation of the State of Greater Lebanon, it was said: "[a]n evergreen cedar is like a young nation despite a cruel past. Although oppressed, never conquered, the cedar is its rallying. By the union, it will break all attacks".

The white color on the flag represents the snow as a symbol of purity and peace.

The two red stripes refer to the Lebanese blood shed to preserve the country against the successive invaders.

Construction sheet

File:Construction Sheet of Flag of Lebanon.gif

Construction sheet of the Lebanese Flag

According to the Article 5 of the constitution of Lebanon : «The Lebanese flag shall be composed of three horizontal stripes, a white stripe between two red ones. The width of the white stripe shall be equal to that of both red stripes. In the center of and occupying one-third of the white stripe is a green cedar tree with its top touching the upper red strip and its base touching the lower red stripe».

History

Ancient flags of Lebanon

• Phoenician Flag.png

  Flag used during Phoenician era 3000 BC – 200 AD (Including the currently known as Cyprus, Syria, Israel, Tunisia and Lebanon)

• Tanukh Flag.png

  Tanukh Flag 200 AD – 400 AD

• Flag of Afghanistan pre-1901.svg

  Flag under the Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258

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  Kingdom of Jerusalem Flag 1099–1291

Flags of clans during the Middle Ages

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  Feudal Flag of the Jumblat clan during Middle Ages

• Abu Kanad Flag.svg

  Feudal Flag of the Abu Kanad clan during Middle Ages

• Lamaite Flag.png

  Feudal Flag of the Lamaite princes during Middle Ages

Flags of sultanates and emirates

• Maanid Flag.png

  Flag of the Maanid Emirate 1119–1697

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  Flag under the Ayyubid Dynasty pre-1250

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  Flag under the Mamluk Sultanate 1250 – 1517

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  Flag of the Chehab Emirate 1697 – 1842

Through history, Lebanon, or at least its region, had taken the flag of the people who occupied it (Mamluk, Ottoman Empire)

French Mandate of Lebanon

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  Flag of Lebanon after the fall of the Ottoman empire (1918–1920)

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  Flag of the State of Greater Lebanon during the French mandate (1920–1943)

• Lebanon French Mandate Flag2.png

  Flag of the State of Greater Lebanon during the French mandate 1920–1943 (Variant)

• Lebanon French Mandate Flag3.png

  Flag of the State of Greater Lebanon during the French mandate 1920–1943 (Variant)

During the French Mandate of Lebanon, the Lebanese flag was designed by the president of the Lebanese Renaissance Movement, the late Naoum Mokarzel. It was similar to the tricolour flag of France but with a green cedar (Lebanon Cedar) in the middle.

Lebanese Republic

The present Lebanese flag was adopted just prior to independence from France in 1943. Seeking independence, the actual flag was first drawn by member of parliament Henri Pharaon in the Chamber of deputies Saeb Salam's house in Mousaitbeh by the deputies of the Lebanese parliament. It was adopted on December 7, 1943, during a meeting in the parliament, where the article 5 in the Lebanese constitution was modified.

One theory is that since Henri Pharaon was a long-time consul in Vienna, Austria and was an avid friend and founder of the "Austro-Lebanese Association of Friendship", the colors could have been inspired by the red-white-red Flag of Austria, where the flag colors are based on the Lebanese geography and therefore, the first red represents the Mount Lebanon and the second red represents the Anti-Lebanon mountains and the white represents the Beqaa Valley, which is situated in the middle of the two mountain ranges on the map of Lebanon. And the green cedar (Lebanon Cedar) in the middle of the white part touches each of the red stripes is added because Lebanon is sometimes metonymically referred to as the Land of the Cedars. The Austrian flag is the second oldest in the world, dating to the 13th century when it first probably appeared after the Siege of Acre during the Third Crusade. The colors could have been inspired by the red-white-red Flag of Austria, but the white stripe (a Spanish fess) could have been inspired by the red-yellow-red Flag of Spain, where the flag structure is based on the Lebanese connection to the Mediterranean sea and its Phoenician past that reached to the Mediterranean shores of present-day Spain.

Variant flags of Lebanon

The following is a list of variant flags used in Lebanon

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  Design stored at WIPO

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  Flag as drawn and approved by the members of the parliament during the declaration of independence in 1943

• Arab Administration on Lebanon Flag.png

  Flag used in the post WWI under the Arab Administration 1918–1920

• Deir El Qamar Flag.svg

  Flag used in Deir El Qamar, Capital of the Maanid and early Chehab emirs 1830

• Merdai Rebels Flag.png

  Rebels Flag during the Merdai era (Yemenites)

• Kaissy Flag.png

  National Maanid Flag

• Prince Ibrahim Rebels Flag.png

  Rebels' Flag during Prince Ibrahim Era

Official Lebanese flags from 1918-present

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  Flag of the region of Lebanon after the fall of the Ottoman empire (1918–1920)

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  Flag of the State of Greater Lebanon during the French mandate (1920–1943)

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  Flag of Republic of Lebanon (1943–present)

See also

• Coat of arms of Lebanon
• The Insignia of the Republican Guard (Lebanon)

External links

• Lebanon at Flags of the World
• Lebanese Flag Accurate, high quality, & high resolution flags of Lebanon.