Flag of Armenia

Use	National flag. The design and description of Flags typically uses specialised flag terminology' with precise and technical meanings and is hence a form of Jargon. A national flag is a Flag that symbolises a country The flag is flown by the government but usually can be flown by Citizens of that country as well A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	August 24, 1990
Design	A horizontal tricolour of red, blue, and orange

The national flag of Armenia, the Armenian Tricolour (known in Armenian as եռագույն, Erraguyn), consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, red on the top, blue in the middle, and orange on the bottom. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) A tricolour or tricolor (three colours is a Flag or Banner more-or-less equally divided (horizontally vertically or less frequently diagonally Red is any of a number of similar Colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of Light discernible by the human eye in the wavelength Blue is a Colour, the Perception of which is evoked by The colour orange occurs The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian Red is any of a number of similar Colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of Light discernible by the human eye in the wavelength Blue is a Colour, the Perception of which is evoked by The colour orange occurs The Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted the current flag on August 24, 1990. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР Verkhóvnyj Sovét SSSR) was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) On June 15, 2006, the Law on the National Flag of Armenia, governing its usage, was passed by the National Assembly of Armenia. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani The Azgayin Zhoghov of Armenia (Ազգային Ժողով English: National Assembly) is the official name of the Legislative branch

Throughout history, there have been many variations of the Armenian flag. In ancient times, Armenian dynasties were represented by different symbolic animals displayed on their flags. ^[1] In the twentieth century, various Soviet flags represented the Armenian nation. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

Symbolism

The meanings of the colors have been interpreted in many different ways. For example, red has stood for the blood shed by Armenian soldiers in war, blue for the Armenian sky, and orange represents the fertile lands of Armenia and the workers who work them. ^[2]

The official definition of the colors, as stated in the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, is:

Design

Since the Armenian government does not specify the exact shades of red, blue, and orange, two different versions of the flag are in common use. The more common version consists of brighter shades, whereas the colors of the less common version are more muted. The following table gives the approximate RGB values of the colors used in those two versions:^[4]

	More common version	Less common version
Red	255-0-0	216-28-63
Blue	0-0-170	85-117-196
Orange	255-153-0	239-107-0

History

Further information: List of Armenian flags

Artaxiad Dynasty 189 BC - 1 AD

Alishan's 1885 design. This is a list of Flags associated with Armenia. Historical standards Modern flags Municipal Flags See also Flag Ratio: 1:2

Today's tricolor flag bears little resemblance to the earliest Armenian 'flags'; in ancient times, armies went into battle behind carvings mounted on poles. A tricolour or tricolor (three colours is a Flag or Banner more-or-less equally divided (horizontally vertically or less frequently diagonally The carvings might represent a dragon, an eagle, a lion or "some mysterious object of the gods. "^[1] With the advent of Christianity, the Armenian empire adopted many different flags representing various dynasties. The Artaxiad Dynasty's flag, for instance, consisted of a red cloth displaying two eagles gazing at each other, separated by a flower. The Artaxiad Dynasty ruled Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in AD 12.

19th century

After Armenia was split between the Persian and Ottoman Empires, the idea of an Armenian flag ceased to exist for some time. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Armenian Catholic priest Father Ghevont Alishan created a new flag for Armenia in 1885, after the Armenian Students Association of Paris requested one for the funeral of the French writer Victor Hugo. (Refer to List of Armenian Catholic Patriarchs of Cilicia) The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church Sui juris within A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities Father Ghevont Alishan (Ղեվոնդ Ալիշան (1820-1901 also spelled Ghevond Alishan) was an ordained Armenian Catholic priest historian and a poet The Armenian Patriotic Society of Europe was founded in 1885 by Garabed Hagopian and Mekertich Portukalian. Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist Alishan's first design was very similar to today's Armenian flag: a horizontal tricolor. However, it looks more like an upside-down variation of the current flag of Bulgaria. The Flag of Bulgaria (знаме на България zname na Balgariya) is a Tricolour consisting of three equal-sized horizontal bands The top band was red, symbolizing the first Sunday of Easter (called "Red" Sunday), followed by a green band to represent the "Green" Sunday of Easter, and finally an arbitrary color, white, was chosen to complete the combination. ^[1] While in France, Alishan also designed a second flag, identified today as the "Nationalist Armenian Flag. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. " It too was a tricolor, but unlike the previous design, this one was a vertical tricolor similar to the French flag. The National flag of France (known in French as drapeau tricolore, drapeau français,and in military parlance les couleurs Its colors were red, green, and blue, from left to right, representing the rainbow that Noah saw after landing on Mount Ararat. Noah (or Noe, Noach;; Nūḥ; Arabic: نوح; "Rest") was according to the Bible, the tenth and last of Mount Ararat (see section Names for other names is the tallest peak in Turkey. ^[1]

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

Flag of Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (1918). Flag Ratio: 1:2

In 1828, Persian Armenia was annexed to the Russian Empire after the last Russo-Persian War, and became known as Russian Armenia. Persian Armenia corresponds to the Armenian territory controlled by Persia throughout history The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828 was the last major military conflict between the Russian Empire and the Persian Empire. Russian Armenia ( Armenian: Ռուսական Հայաստան is the period of Armenia's history under Russian rule beginning from 1829 when Eastern Armenia When the Russian Empire collapsed, Russian Armenia declared its independence and joined the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, together with Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR Закавказская демократическая Федеративная Республика (ЗКДФР Zakavkazskaya Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South This unified state hardly lasted a year and was soon dissolved. Since the Republic was short-lived, it did not use any flags or symbols. Nevertheless, some historians consider a horizontal gold, black, and red tricolor, similar to that of the German flag but arranged differently, to have been flag of Transcaucasia. The flag of Germany is a Tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: Black, ^[5] The federation was dissolved on May 26, 1918, when Georgia declared its independence as the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Democratic Republic of Georgia ( DRG; Georgian: საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა Sakartvelos Both Armenia and Azerbaijan declared their independence two days later, on May 28, 1918, as the Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), respectively. Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Democratic Republic of Armenia ( DRA; Armenian: Դեմոկրատական Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Demokratakan Hayastani Hanrapetutyun The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic ( ADR; Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyəti was the first Democratic and Secular Republic in the Muslim world

Democratic Republic of Armenia

Flag of Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) 1918–1922. Flag Ratio: 2:3

Flag of Transcaucasian SFSR 1922–1936.

After gaining independence, the Democratic Republic of Armenia adopted the modern Armenian tricolor. Upon Stepan Malkhasyan's appearance in the Armenian National Council,^[6] the independent Armenian government selected the colors used during the last period of Rubenid Dynasty, red, blue and yellow. An earlier prototype, which was eventually rejected, was a rainbow flag. This prototype can be seen at the Martiros Saryan House Museum in Yerevan, Armenia. They chose to replace the yellow with orange "because it merged better with the other two colors, presenting a more pleasing composition. "^[1] The flag of independent Armenia then had a ratio of 2:3, but on August 24, 1990, when the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted it as the flag of the Republic of Armenia, the ratio was changed to 1:2. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) ^[7]

Early Soviet Armenia and the Transcaucasian SFSR

Main article: Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR

On November 29, 1920 Bolsheviks established the Armenian SSR. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Հայկական ՍովետականՍոցիալիստական Հանրապետություն Haykakan Sovetakan Sotsialistakan Hanrapetutyun A new flag was introduced and fixed in the constitution, accepted on February 2, 1922 by the First Congress of Soviets of the Armenian SSR. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union in two periods from 1917 to 1936 and ^[8] That flag existed only for a month, because on March 12 the Armenian SSR united with the Georgian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR under the Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR). Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (საქართველოს საბჭოთასოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა This article is about the former Soviet republic for other similar uses see Azerbaijan (disambiguation. The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (Հայաստանի Խորհրդային Սոցիալիստական Հանրապետություն Azerbaijani: On December 30, 1922 the Transcaucasian SFSR became one of the four Soviet republics that united to form the USSR. Events 1460 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield. 1816 - The Treaty of St Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The flag of the republic had a hammer and sickle inserted into a star with initials "ЗСФСР" (ZSFSR) written in Russian sans-serif script. The hammer and sickle is a part of Communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, Communist Party, or Communist state These letters stand for Закавказская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика (Zakavkazskaya sovetskaya Federativnaya Socialisticheskaya Respublika, "Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic"). ^[8] In 1936, the TSFSR was broken up into its three constituent regions, which were named the Georgian SSR, the Armenian SSR, and the Azerbaijan SSR.

Armenian SSR

Main article: Flag of the Armenian SSR

Flag of Soviet Armenia 1952–1990. Flag Ratio: 1:2

As a republic of the USSR, the Armenian SSR introduced its first flag in 1936. The Republics of the Soviet Union were according to the Article 76 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution, Sovereign Soviet Socialist states that had united with other Very similar to the flag of the Soviet Union, it was red and featured a yellow hammer and sickle in the corner. The flag of the Soviet Union consisted of a plain Red flag, with a hammer crossed with a sickle (the Hammer and sickle) and a Red star in The hammer and sickle is a part of Communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, Communist Party, or Communist state Underneath that, there were "H-Kh-S-H" initials written in Armenian serif script. These initials, in the Western Armenian language, stand for "Haygagan Khorhurtayin Sodzialistakan Hanrabedutyun," or the "Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Western Armenian (արեւմտահայերէն is one of the two modern Dialects of Armenian, an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian diaspora " In the 1940s, the flag was altered to use the Eastern Armenian language spoken in the Republic. Eastern Armenian is one of the two modern Dialects of Armenian (an Indo-European language) spoken in the Caucasus Mountains (particularly in The initials were changed to "H-S-S-R" meaning "Hayastani Sovetakan Sotsialistikakan Respublika" in the Eastern Armenian pronunciation. In 1952, a new flag was introduced. The initials were removed completely and in their place a horizontal blue stripe was added.

In late May 1988, amid rising nationalist tensions, Armenia's new Communist party leader allowed the banned tricolour of the DRA to fly in Yerevan for the first time in over sixty years. Yerevan (Երևան Երեւան or Երեվան ˌjɛrəˈvɑːn sometimes written as Erevan, Iravan, Erewan, Ayrivan, and Erivan ^[9] A year later, following a Nagorno-Karabakh-themed mass demonstration where the tricolour was flown, he urged its official recognition. For the republic see Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh is a Region in the South Caucasus. ^[10] This came on August 24, 1990, a day after the Armenian Supreme Soviet declared the republic's sovereignty and renamed the country the Republic of Armenia. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) At that point, just over a year before Armenia declared its formal independence from the USSR, the tricolour replaced the 1952 flag.

Usage

The flag waving at the Armenian Embassy in Washington, D. C.

The 2006 law on the National Flag of Armenia states that the flag has to be raised on the following public buildings:

• Residence of the President
• Parliament
• Government
• Constitutional court
• Office of Public Prosecutor
• Central Bank of Armenia
• other governmental buildings

The Law requires to lower the flag to the midpoint of the flagpole on the days of mourning or during mourning ceremonies. The Central Bank of Armenia (Հայաստանի Կենտրոնական Բանկ is the Central bank of Armenia based in Yerevan. A black ribbon needs to be placed at the top of the flag; the length of the ribbon should be equal to the length of the flag. The flying flag has to be raised in its entirety, clean, and unfaded; moreover, the lower part of the flag should be at least 2. 5 m off the ground. ^[11]

National flag days

The daily display of the Armenian flag is encouraged, but legally required only on the following days:^[12][13]

• January 1, January 2 – New Year
• January 6 – Christmas
• March 8 – International Women's Day
• April 7 – Motherhood and Beauty Day
• May 1 – International Worker's Solidarity Day
• May 9 – Victory and Peace Day
• May 28 – First Armenian Republic Day, 1918
• July 5 – Constitution Day, 1995
• September 21 – Independence Day, 1991
• December 7 – Spitak Earthquake Memorial Day, 1988

Influence

Flag of Nagorno-Karabakh. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways The Spitak Earthquake (also called Leninakan Earthquake and Gyumri Earthquake) was a tremor with a Magnitude of 6 Flag Ratio: 1:2

On June 2, 1992, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh adopted a flag similar to the Armenian tricolor. Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Note - please discuss *any* change to this intro on the talk page before making it no matter how minor it may seem The flag of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, an unrecognised self-proclaimed government in a region of Azerbaijan, is derived from the Flag of Armenia A white, five-toothed, stepped carpet pattern was added to the flag, beginning at the two verges of the cloth’s right side and connecting at a point equal to one-third of the distance from that side. ^[14] The white pattern symbolizes the current separation of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) from Armenia proper and its aspiration for eventual union with "the Motherland. For the republic see Artsakh Republic Artsakh (Արցախ was the tenth nahang (province of the Kingdom of Armenia "^[15] The ratio of the flag’s breadth to its length is 1:2, same as the Armenian Tricolor. ^[14]

In addition to the flag of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian flag colors influenced the design of the Pan-Armenian Games flag. In the center of the light blue flag are six interlocking rings, derived from the Olympic rings. The Olympic symbols are the icons Flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee to promote the Olympic Games. The sixth, orange-colored ring, interlocks with the blue and red rings, which symbolize Armenia. Above the rings is a flame in the colors of the Armenian flag. ^[16]

The national flag is also mentioned in the song "Mer Hayrenik", the national anthem of Armenia. " Mer Hayrenik " ( Armenian script: Մեր Հայրենիք English translation: Our Fatherland) is the National anthem of Armenia A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's Specifically, the second and third stanzas sing about the creation of the national flag:

Here brother, for you a flag,
That I made with my hands
Nights I didn't sleep,
With tears I washed it.
(repeat previous two lines)

Look at it, three colors
It's our gifted symbol.
Let it shine against the enemy.
Let Armenia always be glorious.
(repeat previous two lines)^[17]

See also

• Coat of arms of Armenia
• List of Armenian flags

References

External links

• Armenia at Flags of the World
• The Evolution of the Armenian Flag
• (Russian) Flags of Armenia
• Armenica.org - Symbolic values and information about the Armenian flag and coat of arms