Flag of Turkey

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The flag of Turkey consists of a white crescent moon and a star on a red background. The flag is called Ay Yıldız (literally, moon star) or al sancak (red banner) in Turkish. The flag has a complex origin since it is an ancient design, and is practically identical to the last flag of the Ottoman Empire which was adopted in 1844, as part of the Tanzimat reforms. The geometric proportions of the flag were legally standardized with the Turkish Flag Law in 1936.

The shade of red used in the flag is approximated by Pantone 186, or RGB (227, 10, 23).

[edit] History

Main article: Ottoman flag

The crescent and star, while generally regarded as Islamic symbols today, have long been used in Asia Minor and by the ancient Turks, earlier than the advent of Islam. According to one theory, the figure of crescent has its roots in tamghas, i.e. markings used as livestock brand or stamp, used by nomadic Turkic clans of Central Asia.

The current design of the Turkish flag is practically identical to the last Ottoman flag, which had acquired its final form in 1844, with the Tanzimat reforms. It is known that the Ottomans used red flags of triangular shape at least since 1383, which came to be rectangular over the course of history.

Ottomans used several different designs, most of them featuring one or more crescents, for different purposes, such as the flag with green background signifying the Caliphate. During the late imperial period, the distinctive use of the color red for secular and green for religious institutions became an established practice. In 1844, the eight-pointed star was replaced with a five-pointed star and the flag reached the form of the present-day Turkish flag.

[edit] Origin of the flag

The origin of the crescent and star as a symbol dates back to the times of ancient Sumerians and ancient Egypt.^[1][2]

It has also been put forth that the crescent moon and star were holy symbols of the pre-Islamic Turkish tribes, while red is the cardinal color for south in ancient Turkish culture. It has been recently found in 2004 in Bishkek during archaeological excavations that Göktürks used the crescent and star figure on their coins. The 1500-year-old coin includes three crescent moon figures and a star near a person, possibly a leader^[3].

The theory of pre-Islamic origins is further supported by the still-persistent Turkish/Turkic (and possibly Shamanistic/Sky-God) belief that each person is partnered in life with a star for the duration of their life; the star "rising" at birth and "falling" on death. In accordance with this belief system, the star, as proclaimed in the national anthem of Turkey, represents the star of the Turkish Nation as a whole, which will "shine until the last Turk disapears" (from the the anthem). The crescent also has a meaningful pre-Islamic basis. Attack formations in the form of the crescent was a popular and very successful technique for the mounted forces of the Mongols and other Central Asian (Turkic) tribes/armies; and was used even during naval battles with much success. In fact, the three-crescent representation of forces during battle was the war flag of the Ottomans and other Turkic-origin states, tribes, etc. at some point or another. The single-crescent version could have easily been a continuation of the same banner-tradition, made more indellible as a national symbol considering the extremely frequent wars and conflicts the Ottomans found themselves in during their last century or so of existence; in other words, the battle flag became "the flag" as Ottomans found themselves defending their crumbling empire on a regular basis and "Turks" regarded proximity to this symbol (and the armed forces that flew them) as their best chance for security and safety (a crumbling state offers little protection). Accordingly, all other banners and flags could have easily become secondary in practice as well as perception. The red backdrop may mean the color of human blood, pure and simple. However, it is also possible that the Shamanistic traditions and "earthly meanings" may have associated the color red with land -- the object of armed competition and conflict throughout history. Considering how vital wide expanses of territory were to migrating/nomadic tribes that relied heavily on grazing land and distances to buffer against natural and manmade threats, it is not hard to make the connection between life-and-death (bloody) developments and the competition for land. It would probably have been second-nature to bridge the life-sign star and the life-blood land with the "crescent" armies on a flag to summarize this central theme. Therefore, it is quite possible that the crescent-star flag summarizes much of Turkish/Turkic history since the Oguz tribes were pressured out of Central Asia to seek new and wider grazing lands, culminating in the explosion into Asia Minor and the Middle East in the 9th century that produced the Seljuks, Karamanlis, Ottomans, etc.

Another possibility regarding the origin of the flag dates it back to the ancient Greek and Roman periods. The city of Byzantium was dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis in 667 BC, whose symbol, the crescent, was used as the symbol of the city and its coins for around 1000 years between 667 BC and 330/381 AD. After the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, who endorsed Christianity, made Byzantium (now known as Nova Roma, which, after Constantine's death in 337, became Constantinople) the new capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD, and Theodosius the Great made Christianity the official Roman state religion by a law in 381 AD, the Star of the Blessed Virgin Mary was added next to the original Crescent of Artemis. This star is also commonly found on the icons of the Greek Orthodox Church to this day. Following the conquest of Constantinople (today's Istanbul) by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1453, the crescent-and-star of Constantinople was adopted as the symbol of the Ottoman Empire, which eventually spread to the other Islamic land with the Turkish conquest of these areas starting from 1516; and eventually became regarded as an Islamic symbol by Europeans. Islam denounces any association with any symbols, and does not use any symbol to represent itself.^{[attribution needed]}

The star and crescent moon, however, were also symbols (not flags) found relating to the Egyptian goddess Isis and also in Babylon and Mesopotamia.^[4] Nevertheless, Byzantium was the first governing city-state to use the crescent moon as its official symbol, even though the Turkic tribes passed through Mesopotamia much before coming to Istanbul during their migration from Central Asia.

The origin of the flag is the subject of various legends in the country, some contradicting the historical knowledge about the Ottoman Flag.

[edit] Legends

One of the most popular legends regarding the Flag of Turkey is that, in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors, there was a reflection of the crescent moon and a star. Three theories have been put forward regarding the possible location and context of this event, which include:

• In the year 1071, after the Battle of Malazgirt and the defeat of the Byzantine army, the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan was roaming the battlefield, where he saw the reflection of the crescent moon and a star on a pool of blood of Turkish warriors. After he saw this image, he decided that this would be the flag representing the Seljuk Turks. However, the Anatolian (Rum) Seljuk flag is known to have a white double-headed eagle figure (similar to the Byzantine double-headed eagle), which holds a bow and arrow, on a light blue background; therefore this theory is not likely to be true.^{[citation needed]}

• After the Battle of Kosovo on 28 July 1389, the Ottoman Sultan Murad I was assassinated, and on that night there was a unique moment of Jupiter and the Moon next to each other. If one considers this sight on a pool of blood, the current structure of the Turkish flag can be seen easily.^{[citation needed]}

Other theories include:

• In a dream of Osman I, the first Ottoman Sultan, a crescent and star appeared from his chest and expanded, presaging the dynasty's seizure of Constantinople.^[5]

• A crescent and star were spotted on the night of the fall of Constantinople to Mehmed II in 1453.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Legal Basis

The fundamentals of the Turkish flag were laid down by the Turkish Flag Law (Law No. 2994) on May 29, 1936. The Turkish Flag Regulation Law (Law No. 2/7175) dated July 28, 1937, and the Supplementary Regulation (Law No. 11604/2) dated July 29, 1939, were enacted to describe how the definite geometric proportions of the flag should be established. The Turkish Flag Law (Law No. 2893) dated September 22, 1983, and published in the Official Gazette on September 24, 1983, was promulgated six months after its publication. According to Article 9 of Law No. 2893, a statute including the fundamentals of the implementation was also published.

[edit] Construction

Let G be the width of the flag.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Türk Bayrağı Kanunu, the Turkish text of the Turkish Flag Law No. 2893 dated September 22, 1983, establishing the proportions, production and rules of usage of the flag of Turkey
• Türk Bayrağı Tüzüğü, the Turkish text of the statute on the Turkish flag.
• Turkey at Flags of the World

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