What colour are the two stars on the national flag of Syria?
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National_flag.txt Flag_of_Syria.txt
National flag Flag of Syria
A national flag is a flag that symbolises a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country.

Both public and private buildings such as schools and courthouses may fly the national flag. In some countries, the national flags are only flown from non-military buildings on certain flag days.

History

Historically, flags originate as military standards, used as field signs. The practice of flying flags indicating the country of origin outside of the context of warfare became common with the maritime flag, introduced during the age of sail, in the early 17th century. The origins of the Union Jack flag date back to 1603, when James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones (as James I), thereby uniting the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland in a personal union (which remained separate states). On 12 April 1606, a new flag to represent this regal union between England and Scotland was specified in a royal decree, according to which the flag of England (a red cross on a white background, known as St George's Cross), and the flag of Scotland (a white saltire on a blue background, known as the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross), would be joined together, forming the flag of Great Britain and first Union Flag.

With the emergence of nationalist sentiment from the late 18th century the desire was felt to display national flags also in civilian contexts,  notably the US flag, in origin adopted as a naval ensign in 1777, which after the American Revolution began to be displayed as a generic symbol of the United States, and the French Tricolore which became a symbol of the Republic in the 1790s.

Most countries of Europe adopted a national flag in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, often based on older (medieval) war flags. The specifications of the flag of Denmark were codified in 1748, based on a 14th-century design.  The flag of Switzerland was introduced in 1889, also based on medieval war flags. The Netherlands introduced two national flags in 1813 (either an orange-white-blue or a red-white-blue tricolour; the final decision in favour of red was made in 1937).

The Ottoman flag (now the flag of Turkey) was adopted in 1844. Other non-European powers followed the trend in the late 19th century, the flag of Japan being introduced in 1870, that of Qing China  in 1890. 
Also in the 19th century, most countries of South America introduced a flag as they became independent (Peru in 1820, Bolivia in 1851, Colombia in 1860, Brazil in 1822, etc.)

Process of adoption

The national flag is often, but not always, mentioned or described in a country's constitution, but its detailed description may be delegated to a flag law passed by the legislative, or even   secondary legislation or in monarchies a decree.

Thus, the national flag is mentioned briefly in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany of 1949 "the federal flag is black-red-gold" (art. 22.2 Die Bundesflagge ist schwarz-rot-gold), but its proportions were regulated in a document passed by the government in the following year. The Flag of the United States is not defined in the constitution but rather in a separate Flag Resolution passed in 1777.

Minor design changes of national flags are often passed on a legislative or executive level, while substantial changes have constitutional character. The design of the flag of Serbia omitting the communist star of the flag of Yugoslavia was a decision made in the 1992 Serbian constitutional referendum, but the adoption of a coat of arms within the flag was based on a government "recommendation" in 2003, adopted legislatively in 2009 and again subject ot a minor design change in 2010. The Flag of the United States underwent numerous changes because the number of stars represents the number of states, proactively defined in a Flag Act of 1818 to the effect that "on the admission of every new state into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag"; it was changed for the last time in 1960 with the accession of Hawaii.

A change in national flag is often due to a change of regime, especially following a civil war or revolution. In such cases, the military origins of the national flag and its connection to political ideology (form of government, monarchy vs. republic vs. theocracy, etc.) remains visible. In such cases national flags acquire the status of a political symbols.

The flag of Germany, for instance, was a tricolour of black-white-red under the German Empire, inherited from the North German Confederation (1866).  The Weimar Republic that followed adopted a black-red-gold tricolour. Nazi Germany went back to black-white-red in 1933, and black-red-gold was reinstituted by the two successor states, West Germany and East Germany following World War II. Similarly the flag of Libya introduced with the creation of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951 was abandoned in 1969 with the coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi. It was used again by National Transitional Council and by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and officially adopted by the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration.

Usage

There are three distinct types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, though many countries use identical designs for several (and sometimes all) of these types of flag.

On land

On land, there is a distinction between civil flags (FIAV symbol ), state flags (), and war or military flags (). State flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government. War flags (also called military flags) are used by military organisations such as Armies, Marine Corps, or Air Forces.

In practice, many countries (such as the United States and the United Kingdom) have identical flags for these three purposes; national flag is sometimes used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag (). In a number of countries, however, and notably those in Latin America, there is a distinct difference between civil and state flags. In most cases, the civil flag is a simplified version of the state flag, with the difference often being the presence of a coat of arms on the state flag that is absent from the civil flag.

Very few countries use a war flag that differs from the state flag. The People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Japan are notable examples of this. Swallow-tailed flags are used as war flags and naval ensigns in Nordic countries and charged versions as presidential or royal standards. The Philippines does not have a distinctive war flag in this usual sense, but the flag of the Philippines is legally unique in that it is flown with the red stripe on top when the country is in a state of war, rather than the conventional blue.

At sea

The flag that indicates nationality on a ship is called an ensign. As with the national flags, there are three varieties: the civil ensign (), flown by private vessels; state ensigns (also called government ensigns; ), flown by government ships; and war ensigns (also called naval ensigns; ), flown by naval vessels. The ensign is flown from an ensign-staff at the stern of the ship, or from a gaff when underway. Both these positions are superior to any other on the ship, even though the masthead is higher. In the absence of a gaff the ensign may be flown from the yardarm. (See Maritime flags.) National flags may also be flown by aircraft and the land vehicles of important officials. In the case of aircraft, those flags are usually painted on, and those are usually to be painted on in the position as if they were blowing in the wind.

In some countries, such as the United States and Canada (except for the Royal Canadian Navy's Ensign), the national ensign is identical to the national flag, while in others, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, there are specific ensigns for maritime use. Most countries do not have a separate state ensign, although the United Kingdom is a rare exception, in having a red ensign for civil use, a white ensign as its naval ensign, and a blue ensign for government non-military vessels.

Protocol

There is a great deal of protocol involved in the proper display of national flags.  A general rule is that the national flag should be flown in the position of honour, and not in an inferior position to any other flag (although some countries make an exception for royal standards). The following rules are typical of the conventions when flags are flown on land:
*When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags, it must be hoisted first and lowered last.
*When a national flag is displayed together with the national flags of other countries, all the flags should be of approximately equal size and must be flown at an equal height, although the national flag of the host country should be flown in the position of honour (in the centre of an odd number of flagpoles or at the far right — left from an observer's point of view — of an even number of flagpoles).
*When a national flag is displayed together with flags other than national flags, it should be flown on a separate flagpole, either higher or in the position of honour.
*When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags on the same flagpole, it must be at the top, though separate flagpoles are preferable.
*When a national flag is displayed together with any other flag on crossed flagpoles, the national flag must be on the observer's left and its flagpole must be in front of the flagpole of the other flag.
*When a national flag is displayed together with another flag or flags in procession, the national flag must be on the marching right. If there is a row of flags, it should be in the position of honour.
*When a national flag, with some exceptions, is flown upside down it indicates distress.  This however is merely tradition.  It is not a recognised distress signal according to the International regulations for preventing collisions at sea.  Further, a nation's flag is commonly flown inverted as a sign of protest or contempt against the country concerned. As of now, only the flag of the Philippines recognises the distress symbolism of the reverse flag.

Hanging a flag vertically

Most flags are hung vertically by rotating the flag pole. However, some countries have specific protocols for this purpose or even have special flags for vertical hanging; usually rotating some elements of the flag — such as the coat of arms — so that they are seen in an upright position. 

Examples of countries that have special protocol for vertical hanging are: Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Israel, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United States (reverse always showing); and the United Kingdom (obverse always showing).

Examples of countries that have special designs for vertical hanging are: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, and Slovakia (coat of arms must be rotated to normal position); Cambodia (coat of arms must be rotated and blue strips are narrowed); Dominica (coat of arms must be rotated and reverse always showing); Liechtenstein (crown must be rotated).
File:Flag of Slovakia vertical.svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Slovakia.
File:Vertical flag of Greece (correct).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Greece.
File:Vertical United States Flag.svg|Vertical variation of the flag of the United States.
File:Flag of Germany (Hanging state flag).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Germany.
File:Flag of Montenegro (vertical).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Montenegro.
File:Flag of the Philippines (vertical display).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of the Philippines.

Design

The art and practice of designing flags is known as vexillography. The design of national flags has seen a number of customs become apparent.

All national flags are rectangular, except for the flag of Nepal. The ratios of height to width vary among national flags, but none is taller than it is wide, again except for the flag of Nepal. The flags of Switzerland and the Vatican City are the only national flags which are exact squares.

The obverse and reverse of all national flags are either identical or mirrored, except for the flag of Paraguay and the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. See Flags whose reverse differs from the obverse for a list of exceptions including non-national flags.

As of 2011, all national flags consist of at least two different colours. In many cases, the different colours are presented in either horizontal or vertical bands. It is particularly common for colours to be presented in bands of three.

It is common for many flags to feature national symbols, such as coats of arms. National patterns are present in some flags. Variations in design within a national flag can be common in the flag's upper left quarter, or canton.

Colours

*
 The most popular colours in national flags are red, white, green, dark blue, yellow, light blue, and black. The [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Distribution_colours_in_national_flags.pdf graph] on the right shows the proportion of the surface colour across all national flags. The occurrence of each colour in all the flags is listed in detail in the table below. The table shows that the colours light brown, dark brown and grey only occur in very small quantities. In fact, they only occur in the symbols of flags, such as in the Spanish flag.

Similarities

Although the national flag is meant to be a unique symbol for a country, many pairs of countries have highly similar flags. Examples include the flags of Monaco and Indonesia, which differ only slightly in proportion; the flags of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which differ in proportion as well as in the tint of blue used; and the flags of Romania and Chad, which differ only in the tint of blue.

The flags of Ireland and Côte d'Ivoire and the flags of Mali and Guinea are (aside from shade or ratio differences) vertically mirrored versions from each other. This means that the reverse of one flag matches the obverse of the other. Other than horizontal mirrored flags (like Poland and Indonesia) the direction in which these flags fly are crucial to identify them.

There are three colour combinations that are used on several flags in certain regions. Blue, white, and red is a common combination in Slavic countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia as well as among Western nations including Australia, France, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States of America. Many African nations use the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green, including Ghana, Cameroon, Mali and Senegal. Flags containing red, white, and black (a subset of the Pan-Arab colours) can be found particularly among the Arab nations such as Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

While some similarities are coincidental, others are rooted in shared histories.  For example, the flags of Colombia, of Ecuador, and of Venezuela all use variants of the flag of Gran Colombia, the country they composed upon their independence from Spain, created by the Venezuelan independence hero Francisco de Miranda; and the flags of Kuwait, of Jordan, and of Palestine are all highly similar variants of the flag of the Arab revolt of 1916–1918. The flags of Romania and Moldova are virtually the same, because of the common history and heritage. Moldova adopted the Romanian flag during the declaration of independence from the USSR in 1991 (and was used in various demonstrations and revolts by the population) and later the Moldovan coat of arms (which is part of the Romanian coat of arms) was placed in the centre of the flag. The Nordic countries all use the Nordic Cross design (Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, in addition to the autonomous regions of the Faroe Islands and Åland), a horizontal cross shifted to the left on a single-coloured background. The United States and United Kingdom both have red, white, and blue. This similarity is due to the fact that the first 13 states of the U.S. were former colonies of the United Kingdom. Also, Australia and New Zealand share a very similar flag, which stems from their joint British heritage. Both of these flags feature the Union Jack in one corner, both have royal blue background, and both have the Southern Cross as a prominent feature. The only differences between these flags is that the Australian flag has the Commonwealth Star below the canton, and that on the New Zealand flag, just four stars in the Southern Cross are presented, and they are five-pointed red stars with white borders. On the other hand, all five stars of the Southern Cross are presented on the Australian flag, and they are white with seven points, except for the additional smaller fifth star in the Southern Cross which has only five points on this flag.  Some similarities to the United States flag with the red and white stripes are noted as well such as the flag of Malaysia and the flag of Liberia, the latter of which was an American resettlement colony.

Many other similarities may be found among current national flags, particularly if inversions of colour schemes are considered, e.g., compare the flag of Senegal to that of Cameroon and Indonesia to Poland. Also the Flag of Italy and the Flag of Hungary uses the same colours, in the same order, only the direction differs (the Italian flag is vertical and the Hungarian flag is horizontal) As a result of the ongoing Syrian civil war, there are currently two governments claiming to be the de jure government of Syria, using different flags to represent the state. The incumbent government, led by Bashar al-Assad and the Ba'ath Party, is using the red-white-black United Arab Republic flag in use since 1980; while the Syrian Interim Government, led by the Syrian National Coalition – seeking to overthrow the Assad government – readopted the green-white-black Independence flag in 2012.

Flag used by the Assad government 

The current flag was first adopted in 1958 to represent Syria as part of the United Arab Republic, and was used until 1961. It was readopted in 1980. Since its first adoption, variations of the red-white-black flag have been used in various Arab Unions of Syria with Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Iraq. Although Syria is not part of any Arab state union, the flag of the United Arab Republic was readopted to show Syria's commitment to Arab unity. The usage of the flag has become disputed because it is often associated with the Ba'ath Party and has come to represent parties loyal to Assad's government in the Syrian civil war. 

The Syrian flag is described in Article 6 of the Syrian Constitution. The first paragraph of the Article states:

Flag used by the Syrian National Coalition and Syrian Interim Government

During the ongoing civil war, the Syrian opposition, represented by the Syrian National Council, then by the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces  (commonly named the Syrian National Coalition) used a modified version of the independence flag first used in 1932 in a 2:3 scale. The modified independence flag began to be used as a universal display of the protesting opposition in late 2011. The opposition wanted to distinguish themselves from the current Syrian government and favoured the use of the flag used when Syria gained its independence from France. Khaled Kamal, an official from the Syrian National Council, now believes this flag to also represent independence and the end of Bashar al-Assad's government. Today the flag is mainly used in areas controlled by the Syrian National Coalition. The use of the modified independence flag is similar to the Libyan rebels' use of the pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag from the era of the Kingdom of Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi's green flag. Sometimes, the original 1:2 scale flag is used by the opposition unofficially on several occasions.

Historic flags of Syria

Kingdom of Syria (1920)

The first native Syrian flag was that of the short-lived Kingdom of Syria. The Ottoman flag had been used in Syria until Ottomans left the country on 18 September 1918. In 1918, the official flag of Syria was the Faysal flag, the flag of the Arab revolt between 1916 and 1918. It was officially adopted by the Hashemite family on 30 September 1918 and remained in use until 8 March 1920. The Faysal flag was then redesigned with the 7-pointed white star and was in use until 24 July 1920. This flag was, however, was adopted by Jordan somewhat later. The kingdom lasted for just over 4 months in 1920 before being occupied by France and formally incorporated into the French colonial empire for some 12 years. Due first to French stalling with regard to signing an independence treaty, then followed by the chaotic political environment of World War II, Syria continued to be factually occupied to varying degrees. The last French troops left Syria in August 1946.

French Mandate flags (1920–32) 

The Faysal flag was abandoned with the arrival of French colonials to Syria. The French High Commissioner for Syria, General Henri Gouraud adopted the new flag of the French Mandate of Syria (blue with a white crescent, see below) on 24 July 1920. Gouraud's flag was in use until 1 September 1920, after which Syria was split into separate territories, each eventually given its own flag.  The Prime Minister of Syria under French Mandate, Jamil al-Ulshi, adopted the new flag on 22 June 1920. This flag was in use until 1930. The third and final flag under the French Mandate was adopted by Prime Minister Taj al-Din al-Hasani in 1930 and was used until 1 January 1932.

Independence flag

French Mandate and independence (1932–58, 1961–63)

The flag of the newly established Syrian Republic, under the French mandate was determined by the 1930 constitution. The constitution was drafted by a parliamentary committee led by nationalist leader Ibrahim Hananu. At first, French authorities refused to allow the constituent assembly to ratify the constitution, and Henri Ponsot, the High Commissioner of the Levant, dissolved the assembly on 5 February 1929. After a public uproar, French authorities rescinded their decision and decided to approve the draft with some changes. On 14 May 1930, Ponsot issued decree number 3111, which approved the Syrian-drafted "Constitution of the Syrian Republic", and which in Article IV of Part I states:

The flag was adopted when Syria gained its independence on 17 April 1946. The flag's green colour stood for the Rashidun, white represented the Umayyads and black symbolised the Abbasids. Originally, the three red stars represented the three districts of Syria, Aleppo, Damascus, and Deir ez-Zor. In 1936, the Sanjak of Latakia and Jebel Druze were added to Syria, and the representation of the three stars was changed, with the first representing the districts of Aleppo, Damascus and Deir ez-Zor, the second Jebel Druze, and the final star representing Sanjak of Latakia. The flag was officially hoisted in Damascus on 11 June 1932, but was previously flown in Aleppo on 1 January 1932. The flag was used as a symbol for Syrians to rally around when France reneged on its agreement to leave the country, due to the outbreak of World War II. The standard was used until the creation of the United Arab Republic, a state union of Syria and Egypt, in 1958. After the collapse of the United Arab Republic, Syria used the UAR's flag until 28 September 1961, when it was replaced by the independence flag to disassociate Syria from the former failed union.

Ba'athist flags

The current two-star flag of Syria was first adopted by Gamal Abd al-Nasser, president of Egypt and president of the United Arab Republic. The flag was changed from the former independence flag in April 1958 along with associated laws designed to create a greater Arab identity. The new flag took the coloured red-white-black bands from the Arab Liberation flag and the stars on the flag were changed from red to green in order to restore the pan-Arab colours. The two stars represented Egypt and Syria. After Syria left the UAR on 28 September 1961, the previous independence flag was readopted to disassociate Syria from the failed union. The first flag of Syria to be adopted by its Revolutionary Command Council — following a Ba'athist coup d'état — was adopted on 8 March 1963, and was used until 1 January 1972. In 1963, the Ba'athist regime came to power in Iraq as well, and the two Ba'athis governments began negotiations in Cairo in order to once again form a union between Egypt, Syria and Iraq. The process failed after the Iraqi Ba'athist government was overthrown in November 1963 but both Syria and Iraq did adopt a new flag to represent the union. This flag was not much different from the flag of the UAR, with only a change from two stars to three, in order to represent the addition of Iraq to the Federation. The three stars represented the unity of Egypt, Syria and Iraq, as well as three pillars of Ba'athism: unity, freedom, and socialism. President Hafez al-Assad adopted the new flag on 1 January 1972, as Syria joined Egypt and Libya in the Federation of Arab Republics. The green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Quraish (the symbol of the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad). The eagle held the ribbon with name of the Federation, but unlike Egypt and Libya, Syria did not include its name on the coat of arms. This flag was an official flag during the October War in 1973. The Federation was dissolved in 1977, but Syria continued to use the flag for the next three years. The flag was abrogated on 29 March 1980, and replaced by the current two-star flag in order to show Syria's commitment to Arab unity.

List of flags of Syria

Flags of heads of state

Other opposition flags used in Syrian Civil War

Mandate of Syria

Each of the states in the French Mandate of Syria had its own distinct flag. The Alexandretta Sanjak, which was a part of Aleppo State from 1920 to 1923, and later a part of the Alawite State from 1923 to 1938, did not have its own flag until it became independent as the Hatay State.
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 What color are the two stars on the National Flag of Serbia? 

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