Iraq is Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates where Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria built some of the first cities, writing systems, and law codes in human history. Centuries of Persian and Hellenistic rule followed, then the 7th-century Arab-Islamic conquest, then Baghdad's rise from 762 as the Abbasid Caliphate's capital and a genuine golden age of science and philosophy — ended abruptly by the Mongols' catastrophic 1258 sack of the city.
Ottoman rule from 1534 gave way to British mandate after World War I, a monarchy carved from three Ottoman provinces, a republic after 1958, the well-documented Ba'athist era under Saddam Hussein, and the 2003 invasion that eventually produced the current flag, restyled in 2008.
Scope of this page: the land of Mesopotamia and the modern state of Iraq, c. 3100 BCE–present, twelve political entities. The ancient period (Sumer through Assyria) and the long span of Persian and Hellenistic rule before the Arab conquest are each treated as single honest bridging entries, since no single flag can be attributed to either era and false precision would misrepresent how fragmented and multi-power those centuries actually were. No internal governing split within Iraq's own modern borders is traceable across this span with the data available in this session, so the map below traces the whole country rather than an internal partition — see the rule box under the map for why. Part of a larger atlas — see the linked pages at the bottom.
One border, then two: Kurdistan's own government
Iraq's own real border, traced whole, now split to show the one long-running internal division the record does support cleanly: the autonomous Kurdistan Region in the northeast, which has run its own government since the 1970s. Press play, or drag the slider, to watch who held the whole country, then how Kurdistan's own administration diverges.
Iraq's history has two real regional distinctions of note. The Ottoman-era vilayets of Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul each answered to Istanbul as separate provinces for parts of this span, but that three-way split doesn't reduce to this map's simple two-territory adjacency model and isn't shown here. The modern Kurdistan Region is different: it has held its own formal autonomous government since a 1970 agreement with Baghdad, strengthened by the post-Gulf War no-fly zone from 1991, and constitutionally entrenched as a federal region — with its own parliament, presidency, and Peshmerga security forces — under the 2005 constitution. That is shown below from 1970 onward. Its boundary here is a schematic approximation, not a surveyed governorate line: no single, universally agreed administrative border exists along its edge, where a set of disputed territories (Kirkuk chief among them) are claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil, so the line drawn is illustrative only.
c. 3100 BCE
Sumer, Akkad, Babylon & Assyria
Real traced outer border; the Kurdistan Region's internal boundary is a schematic approximation, not a surveyed governorate line — see the rule box above for why.
How we know this. 12 of 12 eras on this page carry an evidence panel (4 attested, 3 placeholder image, 5 not yet checked). Only the ones marked attested are confirmed by the sources named under them; where sources disagree or a claim could not be confirmed, the panel says so.
current flag — the three stars are dropped, script restyled in Kufic, 2008
Who & why: after the 2003 invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, Iraq's parliament debates the flag repeatedly — a 2004 proposal for an entirely new blue-and-yellow design is abandoned within weeks after public backlash — before finally passing Law No. 9 of 2008, keeping the familiar red-white-black tricolor but standardizing the script and dropping the three green stars associated with the former ruling party.
What it represents: the same red-white-black horizontal tricolor used since 1963, but with Allahu Akbar ("God is greatest") rendered in green Kufic calligraphy rather than Saddam Hussein's own handwriting, and the three stars removed.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: approved by the Council of Representatives on 22 January 2008 (Law 9 of 2008), three stars removed, takbir in bold dark green Kufic script. FOTW: parliament voted on 22 January 2008 for the act that removed the three stars and kept the green Kufic takbir (described as interim for one year).
LayoutRed / white / black bands; green Kufic-script Allahu Akbar centered in the white band; no stars.
Red#CE1126
White#F4EFE1
Black#1A1712
Script, green#0B7A3D
Saddam Hussein adds his own handwritten Takbir, 1991; flag unchanged through the 2003 invasion
1991 – 2008
Ba'athist Iraq, and post-invasion continuity
RepublicSaddam HusseinSecular Ba'athist state
Migration & conquest:Occupied by: US-led coalition (2003–04)Emigration: Kurdish refugee crisis (1991)Emigration: Iraqis to Syria & Jordan (2003–08)
Who & why: amid the buildup to the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein orders Allahu Akbar added to the flag in his own handwriting in January 1991, a gesture toward Islamic legitimacy. The Ba'athist government falls in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, but the interim Iraqi authorities and the first post-invasion governments keep this same flag in official use for years — a 2004 attempt to replace it outright is dropped almost immediately — until parliament finally legislates a redesign in 2008.
What it represents: the same 1963 tricolor and three green stars, now with green Arabic script reading Allahu Akbar added between the stars in Saddam Hussein's personal handwriting, simplified here to a generic mark.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: in January 1991, during the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein added the takbir between the stars (the page gives 13 or 14 January from different sources; amending law dated 22 January 1991) and says its form 'was said to be Saddam's own handwriting'. FOTW: takbir added 13 January 1991, with comments saying it was in Saddam's handwriting. Wikipedia also records a transitional Kufic-script version unveiled 28 July 2004 with the three stars retained, so the flag was not unchanged until 2008.
Not established: The exact 1991 day differs between sources; the 2004 Kufic version falls inside this span.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutRed / white / black bands; three green five-pointed stars and green handwritten Allahu Akbar script in the white band.
Red#CE1126
White#F4EFE1
Black#1A1712
Stars & script, green#0B7A3D
the Ba'athist tricolor with three green stars, adopted after the 1963 Ramadan Revolution
1963 – 1991
Ba'athist Iraq
RepublicAhmed Hassan al-BakrSecular Ba'athist state
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Egyptian & Arab guest workers (1970s–80s)Emigration: Kurds fleeing the Anfal campaign (1988)
Who & why: the Ba'ath Party seizes power in the February 1963 Ramadan Revolution and adopts a new flag that July, matching the "Arab Liberation" color scheme and design language Egypt and Syria had already adopted as a gesture toward pan-Arab unity. The Ba'ath Party consolidates lasting control after a second 1968 coup; Saddam Hussein becomes president in 1979 and rules until 2003, a period covering the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), the Gulf War (1990–1991), and harsh internal repression, all extensively documented.
What it represents: Wikipedia says the three-star flag was adopted on 31 July 1963 (Law 28 of 1963) under the government of Abdul Salam Arif. Flags of the World says the stars were originally meant to express Arab unity with Egypt and Syria. The red-white-black bands and the green colour of the stars are not described in the pages read.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: three-star flag adopted 31 July 1963 under Law 28 of 1963 by the government of Abdul Salam Arif. Flags of the World (Iraq evolution page): the 1963-1991 flag is dated 31 July 1963 - 13 January 1991; three red-white-black stripes with three green stars on the white stripe; the stars were meant to remind Iraqis of attempts to unify Arab countries (Egypt, Syria), later reinterpreted as the Baath motto after the 1968 coup (a contributor, citing a site no longer online).
Not established: The two sources name different governments (Wikipedia: Arif's; Flags of the World contributor: the Baathist government); the colour description in FOTW is inferred from the UAR flag rather than stated for 1963.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutRed / white / black bands; three green five-pointed stars centered in the white band.
Red#CE1126
White#F4EFE1
Black#1A1712
Stars, green#0B7A3D
the Qasim-era flag; Wikipedia describes a star-and-circle, not the sun and dagger drawn here
1958 – 1963
Iraqi Republic (post-monarchy)
RepublicAbd al-Karim QasimSecular republic (no established religion)
Who & why: Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim leads the 14 July 1958 coup that kills King Faisal II and the royal family and ends the monarchy outright, declaring a republic. Qasim's government adopts a new flag the following year, deliberately breaking from the old dynastic design; his own rule ends violently in a 1963 coup that brings the Ba'ath Party to power for the first time.
What it represents: Wikipedia says the Qasimist republic's flag, adopted under Law 102 of 1959, had a red eight-pointed star containing a yellow circle, the circle standing for Iraqi Kurds and the star around it for Assyrians. It does not describe the sun-and-dagger device or the red-white-black bands drawn here. Wikipedia also lists a 1958 Arab Federation (Iraq-Jordan) flag. The drawing and this page's earlier wording are not supported by the sources read.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia and Flags of the World (Iraqi Republic 1959-1963, citing Alexander & Smith 1992) agree that the republic's flag adopted a year after the July 1958 revolution (Wikipedia: Law 102 of 1959) was a black-white-green flag with an eight-pointed star containing a circle in the middle (Flags of the World: the 'Sun of Mesopotamia', star red, yellow core for the Kurds and red rays for the Christian-Assyrians). Wikipedia also lists a February-July 1958 Arab Federation flag.
Not established: The two sources agree on the real design, but this page's drawing and caption (a sun-and-dagger device on red-white-black bands) match neither, so the row cannot be attested until the drawing is replaced; FOTW describes the bands as vertical while Wikipedia's text was not compared on that point; no flag for the 1958 revolution itself (July 1958 - 1959) is described.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutRed / white / black bands; yellow eight-pointed sun with a black Kurdish dagger, centered in the white band, simplified here.
Red#CE1126
White#F4EFE1
Black#1A1712
Sun, yellow#F9D616
the Kingdom's flag; Wikipedia describes a red trapezoid with two seven-pointed stars from 1924
Migration & conquest:Emigration: Iraqi Jews to Israel (1950–51)
Ruling house:Hashemite dynasty
Who & why: the League of Nations mandate formally ends on 3 October 1932 and Iraq gains full independence under King Faisal I, its Hashemite monarch since 1921, while remaining closely tied to Britain through treaty obligations, including basing rights. Faisal I dies in 1933; his grandson Faisal II is still a minor when the 1958 coup ends the dynasty.
What it represents: Wikipedia says the Kingdom's flag changed on 10 July 1924: the red triangle became a trapezoid carrying two seven-pointed white stars (said to stand for the Tigris and Euphrates), used until 1 January 1959. It was therefore not unchanged since 1921, and the single star drawn here does not match Wikipedia's description. The Hashemite echo of the Arab Revolt flag is from the 1921 design.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Flags of the World (Kingdom of Iraq 1924-1958, quoting Art. 4 of the 1925 Constitution) describes a black-white-green horizontal tricolour with a red trapezoid at the hoist carrying two white seven-pointed stars, adopted 10 July 1924 (Bruce Berry) and in use at independence in 1932; Wikipedia gives the same 10 July 1924 date and design. Both therefore agree the 1932 flag was the 1924 design.
Not established: The two sources agree on the design and the 1924 date, but this page's drawing shows a single star, which matches neither; FOTW's page gives 1924-1959 in text and 1924-1958 in its title; row stays unreviewed until the drawing is corrected.
Paint guide
ProportionsRoughly 1:2.
LayoutBlack / white / green horizontal bands; red triangle at the hoist bearing a white seven-pointed star, simplified here.
Black#1A1712
White#F4EFE1
Green#0B7A3D
Triangle, red#CE1126
Faisal I's flag, adopted 1921, on the Arab Revolt color pattern
1920 – 1932
British Mandate of Iraq
MandateFaisal IIslam (predominant, no formal establishment)
Migration & conquest:Occupied by: Britain
Ruling house:Hashemite dynasty
Who & why: after the Ottoman defeat in World War I, Britain administers the former Ottoman provinces of Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra under a League of Nations mandate from 1920. Facing a major anti-British revolt that same year, Britain installs Faisal, a Hashemite prince and leader of the wartime Arab Revolt, as king in August 1921, governing under British supervision until full independence in 1932.
What it represents: Wikipedia says a black-white-green horizontal flag with a red triangle at the hoist, inspired by the Arab Revolt flag, was adopted in 1921 and used from 23 August 1921 to 10 July 1924. It does not mention a star in the triangle for this first version, so the star drawn here is not supported by the sources read; it names two seven-pointed stars only from 1924 (next entry).
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Flags of the World (Mesopotamia 1920-1924) says 'Sources do not agree about the flags used in Iraq during this period': Alexander & Smith give a two-star flag for 1920-21 and the same flag without stars from 1921 to 1924, while Smith (1975) shows a starless black-white-green flag with a red triangle. Wikipedia gives a starless 1921 flag used from 23 August 1921 to 10 July 1924. The two publishers agree on no star for 1921-24; neither mentions British flags.
Not established: This page's white seven-pointed star in 1921 is contradicted by both; FOTW does not name Faisal as designer or use the term British Mandate; the mandate start (1920) and the 1921 adoption date are not tied to a flag by FOTW. Row stays unreviewed until the drawing matches.
Paint guide
ProportionsRoughly 1:2.
LayoutBlack / white / green horizontal bands; red triangle at the hoist bearing a white seven-pointed star, simplified here.
Black#1A1712
White#F4EFE1
Green#0B7A3D
Triangle, red#CE1126
the Ottoman crescent and star, standardized 1844
1534 – 1920
Ottoman Iraq
EmpireSuleiman the MagnificentSunni Islam (Ottoman)
Migration & conquest:Conquered by: Ottoman Empire
Who & why: Ottoman forces under Suleiman the Magnificent capture Baghdad in 1534, bringing Mesopotamia under Ottoman rule; the territory is contested with Safavid Persia for another century before Ottoman control settles by the 1639 Treaty of Zuhab, which fixes a border still broadly recognizable today. Iraq remains organized as the Ottoman provinces (vilayets) of Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra until the empire's defeat in World War I.
What it represents: the Ottoman red flag with a crescent and star. Wikipedia says a simple crescent flag was in use from the empire's early centuries (reported as late as 1780), an eight-pointed-star flag was decreed for naval ships in 1793, and a five-pointed version was officially adopted in 1844 (a footnote gives 1826 under Mahmud II). Wikipedia does not name the sultan for 1844 or describe any Iraq-specific provincial flag.
Attestedhow we know this
Flags of the World's Iraq index lists 'Ottoman Empire c. 1535-1920' (tr-ottom.html) as the historical flag entry for Iraq in that span; Wikipedia (Flag of the Ottoman Empire) describes a simple crescent flag in early centuries, an eight-pointed star decree for naval ships in 1793, and the five-pointed version officially adopted in 1844 (footnote: 1826 under Mahmud II). Flags of the World's Ottoman page gives 1793 and 1844 from Zanamierowski, flagged as unevidenced.
Not established: Neither source describes an Iraq-specific provincial flag; the sultan for 1844 is not named; Ottoman 1844 date is contested (1826); the 1534 start is close to the FOTW 1535 date.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio before 1844; shown at 3:2.
LayoutRed field, white crescent and five-pointed star, standardized 1844.
Red#E30A17
White#F4EFE1
placeholder — contested between several powers, no shared design attested
1258 – 1534
Mongol sack aftermath and contested rule
Contested territoryHulagu KhanMongol tolerance, then Sunni Islam
Migration & conquest:Conquered by: Mongol Empire
Who & why: Hulagu Khan's Mongol army sacks Baghdad in February 1258, executes the last Abbasid caliph, and destroys the city's libraries, canals, and population on a scale from which it never fully recovers — a catastrophic rupture that historians still treat as a turning point for the wider region. Iraq passes through Mongol Ilkhanate rule, then the Jalayirid dynasty, then Timur's devastating 1401 sack of Baghdad, before becoming a contested borderland between the rising Ottoman and Safavid empires through the early 16th century.
What it represents: across nearly three centuries of shifting Mongol, Turkic, and Persian overlordship, no single flag or banner can honestly represent Iraq as a political unit; rulers used personal and dynastic tamgha marks rather than territorial flags. Shown here blank rather than invented.
Placeholder imagehow we know this
This page's own caption calls the image a placeholder: «placeholder — contested between several powers, no shared design attested».
Not established: Whether a flag, banner or standard existed in this period was not checked. The colour shown is not evidence of one.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag.
the black Abbasid banner, flown over Baghdad during its golden age
Who & why: Caliph al-Mansur founds Baghdad as the Abbasid capital in 762, and the city grows within a few generations into the intellectual and commercial capital of the Islamic world. The 8th through 13th centuries bring a genuine golden age — the House of Wisdom's translation movement, and enormous advances in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy, much of it later transmitted to medieval Europe — even as Abbasid political power itself steadily fragments after the 9th century into the hands of regional dynasties and military commanders ruling in the caliph's name. The era ends catastrophically with the Mongol sack of the city in 1258.
What it represents: the plain black banner, associated with the Abbasid revolutionary movement since 750, remains the caliphate's recognized state color throughout this span, even as real political power around Baghdad shifts repeatedly between competing dynasties and military patrons.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia (Abbasid Caliphate): the infobox flag is captioned 'The Abbasid Black Standard'; Abu Muslim began the revolt under the Black Standard; al-Mansur founded Baghdad in 762 (capital 762-836 and 892-1258); the caliphate effectively ended with the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258. Flags of the World (religious flags) says the Abbasid Revolution adopted black for its rayah, but this is pasted from Wikipedia plus a contributor's uncited belief that a white Shahada was shown.
Not established: Both publishers trace to Wikipedia, so there is no independent second source; the claim that black remained the caliphate's recognised state colour through 1258 is not stated by either.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded.
LayoutPlain black field.
Black#1A1712
the plain white Umayyad banner, representative of most of this span
637 – 762
Arab-Islamic conquest and early Caliphal Iraq
CaliphateCaliph Umar ibn al-KhattabIslam (Rashidun/Umayyad)
Who & why: Arab Muslim forces defeat the Sasanian Persian army at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah around 636 and take the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon in 637, ending Persian rule over Mesopotamia; the garrison town of Kufa, founded that same year, briefly serves as an early caliphal capital. Iraq remains under the Rashidun Caliphate and then the Damascus-based Umayyad dynasty (661–750) until the 750 Abbasid Revolution, which begins in Iraq itself, topples the Umayyads and, twelve years later, relocates the caliphate's capital to the newly founded Baghdad.
What it represents: the plain white banner is most associated with the Umayyad dynasty, which governs the bulk of this span; the shorter Rashidun period before it used simpler, less standardized banners, and the last twelve years already fly the Abbasids' black.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Flags of the World (religious flags) quotes Wikipedia that Ali used the Prophet's white liwa at Siffin and that forces loyal to Marwan II adopted red; it never names the Umayyads. Ronart (1959) is cited only for the caliphate being spiritual, political and military leadership.
Not established: No independent source states a white Umayyad banner or its use in Iraq; the 637 conquest date and Rashidun banners are not covered.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded.
LayoutPlain white field (Umayyad, 661–750).
White#F4EFE1
placeholder — a province of successive foreign empires, no flag attested
539 BCE – 637 CE
Persian and Hellenistic imperial rule
Imperial provinceCyrus the GreatVaried (chiefly Zoroastrianism)
Migration & conquest:Emigration: Judeans returning from Babylon (538 BCE)
Who & why: Cyrus the Great's Achaemenid Persian army takes Babylon in 539 BCE, ending nearly three millennia of native Mesopotamian rule; Mesopotamia then passes to Alexander the Great's conquest in 331 BCE, to his Seleucid successors, to the Parthian Empire from the mid-2nd century BCE, and finally to Sasanian Persia from 226 CE, whose capital Ctesiphon sits just south of modern Baghdad. Almost twelve centuries pass with Mesopotamia governed as a province or contested frontier of larger empires centered elsewhere, until the Arab-Islamic conquest reaches Ctesiphon in 637.
What it represents: across four successive foreign empires and nearly twelve centuries, no flag can be honestly attributed to Mesopotamia itself as a political unit; each ruling power used its own imperial symbols, described on Iran's own page in this atlas. Shown here blank rather than invented, and treated as one bridging entry to avoid false precision about an era with no single ruling identity.
Placeholder imagehow we know this
This page's own caption calls the image a placeholder: «placeholder — a province of successive foreign empires, no flag attested».
Not established: Whether a flag, banner or standard existed in this period was not checked. The colour shown is not evidence of one.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag.
placeholder — flags as a form did not yet exist; several civilizations rose and fell
c. 3100 – 539 BCE
Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria
Ancient civilizationsNo single ruler documentedMesopotamian polytheism
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Assyrian deportee resettlement (8th–7th c. BCE)
Who & why: Sumerian city-states like Uruk and Ur develop the world's earliest writing system by roughly 3100 BCE; Sargon of Akkad forges the first known multi-ethnic empire around 2334 BCE; Babylon rises to prominence under Hammurabi (r. c. 1792–1750 BCE), whose law code is among the oldest surviving legal texts; and the Assyrian Empire, centered on Nineveh, builds one of the ancient world's most formidable military states before its own collapse around 609 BCE leaves a Neo-Babylonian revival that lasts only until Cyrus the Great's Persian conquest in 539 BCE.
What it represents: no flag, in the vexillological sense of a fixed rectangular banner, exists anywhere in this era; these civilizations expressed identity and royal authority instead through standards, religious emblems (the winged sun-disc, Ishtar's eight-pointed star, the lamassu guardian figures), and monumental inscriptions. Shown here blank rather than invented, and treated as one bridging entry across roughly two and a half millennia and several distinct civilizations, since no finer granularity would be historically honest.
Placeholder imagehow we know this
This page's own caption calls the image a placeholder: «placeholder — flags as a form did not yet exist; several civilizations rose and fell».
Not established: Whether a flag, banner or standard existed in this period was not checked. The colour shown is not evidence of one.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag.
Reading the tags
Ancient civilizations — pre-flag, multiple powers
Imperial province — ruled from an empire centered elsewhere
Caliphate — governed as part of the Islamic caliphate
Contested territory — no single stable ruling power
Empire — Ottoman imperial rule
Mandate — League of Nations administration
Kingdom, independent — sovereign under its own crown
Republic — the modern state since 1958
Leader — the named ruler most associated with the era's start
State religion — the official/established faith, not the population's
Find the records
Family history research for Iraq lives in a different project, Record Atlas, which maps which archive actually holds the paper for a given place and era.