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Flags of Lebanon

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Flags of Lebanon

From the ancient Phoenician port cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos — whose cedar-covered mountains gave this land the symbol still at the center of its flag today — through Crusader Tripoli, four Ottoman centuries with a distinctive stretch of local autonomy, a French Mandate, and the 1943 flag that has flown unchanged through independence and civil war alike.

This region's most recent history includes genuinely contested, once-active conflict. Where the record below reaches the 20th century, it sticks to dates, names, and documents, describing Lebanon's confessional political system and its 1975–1990 civil war factually and neutrally rather than taking any side.

Scope of this page: the lands of present-day Lebanon, antiquity–present, seven political entities. Part of a larger atlas — see the map and linked pages at the bottom.

One border, seven rulers

Lebanon's own real border, traced whole — this page has no internal split to show honestly. Press play, or drag the slider, to watch who held all of it, era to era.

Mount Lebanon's autonomy, and the 1975–90 civil war's factional lines, both stopped short of a clean two-region split. Ottoman-era Mount Lebanon governed itself under local emirs while remaining, on paper, part of the same Ottoman Syria as the coast around it — a real but informal distinction, not a separately flagged territory. The civil war fractured the country among many armed factions and shifting front lines rather than two stable, differently-governed halves. What changes here is only who held all of Lebanon's present-day territory at once.
antiquity
SYRIA MEDITERRANEAN SEA ISRAEL LEBANON
Ancient Phoenicia through early Islamic rule

Real traced border (Natural Earth 50m via ADM0_A3=LBN), no internal partition — see the rule box above for why. Neighbor labels are approximate.

How we know this. 7 of 7 eras on this page carry an evidence panel (3 attested, 4 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.
red-white-red with the green cedar, unchanged since 1943
1943 – present

Republic of Lebanon

Republic, independentBechara El KhouryNo single state religion (multi-confessional power-sharing)
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Palestinian refugees (1948–)Immigration: Syrian refugees (2011–)Emigration: repeated waves amid war & crisis

Who & why: Lebanon's parliament declared independence on 22 November 1943, still marked as its national day; the last French troops withdrew in December 1946. Governance since rests on the unwritten 1943 National Pact, a confessional power-sharing system distributing the country's top offices — the presidency, premiership, and speakership of parliament — among specific religious communities, a real and distinctive feature that remains in operation today. A civil war lasted from 1975 to 1990, formally ended by the 1989 Taif Agreement, which adjusted but did not abolish the confessional system.

What it represents: two red horizontal bands framing a wider white band bearing a green cedar tree (Cedrus libani), set in the Constitution on 7 December 1943 at independence; the layout is unchanged since, but Wikipedia says the cedar was usually drawn with a brown trunk until a 1990 amendment made the whole tree green, while Flags of the World says it was officially green from the start.

Attestedhow we know this

Wikipedia: the flag was introduced into the Constitution on 7 December 1943 (first raised 21 November 1943 at Bechamoun), three horizontal stripes with a double-width white stripe and a cedar occupying one third of it. Flags of the World: adopted 07 Dec 1943; the 1926 constitution's blue-white-red with cedar article was changed on 7 December 1943 to red, white and red horizontal stripes with a green cedar.

Not established: 'Unchanged since 1943' is not exact: Wikipedia says the cedar was usually drawn with a brown trunk until a 21 September 1990 amendment made the whole tree green. FOTW says the cedar was officially green from the start; the two differ on that.

Paint guide
Proportions2:3; red bands each one-quarter height, white band one-half.
LayoutRed, white (double height), red horizontal bands; green cedar tree centered in the white band.
Red#EE161F
White#F4EFE1
Cedar green#00A651
French tricolor, with the State of Greater Lebanon's own cedar flag flown alongside
1920 – 1943

French Mandate

MandateHenri GouraudNo official state religion (multiple communities recognized)
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Armenian genocide refugees (1920s)

Who & why: the April 1920 San Remo Conference assigned France a League of Nations Mandate over Syria and Lebanon. French High Commissioner General Henri Gouraud proclaimed the State of Greater Lebanon on 1 September 1920, enlarging Mount Lebanon's autonomous territory to its present-day borders by adding Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and other coastal and southern districts. The Mandate continued until the 1943 independence declaration and the phased French withdrawal that followed.

What it represents: the French tricolor flew as the mandatory power's flag; the State of Greater Lebanon flew its own flag — the French tricolor with a cedar tree added in the white band — representing local administration under the Mandate. Wikipedia and Flags of the World both describe the cedar tricolour used under the Mandate; the sources read do not describe the French tricolour itself as flown there.

Attestedhow we know this

Wikipedia: demonstrators raised a cedar-bearing tricolour at Baabda on 22 March 1920; it captions the State of Greater Lebanon flag as used 1920-1943 and quotes the constitution of 23 May 1926 (blue, white, red vertical bands, cedar on the white). FOTW (citing Heimer): the French tricolour with a cedar in the middle was used under the French mandate; it quotes the same 23 May 1926 article.

Not established: Neither page describes the plain French tricolour as the mandatory power's own flag in Lebanon, or the two flying side by side.

Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal vertical bands with the cedar added to the white band on the local variant.
LayoutBlue, white, red vertical bands; green cedar centered on the white band.
Blue#0B3D7A
Cedar green#00A651
Ottoman state flag, flown over an internationally-guaranteed autonomous district
1861 – 1918

Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon (autonomous)

Autonomous provinceDavud PashaSunni Islam (Ottoman state religion)
Migration & conquest:Emigration: to the Americas & beyond (1880s–)Emigration: famine-driven flight (1915–18)

Who & why: following sectarian conflict in 1860 and subsequent European intervention, the major powers and the Ottoman government agreed to organize Mount Lebanon as a special autonomous province, governed by a non-Lebanese Christian mutasarrif appointed by the Ottoman sultan under international guarantee. This arrangement lasted until the Ottoman Empire's collapse at the close of World War I in 1918; wider Ottoman rule over the surrounding region continued through the same span.

What it represents: the Ottoman state flag, a red field with a white crescent and star, remained the flag of record for the mutasarrifate as an Ottoman province, even as its internal governance was distinctively autonomous. The sources read do not describe the Ottoman flag or any flag of the mutasarrifate; Wikipedia mentions a 1907 proposal to add a cedar branch to the Ottoman flag and a white cedar flag flown at Baabda from November 1918.

Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this

Flags of the World (Ollé, 2003, on the Ottoman page): 'The flag of the Mutaserif (governor) and Mutasaferiat (land under his rule) was the Ottoman state flag', a red cloth with a white crescent and star (Nehmé 1995). Wikipedia dates the Mutasarrifate 9 June 1861 to September 1918 and records a 1907 proposal to add a cedar branch to the Ottoman flag and a white cedar flag at Baabda from 2 November 1918; FOTW's cedar page says the Maronite cedar flag had its first attested use in October 1848 and was in use in 1918-1919.

Not established: The mutasarrifate's flag is stated only by Flags of the World (Ollé); Wikipedia implies the Ottoman flag by the 1907 proposal but does not say it. The crescent-and-star design for 1861-1918 is not tied to a decree in the sources read.

Paint guide
Proportions2:3, plain rectangle shown here.
LayoutRed field, white crescent and five-pointed star.
Red#A4302A
White#F4EFE1
Ottoman state flag, part of Ottoman Syria
1517 – 1861

Ottoman Syria (undifferentiated)

Empire provinceSelim ISunni Islam (Ottoman state religion)
Migration & conquest:Conquered by: Ottoman EmpireEmigration: 1860 civil-war displacement

Who & why: Ottoman conquest in 1516–17 absorbed the region into the wider provincial system of Ottoman Syria, without a separate Lebanese administrative unit. Mount Lebanon itself, however, retained a real degree of local autonomy for much of this span under Druze and Maronite emirs — the Ma'n dynasty into the early 18th century, succeeded by the Shihab dynasty — who governed with a light Ottoman hand until growing sectarian tension and European involvement led to the more formal Mutasarrifate arrangement of 1861. This long, unevenly-governed span is treated here as one honest bridging entry rather than invented precise sub-periods.

What it represents: under Ottoman rule Lebanon's emirates flew local flags (Flags of the World lists Maanid, Chehab and other houses) and Maronites used a white cedar flag (first attested 1848); Flags of the World gives the Ottoman flag in Lebanon as red with a white crescent and star, but Wikipedia's article on the Ottoman flag dates that design to the late 18th century and 1844, so it cannot be assumed for the whole of 1517-1861.

Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this

Flags of the World lists the Ottoman flag for 1516-1918 as a red cloth with a white crescent and star (Nehmé 1995) and, on its Lebanon history page, separate flags of local houses: the Maanid emirate (c. 1119-c. 1697), the Chehab emirate (c. 1697-1842, blue with a white crescent), Jumblattians, Nakadites, and others. Wikipedia and FOTW date Maronite use of a white cedar flag to 1848 and the 17th/18th century. Wikipedia's article on the Ottoman flag puts the crescent-and-star as late 18th-century and the five-pointed star flag as 1844.

Not established: The page's claim that the red crescent-and-star flag was the empire-wide flag from 1517 is not supported: the Ottoman flag article says the star and crescent came into use in the second half of the 18th century and was officially adopted in 1844. Local emirs' flags are documented only on FOTW's page.

Paint guide
Proportions2:3, plain rectangle shown here.
LayoutRed field, white crescent and five-pointed star.
Red#A4302A
Mamluk gold field with a simplified eagle blazon
1289 – 1517

Mamluk Sultanate

SultanateQalawunSunni Islam (Mamluk state religion)
Migration & conquest:Conquered by: Mamluk Sultanate

Who & why: the Mamluks, ruling from Cairo, took Tripoli from its last Crusader count in 1289, ending Crusader presence in the region, and administered Lebanon's territory through provincial governors until the Ottoman conquest of 1516–17.

What it represents: Mamluk sultans' banners were yellow or gold (Wikipedia: the sultans followed the Ayyubids in using yellow; Flags of the World, citing Nehmé: a cloth embroidered with golden threads), with personal blazons for sultans and emirs rather than one fixed state emblem; the eagle shown here is not named by either source, so it is an illustrative blazon.

Attestedhow we know this

Flags of the World (Nehmé 1995): the Mamluk flag in Lebanon was 'a cloth embroidered with golden threads' (tagged plain yellow), listed 1282-1516. Wikipedia (Mamluk Sultanate): the sultans followed the Ayyubids in using yellow as the colour associated with the sultan, on sultanic banners; sultans and emirs also had personal blazons (about forty-five symbols such as a cup, sword or animal) that stayed on their banners; Tripoli fell to the Mamluks in 1289 and Ottoman conquest followed in 1517.

Not established: A gold field is stated by both publishers; the simplified eagle blazon on the card is not, since blazons were personal and the sources name no eagle. The card is a reconstruction, not a surviving banner.

Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded — informed reconstruction.
LayoutGold field, dark emblematic device.
Gold#A9762F
the Jerusalem cross banner, flown by the County of Tripoli's Crusader rulers
1109 – 1289

County of Tripoli (Crusader)

Crusader stateBertrand of ToulouseRoman Catholicism (Latin Church, established)
Migration & conquest:Conquered by: Crusaders (County of Tripoli)
Ruling house:House of Toulouse (Counts of Tripoli)

Who & why: Crusader forces led by the heirs of Raymond of Toulouse took Tripoli in 1109, founding the County of Tripoli, which covered most of what is now Lebanon and existed alongside the Kingdom of Jerusalem as one of the Crusader states. The county fell to the Mamluks in 1289.

What it represents: the Crusader states used a range of banners; Wikipedia's article on the County of Tripoli shows a banner of arms of the House of Toulouse-Tripoli (derived from the arms) and does not mention a Jerusalem cross, which is drawn here as a representative design rather than a documented flag of the county. Flags of the World lists only the Kingdom of Jerusalem among the Crusader flags for Lebanon.

Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this

Wikipedia (County of Tripoli, 1102-1289): its infobox flag is captioned as a banner of arms of the House of Toulouse-Tripoli, derived from the arms, and a separate image gives the 'attributed arms'; the article mentions no Jerusalem cross for the county. Flags of the World's Lebanon history page lists only the Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1291) as a crusader entry and links to a general page for it.

Not established: The card's Jerusalem-cross banner is not supported: the one source naming a county banner points to Toulouse-Tripoli arms, whose design the article text does not describe. Not read: any source on the Toulouse cross banner or on Tripoli's crusader-era flags.

Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded.
LayoutWhite field, gold "Jerusalem cross" (one large cross, four small crosses in the quarters).
White#F4EFE1
Gold#C9A13C
no flag documented — but the cedar symbol's roots run this deep
antiquity – 1109

Ancient Phoenicia through early Islamic rule

No flag documentedNo single ruler documentedNo single state religion (many in succession)

Who & why: the coastal city-states of Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos were among the ancient Mediterranean's great maritime and trading powers, and the cedar forests of the mountains behind them — prized across the ancient world for shipbuilding and construction — are the direct origin of the cedar tree still at the center of Lebanon's flag today. Phoenician city-states passed under Assyrian, Babylonian, Achaemenid Persian, and then Alexander's Hellenistic rule, followed by Roman and Byzantine administration. The Rashidun Arab conquest of the 630s brought the region into the caliphate as part of Jund Dimashq, followed by Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid-era rule, down to the arrival of Crusader forces at Tripoli in 1109.

What it represents: no single flag is documented across this immense span; national flags as a concept postdate it. Flags of the World lists a questioned 'Phoenician' blue flag and a 'Tanukh' flag, both of doubtful age and reliability by its own contributors, and Wikipedia and Flags of the World mention the cedar as an ancient tree and tradition (Psalm 92:12) rather than as a banner; the cedar is shown here as a faint watermark, not an invented banner.

Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this

Flags of the World's Lebanon history page lists a 'Phoenician (?)' flag, blue for the sea with red added later (Nehmé 1995), a 'Tanukh (?)' flag supposed to date from the 4th century, and the Umayyad (660-750) and Abbasid (750-1258) caliphates; its Phoenician page questions how old the Phoenician and Tanukh flags are and how reliable their existence is. Wikipedia describes no flag for antiquity and mentions the cedar only as a tree.

Not established: The card's 'no flag documented' is consistent with FOTW's own doubts, but FOTW does list the questioned Phoenician and Tanukh flags; no source states that the cedar was a defining symbol in antiquity (FOTW's Phoenician page does not mention cedars).

Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no attested flag.

Reading the tags

No flag documented — pre-heraldic antiquity
Crusader state — County of Tripoli
Sultanate — Mamluk rule from Cairo
Empire province — undifferentiated Ottoman Syria
Autonomous province — Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon
Mandate — League of Nations Mandate under France
Republic, independent — sovereign Lebanese state
Leader — the named ruler most associated with the era's start
State religion — the official/established faith, not the population's

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Compiled from Wikipedia, Flags of the World (fotw.info / crwflags.com), and Britannica. Colors are close historical approximations for painting reference; pre-19th-century swatches are informed reconstructions, not official specifications.