Family research · Phase 7 of the world atlas · the Levant
Flags of Syria
From ancient Levantine city-states and a Roman-then-Byzantine province, to the century when Damascus itself was the capital of an empire stretching from Iberia to the Indus, through Mamluk and four centuries of Ottoman rule, a French Mandate, independence, a brief union with Egypt, more than five decades of Assad family rule, and the government's fall in December 2024 — twelve flags across roughly 2,600 years of documented history.
This page sticks to dates, names, and documents throughout, including for the most recent entries. Where the record reaches into events still unfolding or freshly settled, it states only what is widely reported and avoids characterizing anything still contested.
Scope of this page: the lands of present-day Syria, antiquity–present, twelve political entities. An interactive internal-region map is included below, showing the one span (1920–1930) when the French Mandate genuinely split the territory into separate administrations. Part of a larger atlas — see the linked pages at the bottom.
Twelve eras, one real border — with one internal split
Syria's own present-day border, traced whole and used retrospectively across every earlier era — imperial Damascus's own extent, from antiquity to the 2024 transition. For one span, 1920–1930, the border below is itself split into the pieces France actually governed separately: the Alawite coast around Latakia, Jabal Druze around As-Suwayda, and the Damascus/Aleppo interior. Press play, or drag the slider.
This map splits internally exactly once. The French Mandate genuinely fragmented Syria for part of 1920–1930: separate French-administered states for the Alawite coast and for Jabal Druze, alongside Damascus and Aleppo further inland — a real internal split, traced below for that span rather than only described in prose. Recentralization folds all of it back into one unified Mandate administration by 1930 (the same institutions that become the Syrian Republic in 1946); every other era on this map, before or after, is one unified territory.
antiquity–636
Ancient & Byzantine Syria
Real traced border (Syria's present-day extent, used retrospectively). Schematic internal partition on this real border — the Alawite/Jabal Druze/interior dividing lines are approximate, not surveyed state borders; the split shown only applies to the French Mandate's 1920–1930 fragmentation and dissolves for every other era.
How we know this. 12 of 12 eras on this page carry an evidence panel (6 attested, 1 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.
the green-white-black three-star flag, in use de facto from December 2024 and official from 13 March 2025 (Wikipedia; Flags of the World)
2024 – present
Transitional government
Transitional governmentAhmed al-SharaaSunni Islam (majority faith; formal status unsettled)
Who & why: in early December 2024, an opposition offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham advanced rapidly across the country and captured Damascus, ending 54 years of Assad family rule. A transitional authority took over administration of the country. This is very recent history; this page sticks to what has been widely reported — the change of government and the change of flag — without characterizing events still unfolding.
What it represents: the transitional authorities use the green-white-black tricolor with three red stars in place of the red-white-black two-star flag of 1980-2024. Wikipedia says the opposition adopted this design in late 2011, that the caretaker government used it de facto from 8 December 2024, and that it became official on 13 March 2025 under the Constitutional Declaration; Flags of the World also gives 13 March 2025. Wikipedia describes it as the independence flag's design, which it dates to a decree of 14 May 1930 and to use at independence on 17 April 1946.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia (Flag of Syria, infobox and 'Transitional Period' section): the caretaker government used the green-white-black three-red-star revolution flag de facto from 8 December 2024 and the Constitutional Declaration of 13 March 2025 retained it as the national flag (2:3). Flags of the World (Syria page): the interim constitution adopted on 13 March 2025 defines the flag in its Article 6 as green, white, black with three red stars in the white band. FOTW's 'Historical Flags Since 1932' page lists 1980-2024 for the two-star flag and 'Since 2025' for the reintroduced green-white-black tricolour.
Not established: Only Wikipedia gives 8 December 2024 as the first de facto use; FOTW dates the flag from 2025. Wikipedia's late-2011 date is for first use by the opposition, not the state. Star size and the swatch colours were not checked against a specification.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutGreen, white, black horizontal bands; three red five-pointed stars centered in the white band.
Green#007A3D
White#F4EFE1
Black#000000
Stars, red#C8102E
red-white-black, two green stars, adopted 1980
1980 – 2024
Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic
Ba'athist republicHafez al-AssadNo official state religion (secular Ba'athist state)
Who & why: the Ba'ath Party had held power since a 1963 coup; Hafez al-Assad, already the dominant figure since a 1970 internal takeover, formalized his presidency in 1971, beginning Assad family rule. His son Bashar al-Assad succeeded him in 2000. A civil war began in 2011 and continued for thirteen years, ending with the government's fall in December 2024.
What it represents: a red-white-black tricolor with two green stars. Wikipedia says the 1972 Federation flag was abrogated on 29 March 1980 and replaced by a two-star flag, which it describes as the 1958-61 United Arab Republic flag readopted to show commitment to Arab unity. The sources read do not say what the design is called in Syrian law.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia: the 1972 Federation flag was abrogated on 29 March 1980 and replaced by a red-white-black flag with two stars, described as the 1958-61 UAR flag readopted. FOTW 'Historical Flags Since 1932': 1980-2024 was a reintroduction of the United Arab Republic flag of 1958-61, ratio 2:3; the overview page lists it as the red-white-black flag with two green stars, 1980-2024.
Not established: The exact 29 March 1980 date is Wikipedia's alone; FOTW gives only the years. What the flag is called in Syrian law was not found.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutRed, white, black horizontal bands; two green five-pointed stars centered in the white band.
Red#A4302A
White#F4EFE1
Black#000000
Stars, green#0B7A3D
the independence flag, restored 28 September 1961 (Wikipedia); replaced in 1963 per the same article
1961 – 1980
Syrian Arab Republic (post-union)
Republic, independentNazim al-KudsiNo official state religion (secular republic)
Migration & conquest:Occupied by: Israel (Golan Heights, 1967–)
Who & why: Syria seceded from the United Arab Republic in September 1961 and restored its own institutions and flag. The 1963 coup that brought the Ba'ath Party to power falls within this span; the flag itself did not change again until 1980.
What it represents: Wikipedia and Flags of the World both say the green-white-black independence flag with three red stars was restored on 28 September 1961 after the UAR. Both also say it was replaced in 1963 by a red-white-black flag with three green stars (Egypt, Syria, Iraq) and in 1972 by the Federation of Arab Republics flag with the Hawk of Quraish, so the restored flag was in use for about two years, not to 1980; the drawing here shows only the 1961 flag.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: the green-white-black independence flag with three red stars was restored on 28 September 1961 and replaced on 1 May 1963 by a three-green-star flag and on 1 January 1972 by the Federation of Arab Republics flag. FOTW 'Historical Flags Since 1932': Syria left the union on 28 September 1961 and reverted to the 1946-58 flag; separate entries follow for 1963-1972 (red-white-black, three green stars) and 1972-1980 (Federation flag with the Hawk of Quraish).
Not established: Both sources show the restored flag lasted only to 1963, so the page's 1961-1980 span for this drawing is too long; the later flags are not drawn on this page. FOTW gives 28 September in one note and 29 September in another for the raising.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutGreen, white, black horizontal bands; three red five-pointed stars centered in the white band.
Green#007A3D
Stars, red#C8102E
the United Arab Republic flag, shared with Egypt
1958 – 1961
United Arab Republic (union with Egypt)
UnionGamal Abdel NasserIslam (declared state religion)
Who & why: Syria and Egypt merged into a single state, the United Arab Republic, in February 1958, under President Gamal Abdel Nasser. The union dissolved in September 1961 after a military coup in Damascus.
What it represents: a red-white-black tricolor with two green stars representing the two constituent republics — a design visually close to, but a historically distinct instance from, the 1980 Ba'athist-era flag above.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia's «Flag of the United Arab Republic» gives adoption in 1958 and relinquishment in 1961, 1972, within a year of this era's 1958 and 1961. The Flags of the World page that article links also carries 1961, and has 1958 next to a word about adopting.
Not established: Only the dates were compared. The Flags of the World page was matched on the two years appearing in its text and on one of them sitting beside the word adopt, introduce, establish or the like; it was not read for what it says about this flag. The design and the swatch colours were not checked against a specification.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutRed, white, black horizontal bands; two green five-pointed stars, one per constituent republic.
Red#A4302A
Stars, green#0B7A3D
the independence-era flag, defined 1930 and adopted for independence on 17 April 1946, per Wikipedia
1946 – 1958
Syrian Republic (independence)
Republic, independentShukri al-QuwatliNo official state religion (secular republic)
Who & why: full French military withdrawal was completed on 17 April 1946, still marked annually as Evacuation Day. The Syrian Republic, whose institutions had already existed under the French Mandate since 1930, became fully sovereign.
What it represents: the green-white-black tricolor with three red stars. Wikipedia dates the flag to a decree of 14 May 1930 (one paragraph there says first used in 1932) and says it was adopted for independence on 17 April 1946 and replaced by the UAR flag in 1958. Flags of the World's Syria page does not cover this period.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia: flag defined by decree 3111 of 14 May 1930, ratio 1:2, three red five-pointed stars; adopted for independence on 17 April 1946; replaced by the UAR flag in 1958. FOTW 'Historical Flags Since 1932': green-white-black with three red five-pointed stars, 1:2, for 1946 (independence) to 1958; first hoisted in Aleppo on 1 January 1932 and in Damascus on 11 June 1932. FOTW 'Until 1932' quotes Article 4 of the 14 May 1930 constitution from the League of Nations Official Journal (three equal bands green, white, black, with three red five-pointed stars, length double the height).
Not established: The sources differ on the flag's origin: 14 May 1930 (decree text, Wikipedia) against 1 January and 11 June 1932 (first hoisting, FOTW); FOTW calls a separate 1930-32 flag 'probably erroneous'. The 1946-58 years themselves are stated by FOTW's headings and by Wikipedia.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal horizontal bands.
LayoutGreen, white, black horizontal bands; three red five-pointed stars centered in the white band.
Green#007A3D
Stars, red#C8102E
French Mandate; Wikipedia lists local flags (1920 'Gouraud' flag; 1922 green-white-green with French canton; 1930 tricolor)
1920 – 1946
French Mandate
MandateHenri GouraudNo official state religion (French secular administration)
Migration & conquest:Immigration: Armenian genocide survivors (early 1920s)
Who & why: Emir Faisal, who had led the Arab Revolt, proclaimed an independent Arab Kingdom of Syria in Damascus in March 1920; it lasted four months, ending when French troops defeated his small army at the Battle of Maysalun that July. The April 1920 San Remo Conference formalized a League of Nations Mandate for Syria and Lebanon under French administration, which continued until full withdrawal in 1946.
What it represents: the French tricolor is drawn as the mandatory power's flag, but neither Wikipedia nor Flags of the World shows it as Syria's flag: it appears only as the canton of local flags. Both list a green-white-green Federation of Syria flag with a French canton from 22 June 1922, continued by the State of Syria until the republic was established on 14 May 1930, when the green-white-black three-star flag was defined by decree. For 1920 Wikipedia lists a 'Gouraud' flag (blue with a white crescent) and Flags of the World a sky-blue crescent flag with a French canton that 'might have been used'.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia: local flags 1920-1930 (Gouraud flag 24 July-1 September 1920; green-white-green Federation of Syria flag with a French canton from 22 June 1922; State of Syria to the 14 May 1930 republic). FOTW 'Until 1932' (extracting Corre 2000 and Ollé): the same Federation flag of 22 June 1922, the State of Syria's green-white-green flag with a French tricolour canton extending over half the flag (1925-30), a sky-blue crescent flag with a French tricolour canton that 'might have been used' in July-August 1920, and the green-white-black three-star flag in the Navy's records from 1930 (the League of Nations text of the 14 May 1930 constitution).
Not established: Neither source shows the plain French tricolour as Syria's flag: it appears only as the canton of the local flags, so the page's drawing is not supported. FOTW marks several of these entries (1924-25 State of Syria, 1930-32 Republic) as probably erroneous and the 1920 sky-blue flag as only possibly used. The page's drawing for 1920-1946 should be replaced; the 1932-1946 autonomy-era flag is the green-white-black one.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, three equal vertical bands (French tricolor).
LayoutBlue, white, red vertical bands.
Blue#0B3D7A
Red#A4302A
Ottoman red field, crescent and star
1517 – 1918
Ottoman Empire (Damascus and Aleppo eyalets)
Empire provinceSelim ISunni Islam (state religion)
Who & why: Ottoman Sultan Selim I broke Mamluk power at Marj Dabiq near Aleppo in 1516, absorbing the region into Ottoman provinces run by appointed pashas answering to Constantinople. Four centuries of continuous Ottoman rule followed, the longest single-power era the region experienced since the coming of Islam, ending with the Ottoman collapse at the close of World War I in 1918.
What it represents: the page's drawing shows the Ottoman red field with crescent and star. Wikipedia and Flags of the World both say Syria used the Ottoman flag until 1918, but Wikipedia's article on the Ottoman flag dates the white crescent and star on red to naval use from 1793 and to the official flag of 1844; for the 16th and 17th centuries it describes war flags often showing the Zulfiqar sword, and a chronicler cited in the Mamluk article describes a plain red banner replacing the yellow Mamluk one at Damascus in 1516. The sources read do not describe how the eyalets of Damascus and Aleppo flew it.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia (Flag of Syria): the Ottoman flag was used in Syria until 18 September 1918. FOTW 'Until 1932': before 1918 Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire and used the Ottoman flag. Wikipedia (Mamluk Sultanate), citing the chronicler Ibn Tulun: after Selim I took Damascus in 1516 the yellow Mamluk banner was replaced by a plain red Ottoman banner. Wikipedia (Flag of the Ottoman Empire): the white crescent and star on red came into naval use in 1793 and was made the official flag in 1844; in the 16th and 17th centuries war flags often showed the Zulfiqar sword.
Not established: The dates and the Ottoman identity are attested, but the drawing (red with crescent and star) is documented only for 1793/1844-1918; for 1517 to the late 18th century the sources point to plain red banners or Zulfiqar war flags. Nothing read says how the eyalets of Damascus and Aleppo flew the flag.
Paint guide
Proportions2:3, plain rectangle shown here.
LayoutRed field, white crescent and five-pointed star.
Red#A4302A
White#F4EFE1
Mamluk gold field with a simplified eagle blazon
1260 – 1517
Mamluk Sultanate
SultanateBaybarsSunni Islam (state religion)
Who & why: the Mamluks, a slave-soldier caste that had seized the Egyptian sultanate from the Ayyubids in 1250, crushed a Mongol invasion at Ain Jalut in 1260 and absorbed inland Syria the same year, ruling the region through a network of Cairo-appointed governors until the 1516–17 Ottoman conquest.
What it represents: Wikipedia's Mamluk article describes personal blazons shown on banners (for example a panther for Baybars) and yellow as the colour of sultanic banners, and Flags of the World reproduces a late-14th-century Damascus flag that is yellow with a white crescent. No source read gives one fixed state flag or an eagle blazon for the Mamluks, so the gold field with a simplified eagle drawn here is a reconstruction, not a documented banner.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia (Mamluk Sultanate): sultans and emirs bore personal blazons shown on their banners (Baybars a panther or lion, Qalawun a fleur-de-lis), and the sultans followed the Ayyubids in using yellow for sultanic banners; the article's infobox flag is deliberately blank. FOTW 'Until 1932': Damascus in the late-14th-century Book of All Kingdoms is a yellow flag with a white crescent. Wikipedia (Zengid dynasty): yellow remained the symbolic colour of the Ayyubid and Mamluk rulers.
Not established: Yellow sultanic banners and personal blazons are attested; no source gives a single state flag, and none gives an eagle blazon for the Mamluks (the eagle belongs to the Saladin tradition), so the page's gold field with an eagle is a reconstruction. The Book of All Kingdoms depicts Damascus as yellow with a white crescent.
Paint guide
ProportionsNo fixed ratio recorded — informed reconstruction.
LayoutGold field, dark emblematic device.
Gold#A9762F
Dark emblem#241F14
plain dark field, Sunni-revival Damascus under Nur ad-Din and Saladin
1174 – 1260
Zengid & Ayyubid Damascus
SultanateSaladinSunni Islam (state religion)
Ruling house:Zengid dynastyAyyubid dynasty
Who & why: Nur ad-Din's Zengid dynasty took Damascus in 1154 and led a Sunni military revival against the Crusader states; his general Saladin succeeded him, founded the Ayyubid dynasty, and retook Jerusalem in 1187. Ayyubid rule over Damascus and inland Syria continued until the Mongol invasion of 1260, which the Mamluks then repelled and replaced with their own rule.
What it represents: no single fixed state flag for Syria is documented in the sources read for this era. Wikipedia describes Saladin's flag as yellow with an eagle, 'apparently inherited' from the Zengids, and says yellow stayed the ruler colour of the Ayyubids and Mamluks; the dark field with a plain emblem drawn here is a placeholder and does not match that description.
Not yet checked against sourceshow we know this
Wikipedia (Zengid dynasty): Saladin's flag was yellow, emblazoned with an eagle, apparently inherited from the Zengids; yellow remained the ruler colour of the Ayyubids and Mamluks. Wikipedia (Mamluk Sultanate): the Mamluk sultans followed the Ayyubids in using yellow for sultanic banners.
Not established: A yellow banner with an eagle is the only Zengid/Ayyubid banner described, and the article calls it 'supposed' and 'apparently inherited'; the page's dark field is not supported by it. No source read gives a Syria-wide state flag for 1174-1260, and no second publisher or reference work was found for Saladin's eagle banner.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no fixed flag documented.
plain black, the Abbasid dynastic color
750 – 1174
Abbasid suzerainty and local dynasties
SultanateAs-Saffah (founding Abbasid caliph)Sunni Islam (predominant)
Who & why: the 750 Abbasid revolution shifted the caliphate's capital to Baghdad, and direct Abbasid control over Syria gradually loosened over the following centuries as regional governors and successor dynasties — including the Tulunids, Ikhshidids, Hamdanids, and Fatimid-appointed administrators — exercised effective local rule, formally or nominally under Abbasid or Fatimid suzerainty. This long, genuinely fragmented span is treated here as one honest bridging entry rather than a set of invented precise sub-periods. It ends when the Zengid dynasty under Nur ad-Din unified Damascus and much of inland Syria in 1174.
What it represents: plain black is the color consistently associated with Abbasid banners; local and successor dynasties across this span flew their own emblems, none of which is treated here as the single flag of Syria as a whole.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia (Abbasid Caliphate): the infobox shows the Abbasid Black Standard; the text says the Abbasids kept black as their dynastic colour for banners, headdresses and garments, in contrast to the white of the Umayyads. FOTW 'Pan-Arab Colours' (quoting Abdul Hadi 1986): the Abbasid dynasty (750-1258), ruling from Baghdad, took black as a symbol of mourning for the Prophet's relatives and for Karbala.
Not established: Both sources give the colour of the dynasty's banners, not a flag of Syria; neither describes banners of the local successor dynasties between 750 and 1174, which the page rightly does not treat as one flag.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no fixed ratio documented.
LayoutPlain black field.
Black#000000
plain white — the color most commonly associated with the Umayyads
636 – 750
Umayyad Caliphate (Damascus as imperial capital)
CaliphateMu'awiyaSunni Islam (state religion)
Ruling house:Umayyad dynasty (Banu Umayya)
Who & why: Byzantine Syria fell to Rashidun Arab armies in the 630s, the decisive blow landing at the Battle of the Yarmouk in 636. Mu'awiya, first governor of Syria under the Rashidun caliphs, founded the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 and made Damascus its capital — for nearly a century, the seat of an empire stretching from Iberia to the Indus ran through this one city, a real golden age for Damascus as an imperial center. The dynasty ended in 750, when the Abbasid revolution overthrew it and shifted the caliphate's center of gravity east to Baghdad.
What it represents: plain white is the color most consistently associated with Umayyad banners in the historical record, distinguishing them from the Abbasids' black and the Fatimids' green that followed. No single fixed design beyond the plain field is reliably documented.
Attestedhow we know this
Wikipedia (Umayyad Caliphate): the Umayyad banners were white, after the banner of Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan; the infobox deliberately carries no flag. FOTW 'Pan-Arab Colours' (quoting Abdul Hadi 1986): the Umayyads (661-750, Damascus) took white as their symbolic colour, to recall the Battle of Badr and to set themselves apart from the Abbasids' black.
Not established: The sources give a dynastic colour, not a documented design beyond a plain field; they date Umayyad rule from 661 (Mu'awiya), not 636, which is the year of the Muslim conquest of Syria.
Paint guide
ProportionsN/A — no fixed ratio documented.
LayoutPlain white field.
White#F4EFE1
placeholder maroon field — pre-heraldic antiquity
antiquity – 636
Ancient & Byzantine Syria
No flag documentedNo single ruler documentedVaried: polytheism, then Christianity (Byzantine era)
Who & why: the lands of present-day Syria carried some of the ancient Near East's earliest urban civilizations — the Bronze Age kingdom of Ebla, the trading city of Ugarit, and later Aramaean kingdoms centered on Damascus — before falling successively to Assyrian, Babylonian, Achaemenid Persian, and then Alexander's Hellenistic conquest. Seleucid Greek rule gave way to Rome by the 1st century BCE, and the province continued under Byzantine (Eastern Roman) administration until the Rashidun Arab conquest that began in the 630s and culminated at the Battle of the Yarmouk in 636.
What it represents: no securely documented flag survives from this pre-heraldic span; national and civic flags as a concept postdate this entire era. Shown here honestly blank rather than invented.
Placeholder imagehow we know this
This page's own caption calls the image a placeholder: «placeholder maroon field — pre-heraldic antiquity».
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
No flag documented — pre-heraldic antiquity
Caliphate — imperial Islamic rule
Sultanate — Zengid/Ayyubid successor rule
Sultanate — Mamluk rule from Cairo
Empire province — Ottoman rule
Mandate — League of Nations Mandate under France
Republic, independent — sovereign Syrian state
Union — crown/state shared with Egypt
Ba'athist republic — Ba'ath Party and Assad-family rule
Transitional government — post-2024 administration
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 Syria lives in a different project, Record Atlas, which maps which archive actually holds the paper for a given place and era.