Colors and the Meaning of the Armenia Flag
The Armenian flag is the three-colored national flag of Armenia. The flag, consisting of red, blue and orange horizontal strips of three equal widths, was adopted by the Soviet Presidium of Armenia on August 24, 1990, and approved by the National Assembly of Armenia on 15 June 2006.
According to the country’s constitution, the red color in the flag represents mountainous Armenia, the struggle for survival of the Armenians and the protection of the Christian faith. The blue color symbolizes the will of the Armenian people to live under a peaceful sky, and the orange color symbolizes the creativity and hardworking temperament of the Armenian people.
History of the Armenia Flag
There is no similarity between the first examples of the Armenian flag and the present flag. The flags that represented Armenia in the past consisted of mysterious symbols, usually representing eagles, dragon heads or gods. The flags of former Armenia were tied to the bats in wars and accompanied by the army. With the spread of Christianity in the culture of Armenia, every dynasty, who has strayed from the polytheistic faith, has prepared new flags for itself.
After the adoption of Christianity, the Armenians accepted the flag with a golden cross on it. The Armenian Apostolic Church has chosen a second flag design in the early centuries of Christianity, a purple floor with a golden-edged cross.
Period of the Marzbans
After the collapse of the Arsak dynasty, the eastern part of Armenia was ruled by the governors called Marzban, appointed by the kings of Sasania. The Marzbanas did not interfere in the internal affairs of the Armenian feudal lords. When Sasanian tried to turn the Armenians into Zoroastrianism, the Armenians rebelled, and after the collisions, they managed to maintain their religious freedom. A crusaders flag between the 5th and 7th centuries was a unifying symbol of the Armenian rebellion against the Sassanid.
According to historical data, there are two versions of the flag of the Mamikonian Dynasty, one of the principalities in the Marzeban period. The second is an eagle holding a bow in his paws. The flag is known to be red. The Marzeban period ended with the conquest of Armenia in the 7th century by the Arabs. Bagratuni Dynasty became stronger in the struggle against the Arabs. On their flag, there was an eagle holding a sheep in his claw.
When Levon was confirmed in 1197 by Pope III Celestine as King of Cilicia, a flag from Rome was sent to him for his kingdom. There was a red lion standing in the flag. Cilicia in the Middle Ages also had flags, these are described as purple flags with crosses on them, some drawings based on these recipes are available, but their historical accuracy is questionable. The illustrations showing these flags have not survived. House of Lusignan occupied Cilicia and settled there. The royal flag of House of Lusignan is described as white-red-blue-yellow.
Armenian National Liberation Movement
Israel Ori (1658-1711), head of the Armenian national liberation movement in 1706, showed the flag of the Armenian independence movement there when he went to Amsterdam to seek support from the western states. This flag resembles the red-blue-yellow-white flag of the House of Lusignan, but it had some additions. The two swords represented the Armenians’ struggle for freedom against the Ottomans and Safavid dynasty, while 11 stars represented the provisions of the Armenians who had participated in a secret meeting held in Karabakh in 1699 for a common struggle. In this meeting, the rulers decided to ask for help from the European forces. This flag is the first known nationalist Armenian flag.
There was no flag for Armenia during Russian rule.
19th Century
After the collapse of Armenia and its division between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire, the concept of the flag for Armenia stalled for a while. However, members of the Foundation of Armenian Students in Paris, who wanted to attend to the funeral of the French writer Victor Hugo, who died in 1885, consulted the Ghevont Alishan, the priest of the period of the Armenian Catholic Church in Paris, and Alishan prepared a flag reminiscent of the inverted form of the current Bulgarian flag.
He said that the red horizontal strip at the top of the flag represents the Red Market, which is Easter’s fourth market, and the green strip represents the third market, the Green Market. The white color was chosen to complete the combination. After this flag, Alishan prepared two more flags. On the assumption of Christianity, there were two designs, one yellow-red-green, and one blue-red-green, on the assumption that God created the Armenian flag at the moment, based on the rainbow colors of Noah when it first arrived in Ararat. The blue-red-green one is known as the “Flag of the Nationalist Armenians“.
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
With the defeat of Iran in the second and last war between Russia and Iran, Armenia joined the Russian Empire in 1828 and after that date Armenia became known as Russian Armenia. When the Russian Empire collapsed, it declared its independence and became part of the Democratic Republic of the Caucasus, a very short-lived state founded by Azerbaijan and Georgia. One year after Armenia entered the union, the state broke up, and there was no flag representing the three states because of the early disintegration. However, some historians consider the flag of the Caucasus Federal Republic, which consists of the yellow, black and red horizontal bands.
First Republic of Armenia
Upon the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Armenia on April 22, 1918, the independent Armenian Parliament adopted the present-day Armenia flag. The Armenian government decided that Ghevont Alishan’s colors had no historical basis. They then chose the colors they used on their flags during the last years of the Rubenids. Although the first colors were red, blue and yellow, yellow was immediately turned to orange for the color harmony. On August 24, 1990, the flag with a ratio of 2: 3 was made 1: 2 while maintaining other characteristics.
Neighboring Countries of Armenia
It is located in the South Caucasus region of Asia. It is neighbor with Georgia in the north, Azerbaijan int he east, Iran in the south, Turkey and Nakhichevan in the west.
Main Characteristics of Armenia
The Republic of Armenia is a landlocked South Caucasus country. The capital city of Yerevan, the country with the highest population, is a city to visit with its museums, operas, galleries, and libraries. Lake Sevan, the largest lake in the Caucasus, is also within the borders of Armenia. A large part of the population lives in cities. The official language is Armenian. They use Armenian drama as currency.
The continental climate is dominant. Summers are hot, winters are cold. The most precipitation is seen in April and May. In the Armenian cuisine, there are tastes of Turkish cuisine. For this reason, you may experience the dishes you are accustomed to in terms of flavor. Bread has a very important place in the kitchen.
| Country | Armenia |
| Code | AM (ARM) |
| Calling code | 374 |
| Capital city | Yerevan |
| Currency | armenian dram (AMD) |
| Emoji symbol | 🇦🇲 |
| Highest point | Mount Aragats (4,090 m) |
| Internet TLD | .am |
| Population(2017) | 2,930,450 |
| Total area | 29,800 km2 |