Education/Droits humains : Bourqia, Bouayach et Belkouch pour incarner la vision Royale    Les pensions vieillesse au menu du Conseil de gouvernement    Tebboune revient sur ses pas face à la France malgré la reconnaissance de la marocanité du Sahara    Les Forces Armées Royales... Un œil vigilant pour protéger les frontières du Maroc    Comment soumettre l'ennemi algérien sans combattre    Sahara : Le Conseil de sécurité programme une session pour la mi-avril    Présidence marocaine du CPS de l'UA pour le mois de mars: Un engagement renouvelé en faveur de la paix et de la stabilité en Afrique    6e Conférence Franco-Marocaine des Notaires : investir au Maroc en toute sécurité    Tamwilcom : un volume de financements de plus de 47,5 MMDH en 2024    Maroc : Après le ramadan, la date du retour à l'heure GMT+1    Suez Maroc : Soufiane Jakani nommé directeur général    Sommet de l'élevage 2025 : Le Maroc invité d'honneur en France    L'Algérie revendique l'abattage d'un drone malien Akinci    Europe. Les tribunaux contre la démocratie?    Le gouvernement kabyle en exil reçu au sénat français    Droits de douane: que signifie la réciprocité voulue par Donald Trump?    Espagne : Le PSOE refuse de reconnaitre le Polisario seul représentant des Sahraouis    France : François Bayrou fait marche arrière sur l'interdiction du voile dans le sport    Equipe nationale : Regragui, out? Simple fake news!    Ligue 1 : Hakimi et Ben Seghir en lice pour le prix Marc-Vivien Foé    1⁄4 de finale. LDC / Aujourd'hui ''Pyramids - AS FAR'': Horaire ? Chaîne ?    Migration : Le Maroc renforce la surveillance des frontières avec Ceuta    Aïd al-Fitr : Attention aux excès alimentaires après le jeûne !    Ligue 1: Hakimi y Ben Seghir en carrera por el premio Marc-Vivien Foé    Francia: François Bayrou da marcha atrás sobre la prohibición del velo en el deporte    Khénifra: El cuerpo de un niño hallado 13 días después de su ahogamiento en el Oum Er-Rbia    Accidents de la circulation : 19 morts et plus de 3.000 blessés en une semaine dans nos villes    Une chanson qui relie le passé au présent... Quand la voix de Hassan II rencontre les rythmes d'aujourd'hui    Lancement de "Visions Théâtres", nouvelle revue scientifique spécialisée dans la pratique théâtrale    Maroc : Le Festival On Marche, du 4 au 12 avril à Marrakech    Zineb Hattab : première cheffe végane étoilée en Suisse, une révolution gastronomique    Le Chinois Lingyun Industrial, spécialiste des équipements automobiles, prépare son implantation au Maroc    Accords migratoires UE-Maroc : Bruxelles examine le 7 avril sa coopération avec Rabat sur les retours et la gestion des flux    Maroc : repli temporaire des exportations de tomates cerises malgré une production abondante    L'or délaissé par les ménages marocains, victime de sa récente envolée fulgurante    Maroc : nouvelles exigences d'homologation et d'étiquetage pour les équipements télécoms bientôt en vigueur    Charbon thermique : repli des importations mondiales au premier trimestre, hausse notable au Maroc    Muay Thai : deux combattants marocains en lice lors du ONE Fight Night 30 à Bangkok    Le «Kruzenshtern» russe en escale à Agadir du 2 au 4 avril    En Algérie, Boualem Sansal puni pour avoir pensé de travers, la solidarité des militants marocains en congé    La Compagnie chinoise de construction et de communication (région Centre-Sud) décroche un nouveau contrat d'infrastructures au Maroc    Amir Al-Mouminine accomplit la prière de l'Aïd Al-Fitr à la mosquée « Ahl Fès » à Rabat    Coupe du Trône : le dernier carré en ligne de mire, des affiches alléchantes en huitièmes de finale    Des vestiges vieux de 3 000 ans, découvert à Kach Kouch au Maroc, réécrivent l'histoire du Maghreb    CAN U17 : L'Afrique du Sud renverse l'Egypte au bout d'un match à 7 buts !    Maroc – Algérie : Après la bataille Wikipédia, l'affrontement numérique via Grok sur X    Rabat : Cérémonie en célébration de la Journée mondiale du théâtre    Ramadan 2025 : Les Marocains préfèrent le pôle audiovisuel public    







Merci d'avoir signalé!
Cette image sera automatiquement bloquée après qu'elle soit signalée par plusieurs personnes.



Red, white and other stars... the different flags Moroccan dynasties raised in the past
Publié dans Yabiladi le 25 - 10 - 2019

Throughout history, Moroccans raised different flags and emblems to distinguish themselves from other powers and nations. Red, however, was a favored color for several Moroccan dynasties.
Before the plain red background and the green star, Morocco raised differently designed flags. But the Kingdom did not just have one other flag than the one Moroccans have been carrying since 1915. As far as historians know, the country designed several banners to represent the several dynasties that ruled it.
Indeed, from Idrisids and Almoravids to Alaouites, dynasties that built powerful governments and capitals and created armies in Morocco opted for flags that represented their legacy, strength and ambitions.
However, identifying these flags, tracking them back and trying to understand their designs is no easy task. Few books and history resources have managed to give a slightly elaborated idea about the flags that our ancestors carried, when fighting, traveling and attending foreign meetings.
A plain white banner
Several accounts suggest, however, that the early flags used by Morocco were plain white banners brandished by the Idrisid dynasty, which ruled the country from 788 to 974 AD. During this period, Moroccans only carried «white silk banners» during battles and wars, World Atlas wrote.
But this quickly changed after the first Moroccan Islamic dynasty fell. The use of flags in Morocco as a «symbol of the state», dates way back to the Almoravid dynasty (1062-1125), recalled Internet-based vexillological association Flags of the World (FOTW) in a paper entitled «Morocco Historical Flags».
«The Almoravids institutionalized the practice» of carrying white flags with «koranic inscriptions written on them». According to the same source, Almoravids «gave one banner to every unit of 100 soldiers» and the leaders «always carried one inscribed : 'There is no God but Allah, and Mohamed is His Prophet'».
A pop of color and chequered pattern
While the Almoravids were not prone to creativity when trying to design a flag for their dynasty, their successors opted for a more interesting banner. Almohad's Caliphate, which founded its empire in the 12th century, was the first to go for a red background, giving a pop of color to the Kingdom's flag.
That was not the only thing they added. Indeed, their flag had a chessboard, placed right in the middle of the red background. In his book «The Secret History of Iran» (Lulu.com, 2013), historian Hamad Subani described the design on the flag adopted by the Almohad dynasty as a «chequered Masonic pattern».
The historian tried to explain the reason behind this «curiously» surprising pattern, stating that «the Amohads acquiesced to Christian Spain, and also patronized crypto-Ismaili philosopher Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and Jewish philosopher Maimonides (…) who both were involved in the corruption of Islamic theology with Greek philosophy in Moorish Spain».
But the use of flags, for other historians, was not just related to the famous chequered banner. To Almohads, flags were also used to differentiate between tribes and communes in Morocco. In his book «The Almoravids and the Meanings of Jihad» (ABC-CLIO, 2010), Ronald A. Messier recalls that Almohad leader «Ibn Tumart placed each tribal contingent of his troops under the command of men who were devoted to him (…) each unit was under a flag of a different color».
«The Mahdi (another name for Ibn Tumart) placed a white flag in the hand of Abd al-Mumin and put him in command of the Bani Gadmiwa. He handed Abu Ibrahim a yellow flag and placed him in command the Bani Hargha. To ibn Malwiya he handed a red flag and placed him in command of the Bani Ganfisa».
Ronald A. Messier
A star
By 1244, the Marinid rulers overthrew the Almohad Caliphate, adopting a flag that would display their victory, and erase the symbols of the former dynasty. Pictures show that their emblem and flag had a red background but no chequered pattern. Instead, the Marinids' banner featured a golden eight-angled star.
The octogram flag is deemed Marinid, according to FOTW, which wrote that «during the pacification campaigns (led by the French protectorate), the war flags captured to Moroccan tribes were based on the Marinid emblem, a red field with two yellow interlaced squares forming a star».
While other sources suggest that the Saadi dynasty kept using a white flag as the Almoravids did, others indicate that the sultanate adopted the same design introduced by the Marinids : a red background with the eight-angled star.
Despite the different designs, red remained a big and an important part of the Moroccan flag. While other dynasties decided to go for their own designs, Alaouite sultans opted for a plain red flag. According to FOTW, Alaouites «were the first to introduce the red flag».
«It was raised every morning and lowered every evening on the fortresses at Rabat and Sale. The green five-pointed star on the flag was introduced in 1915, when Morocco was put under the French protectorate, in order to distinguish the nation's flag from the others», the same source concluded.
For centuries Moroccans have tried to distinguish themselves through their emblem, but red remained a favored color.


Cliquez ici pour lire l'article depuis sa source.