Sudan (Republic of Sudan) is one of the major states in Africa. The country has great geographical diversity – deserts, mountains, swamps, tropical forests. Its territory is 1.9 million square kilometers, with a population of 40 million people. The name of the country is translated from the Arabic “Bilad al-Sudan” as “the country of black people.
This is what the modern flag of Sudan looks like:
History of the flag
It is known from history that in the IV-XVI centuries A.D. there were different states on the territory of modern Sudan, including powerful Christian ones – Alva (or Alodia) and Mukurra. In the 1920s, this territory became the possession of Egypt, i.e. became part of the Ottoman Empire.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the influence of Great Britain began to grow in the region and the gradual strengthening of its role led to the fact that in 1899 she and Egypt signed an agreement on the creation of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (condominium). In fact, Sudan became a British colony.
The Egyptian flag was considered the official flag.
Despite this, there was a military organization in Sudan called the Sudanese Defense Forces, which had its own symbols.
In the 1950s, there was a revolution in Egypt and, as a result, a law was passed to dissolve the Anglo-Egyptian agreement on Sudan. In 1955, the parliament of the country voted for independence and on January 1, 1956, Sudan became a Republic.
The blue-yellow-green tricolor with horizontal stripes was adopted as its official symbol.
In April 1955 the Bandung Conference was held, whose agreed platform was anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism. Sudan was represented at the conference by a symbol on which was inscribed the name of the country.
For the Democratic Republic of Sudan (the new name of the country) in May 1970, a new version of the flag was designed and approved.
Description
The flag of the RS has the appearance of a rectangular cloth with the ratio of the sides to each other as 1 to 2. It is divided into three horizontal stripes of equal width. The color scheme of the stripes is as follows: red at the top, white in the middle and black at the bottom.
On the left side of the cloth (at the staff) is a green equilateral triangle with one side equal in size to the width of the cloth.
Flag colors
Four colors are used on the flag of the Republic: red, white, black, and green. They are all considered the standard Pan-Arabic colors.
Meaning of colors and flag symbol
The designation of the colors of the symbol has its own interpretation:
- red – symbolizes the struggle for independence;
- white is peace and light;
- black – represents the state;
- Green – symbolizes the Islamic religion, as well as wealth and agriculture.
The previous symbol, from 1956 to 1970, which consisted of three colored stripes, also had its own interpretation: blue – symbolized the Nile River, yellow – deserts, green – fertile land. A variant of this symbolism is used by the opposition.
Other Flags
Other flags include symbols:
- state or government agencies
- The President’s Standard;
- Customs Service.
- Military.
- Air Force;
- Marine.
Similar flags
The red, white and black tricolor, which has a horizontal arrangement of stripes, is also found on the symbols of other states in the Arab world:
- Egypt,
- Syria,
- Iraq,
- Yemen.
Interesting facts about the flag
The black color on the symbol of the state, in addition to the official interpretation, has other meanings. In particular, it refers to the Mahdist war (1881-1899), when one of the caliphs used a black standard for recruiting Arabs.
Other caliphs used symbols of a different type:
General information about Sudan
| Official language | Arabic, English |
| Capital | Khartoum |
| Territory | 1 886 068 km² |
| Population | 39,578,828 people |
| Currency | Sudanese pound (SDG) |
| Phone Code | +249 |