Cedar Flag 1918 (Historical Flags, Lebanon)

Last modified: 2020-07-31 by ian macdonald
Keywords: lebanon | cedar (green) |
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image by N.J. and Eugene Ipavec

• Description

See also:

• Historical Flags (Lebanon)
• Lebanon

According to [Nehmé 1995, "Lebanese Cedar: Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, it consisted of a white cloth with a green cedar in the center." The tree in the original image shows some minor differences with the cedar in the French mandate flag, but the latter appears to be much more precise.
Santiago Dotor, 26 Sep 2000

After XVII century the flag (white) with cedar was used by the Maronite Christians. But the first attested use is dated only to October 1848.
In WWI the Lebanese troops used a white flag with red saltire, and black cedar in center.
In 1918 Lebanese hoisted a white flag with green cedar in the lower part, designed surely by the writer and emigrant Shukry el-Khoury and by Naum Labaki before the 1918 revolt. In 1919 this flag is stil attested in use under the auspices of the Mejlis (Administrative council).
Source: Flaggenmiteilung 84, Crux Australis 50
Jaume Ollé, 13 May 2003