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Southern Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 1945-46 (Iran)

image by Jaume Olle, 8 August 2008

Source: http://www.azerb.com/az-south.html

Description of the flag
Tabriz

See also:

Description of the flag

In 1941, to forestall any cooperation of Reza Shah Pahlavi's regime with the Germans, the British occupied the south of Iran while the Soviets took over the North. Reza Shah Pahlavi was removed from power and sent into exile in South Africa. After the WWII was over, and the British and Americans began the withdrawal of their troops from southern Iran, the Soviet Union helped to set up two independent republics in the northern area they did control - Kurdish Republic of Mahabad and Southern Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (November 1945). The last one, under the leadership of Mir Sayyid Ja'far Pishevari (Democratic Party of Azerbaijan - socialist) formed the Azerbaijani National Government in Tabriz with the mix of nationalist and communist ideals and lasted for 1 year. The Soviets, under international pressure, decided to pull out of Iran and to abandon their stooges in Tabriz advising them not to resist the imminent approach of the Imperial Iranian Army, which reoccupied the region in November 1946 and promptly hung Pishevari for high treason.

The short-lived Democratic Republic of Southern Azerbaijan had a flag like the Iranian one, a horizontal tricolor of green-white-red with the golden lion and sun encircled partially by the golden laurel wreath and with the addition of the white crescent moon on the green stripe.

Chrystian Kretowicz, 8 August 2008

Tabriz

image by Jaume Olle, 8 August 2008

Now, some historical flags of Southern Azerbaijan. The first one is the flag of Tabriz of around the year 1905, when during the reformist period of Qajar rule, many Southern Azeri intellectuals were involved in the constitutional process, and the dark red flag of Tabriz became strongly associated with the acute feeling of distinctive identity among the Azeris.

Chrystian Kretowicz, 8 August 2008

image by Jaume Olle, 8 August 2008

The second one is the so-called 'Peace flag' of 1915-16 when the Ottoman armies were occupying Northern Persia and withdrew peacefully while recognizing Persian sovereignty over the area. That flag was red with the combined Qajar lion and sun and Southern Azerbaijan-style crescent moon with star, What puzzles me (and will, certainly, other students of vexillology) is the star of this flag has only seven points comparing to contemporary eight. The limited abilities of the Babylon translating machine didn't point to any explanation of this phenomenon, if there was any, in the text.

Source: http://millibayraq.blogspot.com/

Chrystian Kretowicz, 8 August 2008