Jordan Times
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Kingdom regains Great
Arab Revolt flag
Banner is one of the first two remaining examples of original
production
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Jordan has restored one of the Great Arab
Revolt's two remaining flags, designed by Sharif Al Hussein Ben Ali in 1916.
A Royal Court official told The Jordan Times that the flag was bought by a
Jordanian at a July 12 auction by the London-based Sotheby's. The unidentified
buyer passed the banner to the Royal Court. No further details were available on
the deal.
The official said the flag, which was taken to London by Lawrence of Arabia in
1920, would be displayed at the planned Raya Museum, at the Royal Court. The
museum will be set up at the site of the flagpole, which was erected in June
2003 and is considered the highest mast in the world.
The official did not reveal the price at which the historical banner was bought,
nor was the figure available at the website of the auction house, which
originally estimated the lot at 150,000-250,000 pound sterling.
The flag is considered the most potent, historically resonant symbol of the Arab
nation and renaissance that has ever been auctioned by Sotheby's, the
260-year-old world famous auction house.
This flag is one of the first examples ever to have been produced, and one of
only two surviving examples from that early production.
Associated with high pan-Arabist values, the flag was first raised on June 10,
1917 at the seafront of the Red Sea in a celebration held under the patronage of
Prince Faisal Ben Al Hussein, commander of the Arab Revolt's North Army. A great
parade took place and the flag was posted on cannon vehicle before it was
presented to the Prince, who vowed to protect the banner, then the soldiers
repeated the oath after him, according to a statement by Sotheby's ahead of the
sale.
After that, productions of the same flag were circulated among the various units
of the Arab Legion and its description was communicated to the Allies to
recognise it during World War I.
The idea of designing a special flag was originated by the Arab leaders of the
Revolt, which at first raised the red Hashemite flag. After that, an idea
emerged to make a flag that represents Arab history and great civilisations. The
first design consisted of four rectangles that started with white, black, green
then red. After that, it was modified so that the Hashemite red symbol became a
triangle connected with the other three colours.
The black represented the Abbasid Caliphate; the green was a symbol of the
Fatimids while the white was the colour of the Umayyads.
Raising the new banner, the Arab fighters entered and captured Aqaba on July 6,
1917 and the flag was subsequently raised to mark further significant moments
such as the capture of Damascus.
It is also believed to have been posted on the towers of Oxford. On his return
to England in 1920, Lawrence of Arabia is reported to have flown an Arab flag
(presumably the flag of the Arab Revolt) over All Souls College — a celebration
of the Anglo-Arab strong ties, which Lawrence backed.
According to Sotheby's, only a very limited number of flags of the Arab Revolt
were made in those early years; of those, only two examples are known to
survive. This is one, and the other is in the collection of the Imperial War
Museum in London.