Armenia is a very ancient country, with a difficult, one might say, heroic history. This nation is friendly and hospitable, but merciless to its enemies and steadfast in the ability to achieve its goal. The flag of Armenia fully reflects the basic qualities of its inhabitants and the history of the entire state.
Vintage national flags
Armenia as a state already existed in the 12th century BC. e. The country at that time was called Armé-Chumbria, and the roots of the modern name are already visible in this name. It is difficult to say whether the flag of Armenia already existed in those centuries, and how exactly it looked then. The banner, now considered to be the very first, is reliably known, the images of which are on church frescoes and in the old work “History of Armenia”, written by Favstos Buzenda in the fifth century of our era. Accurate information is the time of its creation - the fourth century, and the main background of the panel is red. In addition, there is no doubt that the most ancient flag of Armenia also had the image of a double-headed eagle. Details of the appearance of this heraldic bird cannot be established; some scholars have come to believe that he holds a bow with his paw, but others believe that the eagle is squeezing some beast. Third researchers generally think that this image is just embellishment, although they admit that Armenia had a flag in those days, but which one is an open question.
One thing is certain: no other country on Earth has such an ancient flag.
Cilician flag
The subsequent references to what the flag of Armenia looked like are already in the 10-14th centuries of our era. In these centuries, the kingdom of Cilicia flourished under the rule of the Rubenid dynasty. The banner for this historic date has changed. First of all, it became visually divided into three horizontal parts. The colors of the Armenian flag (red, blue, yellow: top to bottom) in those days designated King Levon in alliance with two siblings. We can say that the Cilician banner served as a prototype of the present.
However, it is worth mentioning that at this stage of history the Cilician cloth was not the only one. In parallel, there were other species. The “alternative” Armenian flag remained, like centuries before, red, but the eagle’s drawing was replaced with a cross. Most likely, it was a sign of loyalty to the nation of the Christian religion and a symbol of its spread.
Further transformations of the Armenian flag
The fourteenth century brought the banner a new look. What flag did Armenia have at that time? To the previous three colors a fourth was added - an isometric strip of pure white color. According to different opinions, it reflected either the stamina of the people, or spiritual purity, or devotion to Christianity. Most likely, a combination of all these semantic meanings will be closer to the truth.
Two centuries later, the Armenian flag again underwent changes. The white stripe went into oblivion, but at the very top of the banner appeared a picture of crossed swords framed in a semicircle by white stars with eight rays. Just at that time, Armenia fought with the Persians and Turks for their freedom - the blades symbolized this struggle. The stars depicted the Armenian princes, who created an alliance to confront the invaders.
Almost modern history
For a long time, a significant part of the Armenian people was forced to live away from their homeland. In exile, the exiles organized strong diasporas and sacredly preserved the customs, history and traditions of their homeland. It is one of such diasporas - the French - that the flag of Armenia owes one more of its intermediate appearance. In this embodiment, the banner still had three stripes, but they became vertical. Colors have also changed: now they were red - green - white. The plumb line symbolized the rainbow shown by Noah descending from the ark (we recall that most historians and religious scholars are inclined to think that the ark was moored in the mountains of Armenia).
The colors of the new banner are also tightly connected with Christianity. White - as the color basis of all the iridescent shades, and at the same time the purity and spirituality of the teachings of Christ. Red means Easter, green - Sunday, which follows it (it is by these colors that the Easter Sunday and what follows it are called in the Armenian church calendar).
The first republican banner
For the first time, the Republic of Armenia became in the year 18 of the twentieth century. It is interesting what the Armenian flag of that time looks like: in fact, its appearance returned to the Cilician era. That is, the stripes are again arranged horizontally, and the colors almost correspond to the Rubenidov ones. The only thing is that yellow has given way to orange. The main explanation for the replacement is a more harmonious color combination.
Soviet times
This time, Armenia did not stay a separate republic for long. Two years later, she became part of the Soviet Union - and her flag was again changed. The cloth turned red again, but instead of any images, an abbreviation appeared at the top left. Until 1937, it looked like the SSRA, then it was replaced by the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the memorable sickle and hammer were also added. It is worth clarifying that the letters in the abbreviation for the first and second time were Armenian.
The year 1952 brought yet another innovation in the shape of the flag of Armenia. Firstly, a blue stripe was added from below as a designation of Lake Sevan. Secondly, a five-ray star was added to the sickle and hammer. In this form, the Armenian flag lasted until the collapse of the Union.
Modern flag of Armenia
The current banner is a return to the first republican one. It has been in a familiar form since August 90 of the last century. The flag of Armenia, whose photo is located nearby, is a rectangle in three stripes. True, now the symbolism of the banner has changed. The red part combines several interpretations at once. First of all, it is the Armenian blood shed in the long liberation wars. The second meaning of color is Christianity, which has been defended by Armenians for centuries. And the third is the free Armenian mountains.
The blue stripe represents the peaceful Armenian sky and clear rivers. The orange color reflects the main qualities of the people themselves: creative creation, hard work of the nation, openness to everything new and progressive.
Disputes and doubts of Armenians
Not all citizens of the country approve of the choice of a three-color banner. Many believe that it would be more historically true to give preference to the scarlet flag, which has accompanied Armenians for centuries. Some are inclined to believe that the appearance of the modern banner is an artificial idea that does not reflect the history and inclinations of the Armenian people. At the same time, some radical-minded citizens argue that, taking the Cilician red background as the basis, it is necessary to remove the Christian cross from it. They explain this in two ways: they say, firstly, now the church and the state are separate. Some part of the population professes other religions, so it is incorrect to depict the religious sign of only one church on a state symbol. And secondly, the sign of eternity is considered a primordial, eternal Armenian symbol. It is him, in the opinion of such Armenians, and must be depicted on the flag.
It is hard to say how fair such claims are. Only a historian who deals specifically with Armenia can evaluate the fidelity of such statements. So far, the flag of this country remains intact, and the whole world is aware of it in a three-color version.
Another state symbol
Any country has not only a banner as its symbol. A coat of arms is also necessary, in which all the aspirations of the people, their history and basic principles will be expressed. Armenia is no exception. The coat of arms and its flag have developed historically.
Like the Armenian flag, the coat of arms received as its basis an image that was a state symbol in the first republic.
This symbol consists of a shield with the image of Ararat and Noah's ark on it. The four fields into which the shield is divided mark the greatest dynasties of Armenian rulers. An eagle with a lion holding a shield are symbols of pride, wisdom and nobility, and besides, they are kings of birds and animals.
The broken chain under the shield indicates freedom gained, the sword - the willingness to defend it, wheat - the industriousness and the desire for peace. Well, the tricolor ribbon combines the coat of arms and the flag of the country.
The leading color of the symbol is golden; the fields into which the shield is divided are historically justified - they were used in the banners of those sovereigns whose kingdoms are conventionally designated by sections. By the way, the use of these colors by the ancient rulers was another reason to choose them when designing the flag of this country.
It can be safely said that the Armenian coat of arms very clearly describes the entire history of the state - both confrontation with the Turks, and battles for religious freedom, and the tendency of residents to peaceful coexistence.