What is the story behind the new Syrian flag after the fall of Bashar Assad?

Throughout the last century, flags in Syria have accompanied the country's historical events, being a key part of political changes and the transformation of Syrian identity as different regimes, dynasties or colonies were overthrown.

In the most recent development, after the fall of dictator Bashar Assad, it could be seen in different photos and videos that the rebels and thousands of Syrian citizens were flying a different flag from the official one in key cities such as Damascus, Homs or Aleppo.

Once the victory of the rebels was consummated, this green, white and black flag with three red stars not only traveled the streets of the country, but began to be displayed on public buildings and several Syrian Embassies around the world.

The story behind the "new" Syrian flag

The flag used by the rebels, composed of groups with various political and religious ideologies (including jihadists) is not a new insignia and it is de facto replacing the traditional official red, white and black flag with two green stars, employed for decades by the Assad dynasty (father and son).

In fact, the flag is known as the "flag of independence" and has its origin in the period of the first Syrian Republic, hoisted for the first time in Aleppo in 1932.

This flag came after Syria adopted different insignia in previous decades. In 1918, after the departure of the Ottoman Empire, the country adopted the flag of the Arab Revolt, which has a horizontal tricolor design of black, green and white, with a red triangle on the left side.

That flag was short-lived, as France occupied Syria in 1920 and the flag changed again until the colonial mandate ended.

While the Syrian flag underwent many changes during those years, the most recognizable insignia during that period was a blue design with a French mini-flag in the upper left corner and a white crescent moon. Interestingly, this flag only lasted two years and was then replaced by several more colonialist designs that also included the French symbol.

But after the French withdrawal on April 17, 1946, Syria finally adopted its independence flag, which is the one flown by the rebels today. Each color and symbol of this flag has its original meaning: green represents the Fatimids, white symbolized the Umayyads and black alludes to the Abbasids. The three red stars symbolized the provinces of Damascus, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.

This insignia was the official one in Syria for years until, in 1958, Syria and Egypt formed the United Arab Republic (UAR) and the world-famous flag appeared with red, white and black horizontal stripes and only two green stars in the central stripe.

Those stars represented Syria and Egypt as founding members of the UAR, which lasted only three years, but left the flag as a symbol of pan-Arabism.

Then, after the rise of the Ba'ath Party to power, Syria adopted a flag very similar to that of the UAR but, instead of two stars, three in the central stripe.

In 1972, after the formation of the Federation of Arab Republics (which united Syria, Egypt and Libya), the flag was redesigned to include the "Falcon of Quraish" -symbol of Islamism- instead of the three stars. Finally, by 1980, under the yoke of Hafez Assad, Bashar's father, Syria readopted the UAR design to the present day.

This design held firm for decades with the Assad dynasty in power, even with the rise of Bashar after the death of his father. However, in 2011, after the social outbreak that started the civil war, opponents of the Assad regime used the independence flag as a symbol of struggle.

Now, after the overthrow, it seems only a matter of time before the flag is ratified as the official Syrian flag.