Saudi Arabia

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Flag of Saudi Arabia
Adopted	15 March 1973
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

The national flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is distinguished by its Arabic inscription on the center, written in the calligraphic Thuluth script, is the shahada or Islamic declaration of faith: "There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Because the shahada is considered holy, the flag is not normally used on T-shirts or other items. The flag is manufactured with identical obverse and reverse sides, to ensure the shahada reads correctly, from right to left, from either side. The flag is sinister hoisted, meaning that when viewed from the obverse (front) side, it is hoisted to the left of the flagpole. The green background signifies the kingdom's solidarity with the Islamic faith and the sword signifies the seriousness in applying justice. The sword also points to the left on both sides, in the direction of the script.

Historical Flags

Flag of the Emirate of Diriyah from 1744 to 1818

Flag of the Emirate of Nejd from 1822 to 1891; Flag of the Emirate of Riyadh from 1902 to 1913

Flag of the Emirate of Jabal Shammar from 1835 to 1921

Flag of the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa from 1913 to 1921

Flag of the Sultanate of Nejd from 1921 to 1926

Flag of Nejd as part of the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd from 1926 to 1932

Provisional flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz from 1916 to 1917

Flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz from 1917 to 1920, based on the flag of the Arab Revolt

Flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz from 1920 to 1926 and flag of Hejaz as part of the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd from 1926 to 1932

Flag of the Idrisid Emirate of Asir from 1909 to 1927

Flag of the Idrisid Emirate of Asir from 1927 to 1930

Flag of the Sheikdom of Upper Asir from 1916 to 1920

Flag of Saudi Arabia from 1932 to 1934, with white stripe on the hoist

Flag of Saudi Arabia from 1934 to 1938, with a thinner white stripe

Flag of Saudi Arabia from 1938 to 1973, with no stripe