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Azerbaijan

Azärbaycan - Azerbaijani Republic, Azärbaycan Respublikasi

by Zeljko Heimer

Flag used between 1918 and 1920 (slightly different) and readopted 5 February 1991, coat of arms adopted 27 February 1993.

Description: Blue, red, green horizontal tricolour with a with crescent and eight-pointed star in the middle of the red stripe.
Proportion: 1:2
Use: on land, civil, state and war flag, at sea, civil, state and naval ensign and naval jack.

Colour approximate specifications (as given in Album des Pavillons [pay00]):

Blue: Pantone Process blue c / CMYK (%) C 100 - M 10 - Y 0 - K 5
Red: Pantone 1795 c / CMYK (%) C 0 - M 90 - Y 100 - K 0
Green: Pantone 355 c / CMYK (%) C 100 - M 0 - Y 90 - K 5

On this page:

Presentation of Azerbaijan
Meaning of the flag
Constitutional article about state symbols
Coat of arms
National anthem

See also:

Azerbaijan: Index of all related pages

Presentation of Azerbaijan

Name: Azerbaijan Republic
Location: Caucasus
Status: Internationally recognized independent state since 30 August 1991.

Meaning of the flag

The meaning of the colours of the flag was defined by the nationalist leader Ali Bey Hussein Zade as follows:

blue represents the need of Turkization;
green represents the need of Islamization;
red represents the need of modernization and progress, following the European example.

Source: P. Lux-Wurm, Les drapeaux de l'Islam [lux01]

Ivan Sache, 21 June 2003

According to Dorling-Kindersley Pocket Book [udk97] the eight-pointed star stands for the eight Turkic peoples of the world, classified as Azeris, Ottomans, Jagatais,Tatars, Kipchaks, Seljuks and Turkomans -- only seven...

This classification dates from pre Soviet times. As far as I could determine after browsing some "Turanist" (pan-Turkic) and ethno-linguistisc sources, the correspondence is as follows:

Azeris: Azeri (aka Azerbaidjani)
Ottomans: Turkish "proper" (aka Anatolians)
Jagatais (aka Chagatai): Turkmen
Tatars: Tatars (what else?)
Kipchaks: Kazakh and Kirghiz
Seljuks (aka Salchuq): Azeri and kin living in Iran
Turkomans: Turkmenians

This clustering and classification are traditional (the eight-pointed star was on the Azeri flag already in 1918 and probably was created much earlier) and doesn't follow any modern linguistical or anthropological classification of the Turkic peoples.

António Martins, 27 January 2000

Constitutional article about state symbols

Article 23. Azerbaijan State Symbols.

2. The Flag of the Azerbaijan Republic shall consist of three wide stripes. The upper stripe shall be of blue colour, the middle stripe shall be red and the lower one shall be green. There shall be a white crescent and eightpointed star in the middle of the red stripe on both sides of the Flag. The proportion of the width to the length shall be 1 by 2.

3. The design of the Azerbaijan Republic Flag and the Azerbaijan Republic State Emblem, the music and the text of the Azerbaijan Republic National Anthem shall be defined by the Constitutional Law.

Source: Presidency of Azerbaijan

Ivan Sache, 17 June 1999

Coat of arms

by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascan & Ivan Sache

The star, also seen in the flag, has the same meaning, the eight different branches of the Turkish people. This eight-pointed white star fimbriated in gold, is superimposed on three circles: the inner one is green, the middle one is red, and the outer one is blue. Those colors match the flag colours.
Between each star point and over the blue circle, there is one smaller eight-pointed white star, frimbrated in gold too.
Inside the main central star there is a fire. According to an etymological dictionary by Guido Gómez Silva (published by the Fondo de Cultura Económica), this fire recalls the name of the country: Land of fire or Land of the fire. This fire also symbolizes freedom.
The shield stands on a golden ear of corn (not shown above).

Juan Manuel Gabino Villascan, 30 December 1999

The national anthem

"Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!
You are the country of heroes!
We will die so that you might be alive!
We will shed our blood to defend you!
Long live your three-coloured banner!
Thousands of people sacrificed their lives
You're become the field of battles.
Every soldier fighting for you,
Has become a hero.
We pray for your prosperity,
We make sacrifice our lives to you
Our sincere love to you,
Comes from the bottom of our hearts.
To defend your honour,
To hoist your banner,
All the young people are ready.
Glorious motherland,
Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!"

Source: Presidency of Azerbaijan

Ivan Sache, 17 June 1999