







Transcript: History of the Afghan Flag
In this post, we created a guide to teach you about the history of the Afghan Flag and its various designs throughout the years.
1747–1842:
Flag under Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of modern Afghanistan.
1880–1901:
Flag flown under the rule of Abdul Rahman Khan.
1901-1919:
Emirate of Afghanistan under Habibullah Khan. Son of Abdur Rahman Khan.
1919-1929:
Kingdom and Emirate of Afghanistan under King Amanullah Khan. He had 3 more flags during his time.
1929:
Kingdom of Afghanistan under Habibullah Kalakani.
1929-1930:
Kingdom of Afghanistan under Mohammed Nadir Shah, Father of Zahir Shah.
1930-1973:
Kingdom of Afghanistan under Mohammad Zahir Shah. Grew diplomatic relations with countries, even during the Cold War.
1973-1978:
Republic of Afghanistan under Mohammad Daoud Khan, the 5th prime minister.
1978-1980:
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan under Nur Muhammad Turaki and Hafizullah Amin.
1980-1987:
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan under Babrak Karmal, who was installed by the Soviet Union.
1987-1992:
Republic of Afghanistan under Najibullah Ahmadzai, who was assassinated by the Taliban.
1992:
Used by the Mujahideen for a short time after the fall of Najibullah’s Government.
1992-2001:
The new Islamic government under Rabbani featured a flag change with a color scheme similar to Middle Eastern nations’ Flags.
2002-2004:
Transitional Administration under Hamid Karzai.
2013-Present:
Current flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Design Explained:
The black symbolizes the dark, troubled past of the nation. The green represents both Islam and prosperity, while the red represents the blood shed by those who fought for the country’s independence.
The national emblem of Afghanistan shown in the center of the flag, has a scripture of the shahada which is one of the 5 pillars of Islam declaring the belief in God alone, and Prophet Muhammad as his messenger.
Right underneath, it contains the symbol of a mihrab which is found in mosques, pointing towards the direction of the Kaaba (qibla) for prayer.
And the date at the bottom, 1919, is the year Afghanistan gained independence from Great Britain.
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Blog post by @ali.adventure