![[Possible historical flag]](../images/s/sa_asir.gif)
image located by BlinxCat, 5 June 2023
Last modified: 2023-07-22 by ian macdonald
Keywords: shahada | text: arabic (black) | asir | triband (green-white-black) | asiri regional movement |
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Asir was an emirate on the borders of present-day Saudi Arabia and Yemen with several flags in its history. Short history from Wikipedia:
At the rise of the First Saudi State in the 18th century, the towns of 'Asir were governed by local clans in a fashion similar to that of Nejd, while the large tribal confederations maintained a high degree of autonomy. 'Asir was brought under Saudi sovereignty in 1801 after some resistance, yet the region converted quickly to the Wahhabi cause espoused by the Al Saud clan and assigned PrinceAbdulwahab Al-Mathami as governor.After Abdulwahab died, his cousin Prince Tami ibn Shuib ruled until he was captured by the Ottomans and was executed in Istanbul. When the First Saudi State was destroyed by the Egyptians in 1818, the 'Asiris continued to fight the Egyptian forces in their region tenaciously. However, when the Second Saudi State appeared in Nejd in 1824, 'Asir enjoyed an ambivalent relationship with it, with the 'Asiri leaders generally allying themselves with the Saudis without formally entering under their command. The modern state of Saudi Arabia, led by Abd Al-Aziz Ibn Saud, annexed 'Asir and its neighboring regions in the mid-1920s, deposing the local dynasties there, and later successfully fought off a rival claim for the region by the Zaydi Imam of neighboring Yemen in 1934.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 25 March 2009
image located by BlinxCat, 5 June 2023
One flag whose existence I cannot prove is that of the flag of the
Principality of Asir. Wikipedia and http://rbvex.it
report such flag but Vexilla Mundi also reports this flag but under the name of
"Lower Asir".
BlinxCat, 5 June 2023
Summary:
from middle XVIII century to 1801 Asir was in the hands of the
Khayratid dynasty, governing Upper and Lower Asir, Abu Arish and the regions of
the Tihama and Mikhlaf.
1801 Upper Asir was dominated by the Rufaydi dynasty.
Khayratid dynasty remained in Lower Asir, Mikhlaf and Tihama (enclosed Abu
Arish). This ended in circa 1823.
1823 After the defeat of the Wahabites, the
dynasty of the Banu Mughayd, in alliance with the Ottomans, win the control of
Upper and Lower Asir. Khayratids remained in Abu Arish, Mikhlaf al-Sulaymani and
the Tihama.
1863 the Banu Mughayd conquered Abu Arish; alarm in the Ottoman
government.
1872 Asir (enclosed Abu Arish) were annexed by the Ottoman empire
and turned into a "Mutassarrifiyya" dependent on the vilayet of Yemen, with the
capital at Abha, where a Turkish garrison was established.
1909 Idrissids
revolted against Ottomans and dominated Asir with main seat in Sabya.
1910
Upper Assir (main seat Abha) dominated also by Idrissids 1910-1911 but lost to
the Ottomans 1911-1916 (that were besieged in the city); region out of Abha was
in fact mainly in hands of the Banu Mughayd (now called also Aidids) surely
allied to Ottomans.
1915 Arabs from Hejaz (north of Asir) revolted against
Ottomans.
1916 After the defeat of the Ottoman empire the Idrisids extended
to Abha, Hodeida (south) and Qunfuda (in Hejaz, north), but the Banu Mughayd or
Aidid from Upper Asir remained in control of many of the country.
1917 while
Banu Mughayd (Aidids) controlled Upper Asir, the Idrissids of the rest of Asir
and the Tihama obtained the Farasan islands in exchange for Qunfuda (transferred
to sheriff of Hejaz).
1920 Wahabites invade Upper Asir and Abha is occupated.
The British, protecting the Idrissid emir of Asir, prevented them from being
annexed, but some months later the Idrissid emir recognized at end the Wahabite
protectorate over Upper Asir. The Aidids fight against the Wahabites (Saudites).
1923 Defeat of the Aidids, Upper Asir is annexed to the Wahabite emirate (from
1922 already the Idrissid delegate in Abha was substituted by a Saudite
delegate).
1925 Southern Tihama and Hodeida ceded to the Yemem imamate. Hejaz
to Wahabites.
1926 Farasan Islands ceded to British but not occupied.
1927
Wahabite (Saudite) protectorate established over Asir north of Tihama.
I believe that the green flag is the flag of the Idrissid dynasty in Asir,
Mikhlaf and Tihama, sometimes called SOUTH ASIR. The flag was adopted in 1909.
Flaggenmitteilung #61 reported this flag but white with green inscriptions and
green and white triangles. Lucien Phillipe in Flaggenmitteilung #65, and later
A. Usachev in Flagmaster #44 corrected the flag to a green with white
inscriptions. According Lucien Philippe the flag was changed in 1927 moving out
the triangles.
The Aidid dynasty took its name from Al-Aid Iyid; al-Aid
mean "The Jewish". After 1916 it established the effective control of their
natural region of Upper Asir that only nominally remained under sovereignity
from Asir. From 1920 Aidids fought against Wahabites. According to Philippe, the
flag of the Aidids from Upper Asir was white with a blue half moon in canton,
bearing also a koranic sentence in blue (similar to the one of the flag of the
Idrissids and Wahabites in this time). Probably was in use at least from 1910.
It is not know if this flag (or one similar) was already used by the Banu
Mughayds in the XIX century.
Khayratids and then Abu Arish probably used
a red flag with an inscription.
Jaume Olle, 5 June 2023
World Statesmen web site also reports the flag as that of Lower Asir:
https://worldstatesmen.org/Saudi_Arabia_states.html#South-Asir and presents
a somewhat different timeline of Asiri history:
https://worldstatesmen.org/Saudi_Arabia_states.html#Asir
All three
sources also present the flag of Upper Asir as described by Jaume.
Tomislav Todorovic, 8 June 2023
![[Asiri Regional Movement (Saudi Arabia)]](../images/s/sa}asir.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 20 January 2013
James B.Minahan, in his "Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World" – volume I, shows the contemporary flag of Asiri Regional Movement (he calls it an Asiri "national" flag) and describes it as: "a vertical tricolor of green, white, and black, charged with the shahada, the inscription in Arabic that reads 'There is no God but God, Mohammed is the prophet
of God' and is written in black on the center stripe."
Chrystian Kretowicz, 25 Mar 2009
The image show a flag HORIZONTAL instead vertical. Anyone can stablish if the
image is wrong or there’s a mistake in the description?
Jaume Ollé, 19 January 2013
The inconsistency comes from the source.
Minahan shows the flag with horizontal stripes but describes it with
vertical stripes.
It has already been pointed out several times that the accuracy of flag
information in Minahan's book is very low. This is very unfortunate but quite
understandable, since the paragraph dedicated to the flag covers only 4 lines
out of the 5 pages of the "Asiris" entry. Nothing is said in the context of use
of this flag and no source is given.
From a pure geometric point of view, I don't expect flags charged with the
shahada to be vertically divided. The horizontal division provides much more
space for the writing. All such flags I am aware of are horizontally divided.
Ivan Sache, 20 January 2013
