Flag of Cyprus | Meaning, Colors & History

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Author of <em>Flags and Arms Across the World</em> and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Whitney Smith</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Cyprus/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><figure class="flag-description"><span id="ref-7883"></span><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/83/7883-050-0E5BCA30/Flag-Cyprus.jpg" alt="Flag of Cyprus" class="inline-image-baseline"><figcaption><h3>flag of Cyprus</h3>national flag consisting of a white field (background) showing a yellow silhouette of <span id="ref948750"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cyprus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cyprus</a> above two green olive branches. Its width-to-length ratio is 3 to 5.</figcaption></figure><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For centuries Cyprus was part of the Ottoman Empire and flew <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Turkey" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Turkish flags</a>. By agreement with the Turkish sovereign, however, the British assumed administrative control of the island in 1878 and subsequently flew the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-the-United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Union Jack</a> there. During World War I the island was annexed by the British, and other colonial flags were then introduced. For example, to the British Red Ensign was added a badge with two lions; this was supposedly the symbol of King <span id="ref712676"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-I-king-of-England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Richard I</a> of England, who in 1191 became ruler of Cyprus as part of his involvement in the Crusades. The local peoples of the island, however, had no attachment to British symbols; the Cypriot Greeks and Turks looked respectively to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Greece" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greek</a> and Turkish national flags as their own.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">On August 16, 1960, the Republic of Cyprus was proclaimed, with a national flag of neutral design. On a plain white field it bore the island in yellow silhouette with a green olive wreath (symbolizing peace) beneath. This flag was not (and is not) widely used, however, because the Greek and Turkish communities continued to fly the national flags of their original homelands. In 1974 a Turkish invasion of the island, in the face of possible annexation by Greece, led to the establishment of a puppet state on the northern third of the island. Subsequently proclaiming itself independent (but only recognized by Turkey), the <span id="ref712675"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Turkish-Republic-of-Northern-Cyprus" class="md-crosslink ">Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus</a> adopted a flag of its own based on the Turkish model.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/contributor/Whitney-Smith/4445">Whitney Smith</a></span> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":1355159,"pageLength":270,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Flag of Cyprus | Meaning, Colors & History | Britannica