A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the maritime environment, where semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families.[1] The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin vexillum, meaning "flag" or "banner".
National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes.
Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A flag (Arabic: لواء) is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries. In Spain, a flag (Spanish: bandera) is a battalion-equivalent in the Spanish Legion.
The origin of the flag is unknown[2] and it remains unclear when the first flag was raised.[3]Ships with vexilloids were represented on predynastic Egyptian pottery c. 3500 BCE.[3] In antiquity, field signs or standards that can be categorised as vexilloid or "flag-like" were used in warfare, which originated in ancient Egypt or Assyria.[4] Examples include the Sassanid battle standard Derafsh Kaviani, and the standards of the Roman legions such as the eagle of Augustus Caesar's Xth legion and the dragon standard of the Sarmatians; the latter was allowed to fly freely in the wind, carried by a horseman, but depictions suggest that it bore more similarity to an elongated dragon kite than to a simple flag.
While the origin of the flag remains a mystery, the oldest flag discovered is actually made of bronze and is called a Derafsh or 'flag-like' Shahdad, which was found in Shahdad, Iran, and dates back to c. 2400 BCE. It features a seated man and a kneeling woman facing each other, with a star in between. This iconography can be found in other Bronze Age pieces of art in the area as well.[repetition?][5][6][7][8]
Flags as recognized today, made of a piece of cloth representing a particular entity, were almost certainly[4] the invention of the ancient peoples of the Indian subcontinent or the Zhou dynasty of Ancient China. Chinese flags had devices such as a red bird, a white tiger, or a blue dragon, and royal flags were to be treated with a level of respect similar to that given to the ruler. Indian flags were often triangular and decorated with attachments such as a yak's tail and the state umbrella. Silk flags spread to the Near East from China or it was simply the silk which made the journey to be fashioned by people who had independently arrived at the idea of rectangle clothed attached to a pole.[9] Flags were probably transmitted to Europe via the Muslim world, where plainly coloured flags were being used due to Islamic proscriptions. They are often mentioned in the early history of Islam and may have been copied from India.[4]