The emblem of the modern Arab Republic of Egypt is the Eagle Salah ad-Din, or Saladin, on whose chest there is a shield divided into three longitudinal stripes. In its paws, the bird holds a slogan ribbon on which the current name of the country is written.
Coat of arms of the Egyptian Sultanate
As such, one of the state symbols of this state appeared on April 10, 1984. The coat of arms of Egypt has been changing along with the country throughout the XX century. The first time this happened in 1914, when Egypt came out of the power of the Ottoman Empire, which it had been a part of since 1517. From 1914 to 1922 the country is under the protectorate of Great Britain and is called the Egyptian Sultanate. The then coat of arms of Egypt (photo attached) reflected the victory of Muhammad Ali, who was the first to start the struggle for the liberation of the country from the Ottoman Port.
On the red field are three golden crescents arranged vertically, with three five-pointed stars inside. This symbolized the victory of the army of Muhammad Ali on three continents - in Europe, Asia and Africa - and his power over Egypt, Sudan and Hijaz (part of modern Saudi Arabia). The coat of arms was crowned with the Khedive (Egyptian) crown.
Post-colonial copy of the once great country
In 1922, under the influence of the growing liberation movement, Great Britain was forced to recognize the independence of Egypt. A new state appears on the world map - the Kingdom of Egypt, which lasted until 1953.
I must say that these coats of arms, both of the sultanate and of the kingdom, were in no way connected with the glorious past of this country - neither with the powerful medieval state that stopped the advance of the crusaders, nor, especially, with Ancient Egypt. For a very long time this country was under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire, and then in the role of the British creature.
Symbol of the Kingdom of Egypt
The coat of arms of Egypt fully reflected the problems of the post-colonial country. An element of the coat of arms in these years was the azure circle, which housed a crescent moon with its horns facing upward, and it contained three five-pointed stars. All the details on the azure background were silver.
Along the contour of the circle was a chain of the highest state award - the Order of Muhammad Ali. The shield was crowned with a crown. The royal mantle, lined with an ermine and falling from another larger crown, located directly above the first, serves as the background for the azure shield. The mantle is decorated with gold embroidery and fringe.
Three stars adorning this coat of arms of Egypt symbolized the three territories that make up the kingdom, namely: Egypt, Nubia (a historical area in the Nile Valley) and Sudan. Sometimes the background of the shield was not azure, but green, which symbolized the agricultural nature of the country, and Islam - its main religion.
Republic of Egypt
In 1952, a revolution took place in Egypt. It was caused by the low rating of Egyptian King Farouk among the people - he was charged with the defeat of Egypt in the war with Israel and fawning over the British. He was displaced bloodlessly, in memory of this event, the modern coat of arms of Egypt, the description of which will follow below, has a white strip on the shield covering the eagle’s chest. Since 1953, the country becomes the Republic of Egypt, and Muhammad Nagib - its first president. In this form, the country lasted until 1958.
In 1956,
Gamal Abdel Nasser became president
. The basis for the new coat of arms, which was adopted in 1953, for the first time becomes the "Eagle of Saladin." It was executed in gold color, a round shield of green color was placed on his chest, and on it was located the same crescent turned upwards by horns upward, surrounding three stars. The eagle's head was turned right.
Great Saladin
What does the eagle of Saladin mean? It is believed that this bird was a personal symbol of Salah ad-Din (1138-1193), the famous winner of the crusaders, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, a talented commander and leader of Muslims in the XII century. He was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. His real name consists of more than a dozen words, and the nickname, or lacab (honorary title), by which he is known in history, is translated as “piety of faith”
Archeologists have a lot of debate about the eagle itself as a symbol of this ruler. Proponents of this assumption cite the fact that this image was found on the western side of the fortress in Cairo, built by Saladin. The appearance on the coat of arms of the country of the eagle - a symbol of the great ancestor, connected the state with the glorious pages of the history of Egypt.
The emergence of SAR
In 1958, a new page in the history of this Arab country begins and, naturally, a new coat of arms of Egypt appears (photo attached). The Syrian government, led by the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party, or Ba'ath, founded in 1947 by Michel Aflyak and Salah ad-Din Bitar, founded in Syria in 1958, proposed Egypt to create the United Arab Republic (UAR) together . The eagle on the new coat of arms was modified - it received black wings, a beak and a crown. The black (the names of colors adopted for the state symbol in heraldry are: red - red, silver - white and black - black) symbolized the complete cessation of British power over Egypt. This is a partial answer to the question - what does the coat of arms of Egypt mean?
New state symbol
The coat of arms of the UAR, which existed from 1958 to 1971, was very reminiscent of the present. The only differences were that the cartouche, which the eagle holds in its paws, was green, and on the white strip of the shield placed on the chest, there were two green five-pointed stars symbolizing Egypt and Syria. The eagle's head is proudly turned to the right (heraldically correct turn) and slightly up.
Three colors of longitudinally spaced stripes indicated:
- black, as was said above, the end of the oppression of the British;
- white - the bloodless revolution of 1952, or Egypt's commitment to peace;
- red - a long struggle with the colonial regime.
On the motto ribbon or cartouche framed in silver, the name of the newly formed state - the United Arab Emirates - was written.
The collapsed federation and the new, current, national emblem
In 1972, the association turns into a federation, which also includes Libya. To the new state - a new emblem. From 1972 to 1977, the golden contour hawk looking to the left became the emblem of the PAR. Two ears were located on the paws of the bird. But the FAR turned out to be a non-viable association and broke up into separate states in 1977.
Now the coat of arms of Egypt has options:
- used by government and army;
- depicted on the flag.
The eagle depicted on the symbol of 1958-1971 added a black tail, the cartouche became golden in color, green stars disappeared from the white field. The current symbol of the country has been highly praised by heraldry scientists.
The modern coat of arms of the country of Egypt is represented by a proud, free, freedom-loving and strong bird, symbolizing, in this case, the connection of time. Strict, and at the same time royal, colors make it both beautiful and majestic.
There is no flower on the coat of arms of Egypt, although in ancient times, the lotus was considered the royal flower of this country. The scepters of the pharaohs were made in the form of it , and all five lotus flowers were present on the ancient emblems of this country . Even in the tomb of Ramses II, this flower was found.