OMAN, FLAG OF

national flag consisting of horizontal stripes of white, red, and green and, at the hoist, a vertical red stripe with the national coat of arms. The flag generally has a width-to-length ratio of 1 to 2, but ratios of 4 to 7 or 5 to 9 are sometimes used. A plain red flag was used in Oman as early as AD 750, and from 1868 to 1871 a plain white flag, symbol of the imam (religious leader), served as the national flag. The ruling sultan was deposed on July 23, 1970, and the new sultan, Qabus ibn Sa'id, began to modernize the nation: he changed its name to Sultanate of Oman and, on December 17, 1970, introduced the new national flag. White symbolizes peace and prosperity, red the battles fought against foreign invaders, and green the fertility of the land. Unofficially, white is associated with the imamate, red the sultanate, and green the mountainous interior area known as Green Mountain, Al-Jabal Al-Akhar. Also featured is the national coat of arms, dating from about 1940 and consisting of two crossed swords, a dagger, and a belt. On November 18, 1995, the horizontal stripes at the fly end, originally of different widths, were made equal. Whitney Smith