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Flag of Spain since 1981.

The national flag of Spain is a rectangular panel of three horizontal stripes – two equal red ones, top and bottom, between which there is a yellow stripe, the width of which is twice as wide as each red stripe. On the yellow strip at a distance of 1/3 from the pole edge of the cloth there is an image of the coat of arms of Spain. The ratio of the flag’s width to its length is 2:3.

Description of the coat of arms approved by law no. 33/1981 of October 5, 1981:
Article one. The coat of arms of Spain is a shield divided into four parts with a rounding at the bottom. In the first quarter, on a red background, there is an image of a three-tower castle of golden color with azure gates and windows. In the second quarter, on a silver background, there is an image of a rearing purple lion crowned with a golden crown. In the third quarter, there are four red stripes on a golden background. In the fourth quarter, on a red background, there are images of golden chains forming a cross, and in the center of the quarter – an image of an emerald. On the inset at the bottom of the shield on a silver background is an image of a pomegranate fruit, with a red inside, with two green leaves.
On either side of the image of the shield there are images of columns of silver color, based on the bases of gold color and images of waves of azure or blue color and topped with imperial and royal gold crowns. The columns are wrapped around a red motto ribbon, on which the inscription is applied in gold letters: “Plus” on the left, “Ultra” on the right (from the Latin “Plus Ultra” – “Further than the limit”). The upper part of the coat of arms is crowned with an image of the royal crown, which is a circle of gold with precious stones, with eight rosettes and eight interspersed pearls, closed on top by eight hemispheres, of which five are visible, also decorated with pearls and crowned with a cross on a symbolic image of the globe. The inside of the crown is red.
Article two. On the shield of the coat of arms of Spain, described in the previous article, there is an insert of azure color with a red border depicting three golden lilies, two above one – the symbol of the ruling dynasty of Bourbon-Anjou.

The flag was approved on October 28, 1981 by law No. 39/1981.

Rationale for the symbolism: The current flag of Spain is derived from the naval ensign of 1785 introduced by King Charles III. It was chosen by Charles III himself from among 12 different flags designed by Antonio Valdes and Bazan (all designed flags were presented in a drawing that is in the Naval Museum of Madrid). The flag remained a naval flag for the next 50 years, flying over coastal fortresses, naval barracks, and other naval assets. Only in 1820 did the first Spanish land unit receive such a flag, and only in 1843 did Queen Isabella II make the flag official.

Heraldic banner in
1475-1492.

Infantry banner model
1475.

General royal banner of
Catholic Monarchs in
1475-1492.

Banner of the Catholic Monarchs
in 1475-1492.

In 1469, the marriage of Ferdinand II, King of Aragon (later Ferdinand V) and Isabella, Queen of Castile and León resulted in the unification of both kingdoms, which in turn led to the creation of modern Spain (1516).

Heraldic banner
in 1492-1506.

Banner of the Catholic Monarchs
in 1492-1508.

In 1492, the Emirate of Granada was conquered, which became part of the kingdom as the Kingdom of Granada. The emblem of Granada has been added to the heraldic banner.

Flag of Ferdinand and Isabella, presented to
Columbus.

The flag that was presented to Christopher Columbus in preparation for an expedition to America can be considered the first non-armorial flag of the United Kingdom.

State flag in 1506-1701.

Naval flag in 1520-1701.

In 1506, a white flag with a red Burgundy cross was adopted as the new flag. This flag was used both on land and at sea. In 1520, a red-white-yellow horizontal tricolor began to be used as a naval ensign.

Heraldic flag
Carlos I in 1518-1556
years.

Royal standard in
1556-1580 and 1668-1700.

Heraldic flag
of the Habsburgs in 1580-1668
.

Royal standard
in 1580-1668.

Heraldic banner
of the Habsburgs in 1668-1700
.

State flag (on land) in 1701-1771
.

Naval ensign (simplified) in
1701-1785.

With the death in November 1700 of Charles II of Habsburg, who left no heirs, the question of who would be the new king led to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). The Bourbon dynasty came to power. The new king’s flags were designed by the French heraldists Charles-René d’Ozier and Pierre Kerambo.

Naval flag in 1701-1760.

Flag of Philip V
(1700-1746).

Heraldic banner of
Bourbons in 1700-1761
.

Royal standard in
1700-1761.

Naval flag in 1760-1785.

Heraldic banner of the Bourbons in 1761-1868 and in
1875-1931.

Royal Standard at
1761-1834.

In 1760, Charles III modified the shield of the royal arms, retaining the Golden Fleece and adding two new quarters corresponding to the House of Farnese (six blue lilies on gold) and the Medici (five red discs and one blue disc with three golden lilies, all on gold).

Flag of the navy and coastal fortifications
in 1785-1931.
National flag in 1843-1873 and 1874-1931
.

Flag of the Merchant Navy in 1785–1927.

Royal Standard in
1838-1868 and 1875-1931.

King Charles III of Spain (1759-1788) noticed that most of the countries in Europe used flags that were predominantly white and because they were often at war with each other, there were deplorable confusions at sea, so it is difficult to determine if a visible ship is an enemy . For this reason, he ordered his Minister of the Navy to prepare several models of flags, which were to be visible from great distances. The minister selected twelve sketches, which were shown to the king. The flag chosen as the military flag is the direct ancestor of the current flag. It was red-yellow-red whose yellow stripe was twice the size of the red stripe, a unique feature that distinguished the Spanish flag from other European flags. Meanwhile, the flag chosen for the civilian or merchant fleet consisted of five stripes: yellow-red-yellow-red-yellow in proportions 1:1:2:1:1.

Flag of the First Spanish Republic in
1873-1874.

Heraldic banner of the Bourbons in 1931.

The First Spanish Republic was proclaimed after the abdication of the Spanish king Amadeus I, which occurred as a result of an acute social crisis and the outbreak of the Second Carlist War, on February 10, 1873.

Flag of the Second Spanish Republic at 1931-1939
.

The Second Spanish Republic existed from 1931 to 1939 – the period after the overthrow of the monarchy, before the establishment of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The change of regime was symbolized by a new tricolor flag of red, yellow and purple instead of the former red and yellow bicolor which was considered monarchist at the time. The purple stripe represented Castile and León in the colors of the flag, as the existing red and yellow represented the territories of the former Crown of Aragon. The Republican flag was officially adopted on 27 April 1931 years old and officially handed over to the army on May 6th. The coat of arms was located on the state flag in the center, the civil one was used without a coat of arms.

Flag of the rebel side 29.08-13.09 1936.

Flag of the rebel side 09/13/1936-02/02/1938.

Flag of the rebel side 02/02/1938-04/01/1939;
flag of Spain in 1939-1945.

In 1936-1939 there was a civil war in Spain.

Flag of Spain in 1945-1977.

Flag of Spain in 1977-1981.

Royal Standard of Juan
Carlos I (1975-2014).

Royal Standard
of Philip VI (since 2014).

• Andalusia
• Aragon
• Asturias
• Balearic Islands
• Valencia
• Galicia

• Canary Islands
• Cantabria
• Castile-La Mancha
• Castile-Leon
• Catalonia
• Madrid

• Murcia
• Navarra
• Rioja
• Basque Country
• Extremadura

• Ampuryas County
• Granada Emirate/Kingdom
• Castile, kingdom
• Cordoba, emirate/caliphate/taifa

• Leon Kingdom
• Mallorca, kingdom
• Seville, kingdom

• Seville, Taifa
• Toledo, Kingdom

Flag of the County of Empurhas.

In 785, the Franks conquered the regions of Ampurhas and Perelada from the Moors, which were included in the created county of Girona, which in turn was included in the Spanish March. As part of Girona, these areas remained until the 810s. In 813, Ermenger, Count of Empurhas, is mentioned for the first time, who ruled until 817, after which the County of Empurhas was transferred to Gocelm, Count of Roussillon.

At the end of the ninth and beginning of the tenth century, the owners of most French counties became hereditary and sovereign rulers, recognizing the power of the king only formally. As the royal power weakened, the independence of the counts increased, and by the end of the 9th century, the power of the counts of Ampuryas became hereditary.

After the death in 1401/1402 of Pere III, who did not leave children, his wife, Jeanne de Rocaberti-y-de-Fennollet, as well as her brother, Viscount Geoffroy VI de Rocaberti, were to become the heir according to the will. However, King Martin I of Aragon refused to approve the Rocaberti viscounts as counts of Empurhas and in 1402 annexed the county to the crown estates.

Flag of the Emirate of Granada.

After the death of the prominent Almohad ruler Muhammad al-Nasir (1214), a period of unrest began in the Muslim part of Iberia, which led to the collapse of the Almohad state. In 1224-1230, the region was engulfed by feudal fragmentation, small emirates (called taifas) were formed and again disintegrated. An emirate was founded in Arkhon (1230), which turned out to be the most viable. Its ruler, Muhammad I al-Ghalib, captured the city of Jaen in 1232, and then was recognized in the districts of the cities of Basa, Guadis and Granada (1237). It was in the remote mountainous Granada that he established the seat of his court (1238) and thus founded the Emirate of Granada – the last Moorish state.

At the end of the 15th century, the emirate was in crisis – the treasury was chronically short of funds, there was a shortage of food, the population was starving, city buildings were empty and falling apart. All this, combined with the vices of social organization, the humanitarian crisis and the external political situation of Granada, led the emirate to a final defeat.

Flag of the Kingdom of Granada.

The Kingdom of Granada was formed in 1492, after the capture of the Emirate of Granada by the Spaniards. The new entity, although called a “kingdom”, was completely dependent on the crown of Castile and León. With the capture of Granada – the last Arab state in Europe and the last Islamic state formation on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, the eight-century process of the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula ended.

On November 20, 1833, Spain carried out an administrative reform, the kingdoms were abolished, and provinces were formed in their place.

Flag of the Kingdom of Castile.

For the first time the name “Castile” (Spanish: Castilla) appears in the “Chronicle of Alfonso III” (IX century), which mentions that the king of Asturias Alfonso I settled the province of Bardulia, “which is now called Castile.” The name comes from the castles (castle), created in the region bordering with Muslim states. King Alfonso I of Asturias, taking advantage of the civil strife in Al-Andalus, was able to capture a number of territories. In the lands conquered from the Muslims in the south of the kingdom, he began to build defensive fortifications. The successors of Alfonso I were able to further expand the territory of the kingdom. Around 850, King Ordoño I formed a county to improve the administration of the eastern regions of the kingdom.

The first counts of Castile took an active part in the Reconquista, expanding their possessions. The capital of the county was Burgos, founded in 884 by either King Alfonso III the Great of Asturias or Count Diego Porcelos. In the 10th century, the counts of Castile, due to the weakness of royal power and civil strife, began to strive for independence. After several unsuccessful uprisings, Count Fernand Gonzalez, the founder of the Lara dynasty, became a de facto independent ruler. His son, Garcia Fernandez, after being overthrown at 9In 84, King Ramiro III refused to take the vassal oath to Bermudo III, who, in need of help against the Leonese nobility in 991, recognized the Count of Castile as an independent and equal ruler. After the extinction of the Lara dynasty in 1029, Castile became part of the possessions of the King of Navarre, Sancho III the Great, who was married to the sister of the last Count of Castile.

After the death of Sancho III the Great in 1035, his possessions were divided among his sons. As early as 1032, Castile was transferred to the eldest son of Sancho III, Ferdinand (Fernando) I. However, King Bermudo III of Leon began preparations for war with Ferdinand I in order to return to Leon the lands previously taken from him. Ferdinand, in an effort to gain more support from the Castilian nobility, assumed the title “King of Castile” on 1 July 1037.

At the end of his life, King Alfonso IX of Leon went to Santiago de Compostela to visit the relics of Saint James, whom he greatly revered. On the way, he felt unwell and stopped at Villanueva de Sarria, where he died on September 23 or 24, 1230. According to his will, Alfonso IX left his kingdom to two daughters from his first marriage – Sancha and Dulce, but his son Fernando, King of Castile, challenged this will, referring to the succession laws adopted in Leon, according to which male offspring were preferred during inheritance. As a result, Fernando managed to settle the dispute with his half-sisters: he provided them with significant monetary compensation, and the sisters renounced the rights to Leon. As a result, Fernando was recognized as the king of Leon and Galicia, again uniting them with Castile. The united Kingdom of Castile and León was never divided again.

Flag of the caliphate (emirate).

Banner of Abd ar-Rahman III (912-961).

After the rapid Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711-718, a province was created that was part of the Umayyad Caliphate. The residence of its rulers, who bore the title of “wali” or “emir”, was the city of Cordoba. Initially, the Spanish emir was appointed by the African governor, who was subordinate to the caliph. At the end of 755, Abd ar-Rahman landed in Spain, captured Córdoba and proclaimed himself emir. Initially, he formally recognized the authority of the Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads, but after the conflict of 765, the mention of the Abbasids in Friday sermons in mosques was prohibited.

The real creator of the independent emirate was Abd-ar-Rahman II, who streamlined the powers of the viziers and achieved a very rapid Islamization of the peninsula, significantly reducing the number of Christians in Muslim lands. By the time of Abd ar-Rahman III’s accession to the throne in 912, the political decline of the emirate was an obvious fact. Abd-ar-Rahman III put an end to the rebellions, made campaigns on Christian lands. And in 929 he proclaimed himself caliph.

The death of Hakam II in 976 marked the beginning of the decline of the caliphate. Before his death, Hakam appointed his 10-year-old son Hisham II as his successor (976-1008). Muhammad ibn Abu Amir al-Mansur (in medieval European sources – Almansor) served as a hajib under Khakam. After the death of Khakam, he removed from the reign of Caliph Hisham II, who remained only a nominal head of state. At the beginning of the 11th century, a period of feudal unrest began in the Caliphate (from 1009 to 1031, 6 caliphs were replaced). In 1031, the last caliph, Hisham III, was overthrown and expelled from Cordoba, and the Caliphate broke up into many small emirates.

Flag of the taifa of Cordoba.

During the collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba, various states began to form, which went down in history as taifas. Cordoba, as the former center of the Caliphate, was one of the last to declare its independence. On November 30, 1031, Hisham III was overthrown by the rebellious people and fled to Lleida. The city was temporarily left without a ruler. The noble citizens decided to transfer power to Abu-l-Hazm Jahwar bin Muammad. Before making any political decision, he conferred with a council of ministers and a judge.

Abu-l-Hazm ruled the city from 1031 until his death in 1049, when he was succeeded by his son Abu-l Walid Muhammad ar-Rashid. Over time, Muhammad ar-Rashid transferred power in the taifa of Cordoba to his two children: Abd ar-Rahman and Abd al-Malik. The two brothers began a struggle, in which Abd ar-Rahman turned out to be the winner. Abd al-Malik turned to the Emir of Seville, Abbad II al-Mu’tadid, for help.

The rapprochement between Cordoba and Seville alarmed Al-Ma’mun, Emir of Toledo, who sent an army to besiege Cordoba and arrest Abd al-Malik. The struggle for Cordoba continued until al-Mu’tamid, after another victory, instead of appointing his protege, added the taif to the taif of Seville. Abd al-Malik was arrested and exiled to the island of Salta. This was the end of the Republic of Cordoba.

Flag of the Kingdom of Leon in 1105-1157.

Flag of the Kingdom of León (late
version).

The kingdom was formed in 910 after the division of the kingdom of Asturias between the sons of King Alfonso III. The eldest son Garcia received Leon, the second son Ordoño received Galicia, and the youngest Fruela received Asturias proper.

In 914, after the death of Garcia, the kingdom of León passed to his middle brother Ordoño II, who, in order to enlist the support of his younger brother, King Fruela II of Asturias, gave him some of the lands of León. Ordoño II made the city of León the capital of his kingdom. In 924, he died and Fruela II became the ruler of his lands, who also died a year later. Nevertheless, Leon, Asturias and Galicia were again united. The capital of the united state was moved from Oviedo to Leon, and the state itself was called the Kingdom of Leon and Asturias.

At the end of his life, King Alfonso IX of Leon went to Santiago de Compostela to visit the relics of Saint James, whom he greatly revered. On the way, he felt unwell and stopped at Villanueva de Sarria, where he died on September 23 or 24, 1230. According to his will, Alfonso IX left his kingdom to two daughters from his first marriage – Sancha and Dulce, but his son Fernando, King of Castile, challenged this will, referring to the succession laws adopted in Leon, according to which male offspring were preferred during inheritance. As a result, Fernando managed to settle the dispute with his half-sisters: he provided them with significant monetary compensation, and the sisters renounced the rights to Leon. As a result, Fernando was recognized as the king of Leon and Galicia, again uniting them with Castile. The united Kingdom of Castile and León was never divided again.

Flag of the Kingdom of Mallorca.

Mallorca was conquered by Jaime I from the Almohad dynasty in 1229-1232. Having not yet fully mastered the island, Jaime in 1231 proclaimed Mallorca a kingdom in union with Aragon.

On October 25, 1349, at the battle of Llucmajor, Jaime was defeated and died, and his young children, Jaime IV (1337-1375) and Isabella (1337-1403), were taken prisoner to Barcelona. Mallorca finally became part of Aragon.

Flag of the Kingdom of Seville.

The Kingdom was founded in 1248 when King Ferdinand III of Castile and León conquered the Islamic-Moorish state in Seville during the Reconquista. The kingdom was vassal to the crown of Castile, with which all its further history remains institutionally connected.

Nominally part of Spain until 1833, when a territorial reorganization was carried out, the kingdoms were abolished, and provinces were formed in their place.

Flag of the Taifa Seville.

Taifa Seville became one of the last territories subject to the caliph of Cordoba. This became possible because Seville enjoyed a certain autonomy within the Caliphate. The autonomy of Seville was led by a triumvirate consisting of Abu Abd Alya al Subaidi, the vizier Abu Muammad Abd Alya ben Maryam and Qadi Ismail ibn Abbad. Over time, Ismail ibn Abbad concentrated power in his hands, which he transferred to his son Abbad I. Taifa Seville became independent after October 1, 1023, Abbad I forbade the deposed Caliph of Cordoba Al-Qasim al-Mamun from entering the city, and in Declared independence from Córdoba in December. After the monarchy was overthrown in the city of Cordoba in 1031 and a republic was founded, Seville received a pretext for fighting other taifas, in the war with which the entire reign of Abbad passed.

In the reign of Al-Mu’tamid ibn Abbad (1069-1091), the taifas of Cordoba in 1070 and Murcia in 1078 were annexed. Al-Mu’tamid tried to stop paying tribute to the Castilians. This led to the capture of Toledo by the Christians in 1085. Al-Mu’tamid called for help from the Almoravids, who defeated the Christian troops and received Algeciras as a reward. In 1090, the Almoravides, seeing the weakness of the Muslim states of the Iberian Peninsula, began to capture the taifs of Al-Andalus. In 1091, Seville fell, and its ruler Al-Mu’tamid was exiled to the Maghreb.

Flag of the Kingdom of Toledo.

The Kingdom of Toledo was formed on May 25, 1085, after the liberation of the city of Toledo by Alfonso VI from the Arabs.