Coat of arms of Syria

Since the start of the ongoing Syrian Civil War in March 2011, there are two types of coat of arms that claimed to be the sole de jure legitimate government of Syria. The current coat of arms, which depicts the Hawk of Quraish, is used by Bashar al-Assad's government since 1980 while several opposition groups, such as the Syrian Interim Government, led by the Syrian National Coalition - who seeks to oust the al-Assad regime for example - have created alternative coats of arms.

Emblem used by the Assad government

Coat of arms of the Syrian Arab Republic
Details
Armiger Syrian Arab Republic
Adopted 1967
Escutcheon Per pale Gules, Argent and Sable, two Mullets of five points palewise Vert
Supporters A Hawk of Quraish

The current coat of arms of Syria (Arabic: شعار سوريا) was adopted in 1980, following the 1977 dissolution of the Federation of Arab Republics, whose coat of arms had until then been used by its constituent states. This emblem consist of the Hawk of Quraish [1] supporting a shield bearing the national flag of Syria (in vertical form), and a scroll of the words "Syrian Arab Republic" in Arabic (الجمهورية العربية السورية).

Emblem used by the Syrian Interim Government and National Coalition

Coat of arms of the Syrian Opposition
Details
Armiger Syrian Interim Government
Syrian National Coalition
Adopted 2012
Escutcheon Per pale Gules, Argent and Sable, two Mullets of five points palewise Rouge
Supporters A grey Hawk of Quraish

The Syrian Interim Government, a provisional government for Opposition-held parts of Syria, uses a modified version of the Hawk of Quraish with the colors of the Syrian independence flag.

The Syrian National Coalition uses the Pan-Arab colors of a five-pointed star with the words in Arabic on the bottom: National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. (Arabic: الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية).

It should be noted that this coat of arms is unofficial and while representing Syria the official one is used.

History

Since the declaration of the Syrian Republic on 14 May 1930, Syria has had several coats of arms, albeit fairly consistent in composition - a supporter (often the Hawk of Quraish) bearing a shield, with the official Arabic name of the territory on a scroll beneath.

During Syria's union with Egypt in the United Arab Republic (UAR) between 1958 and 1961, the pan-Arab Eagle of Saladin was used as the basis of the coat of arms. Though Syria withdrew from the union in 1961, Egypt continued to use the official name, flag, and coat of arms of the UAR until 1971. Syria reverted to the coat of arms used before the UAR, inverting the colours of the mullets and the orle two years later.

During the period of the Federation of Arab Republics between 1972 and 1977, a loose association of Egypt, Libya, and Syria, the Hawk of Quraish was used as the coat of arms.

After the end of the union, all three former member states retained the Hawk of Quraish. Egypt finally reverted to the Eagle of Saladin in 1984, which had served as the coat of arms of both Egypt and Libya prior to the abortive union, and which still serves as the basis of the arms of Egypt, Iraq, and Palestine. Syria continued to use the Hawk of Quraish, as did Libya under Gaddafi (although the Libyan version faced to the dexter rather than to the sinister, as in the Syrian version).

See also

References

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