Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Proportions
2:33 wide for every 2 high. 989 flags in the catalogue share it.
Properties
Historical flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
Use
Civil, military and stateFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.
Adopted
19141914 · 112 years ago
Colours
green
yellow
red
Reference shades: the official one may vary slightly.
Coat of arms
YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.
Origin
Traditional green, yellow and red pennants
Out of use since
1975
Take a closer look
The three stripes
1
The Lion of Judah
2
The red stripe
3
The green stripe
How it is described
The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
Vexillological description
It is a rectangular field with a 2:3 ratio divided into three equal horizontal stripes: green on top, yellow in the middle and red below. In the centre it carries the Lion of Judah.
Lion
standing and walking towards the flagpole, with a crown on its head.
Lion’s pole
it holds it with one paw; it ends in a cross and carries a small pennant in the three colours.
Image on this page
it shows the order the other way round, with red on top, as the Rastafarian movement usually uses it.
What it carries
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
In 1896 Emperor Menelik II defeated the Italian army at the battle of Adwa
1897
The following year, in October 1897
1930
The Rastafarian movement, born in Jamaica in the 1930s
1936
During the Italian occupation, from 1936 to 1941, it stopped being official
1974
Abyssinia is the old name of the Ethiopian Empire, a monarchy that lasted until 1974
The full story
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
Abyssinia is the old name of the Ethiopian Empire, a monarchy that lasted until 1974. Its flag, green, yellow and red with a crowned lion, is one of the most influential in Africa: its three colours went on to many countries of the continent and to the Rastafarian movement.
How it came about
Green, yellow and red were important colours in Ethiopia long before there was a flag. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church used them, and the army carried three pennants, one of each colour.
In 1896 Emperor Menelik II defeated the Italian army at the battle of Adwa, and Ethiopia stayed independent while almost all of Africa fell to the Europeans. The following year, in October 1897, Menelik joined the three pennants into a single rectangular cloth.
How it has changed
The order of the colours and the central emblem changed several times.
After Menelik’s death the letter is removed and the order is turned round: green on top. In the centre, the Lion of Judah. During the Italian occupation, from 1936 to 1941, it stopped being official.
With the monarchy abolished, only the tricolour is left, without the lion. It is the end of the imperial flag.
Other flags and proposals
Outside Ethiopia the lion flag is still alive, though often with the colours the other way round.
No oficial
The Rastafarian flag
The Rastafarian movement, born in Jamaica in the 1930s, venerates Emperor Haile Selassie and uses his flag with the lion. Many times it puts red on top, as in this image.
What it means
There is no official meaning from the imperial time, but these are the most repeated explanations.
Green
the fertile land and hope.
Yellow
peace and harmony between the peoples and religions of the country.
Red
the blood shed to defend Ethiopia.
Lion of Judah
the emblem of the Solomonic dynasty, which claimed to descend from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The cross on its pole recalls that Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian countries.
Fun facts
The colours of half of Africa
Ethiopia resisted the Europeans, and that is why many African countries took its green, yellow and red when they became independent. Today they are known as Pan-African colours.
Nobody knows why it was turned round
Around 1914 the red went from top to bottom and the green from bottom to top. No document is known that explains the change.
A letter as emblem
The first flag of 1897 had no lion: it carried in the centre the letter ም, the first of Menelik’s name in the Ethiopic alphabet.
Rastafarians the wrong way round
Rastafarians use the lion flag both with green on top and with red on top, giving no importance to the order, according to Flags of the World.
Location
Buy the flag
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Buy the flag on AmazonAffiliate link: if you buy, Wiki Banderas receives a small commission.
Buy the flag on AmazonAffiliate link: if you buy, Wiki Banderas receives a small commission.
How much have you learnt?
Test what you have read about the flag of Abyssinia (Ethiopian Empire).
