Where the Republic of Turkey�s flag came from?

I read that Turkish flag had taken from Byzantines; and they took it from older Anatolian Civilizations... What is the real story of that flag?

Originally posted by Iskender Bey ALBO This is a Steppe question. it did not come from any of those...

Exactly right...

Crescent is definetely the symbol of Diana (Artemis, goddess of moon)

Star with 8 corners is a symbol of Holy Marie.

But some claim it was also a Middle Asian symbol.

Are there any significant middle asian historians mentioning this? I have never met one, but Oguzoglu might have. Lets leave the discussion to him. He has some nice inventory of middle asian knowledge...

there are differences between the turkish moon's and the stars used than other symbols used by other people...

so I can fantasize here that its the inverse deleted version of the japanese flag.. it will be as true as the byzantine version you guys/gals are talking about..

Edited by baracuda

Well according to allaboutturkey.com HulaguHan's 'version' is actually the most probable one.


Historical facts:
"Red has been prominent in Turkish flags for 700 years. The star and crescent are Muslim symbols, but also have a long pre-Islamic past in Asia Minor. The basic form of the national flag was apparently established in 1793 under Ottoman Sultan Selim III, when the green flags used by the navy were changed to red and a white crescent and multi-pointed star were added. The five-pointed star dates from approximately 1844. Except for the issuance of design specifications, no change was made when the Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey and the Caliphate (religious authority) was terminated by Ataturk. Many traditions explain the star and crescent symbol. It is known that Diana (Artemis) was the patron goddess of Byzantium and that her symbol was a moon. In 330, the Emperor Constantine rededicated the city - which he called Constantinople (todays Istanbul) - to the Virgin Mary, whose star symbol was superimposed over the crescent. In 1453 Constantinople (Istanbul) was captured by the Ottoman Turks and renamed Istanbul, but its new rulers may have adopted the existing emblem for their own use"

Legends:
"A reflection of the moon occulting a star, appearing in pools of blood after the battle of Kosovo in 1448, the battle during which the Ottomans defeated the Christian forces and established the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Europe until the end of the 19th century, led to the adoption of the Turkish flag by Sultan Murad II according to one legend. Others refer to a dream of the first Ottoman Sultan in which a crescent and star appeared from his chest and expanded, presaging the dynasty's seizure of Constantinople (Istanbul). There are other legends explaining the flag."

http://www.allaboutturkey.com/flag.htm

HulaguHan

You're correct about a much later introduction of the name Istanbul actually it wasn't untill March 28. 1930 that it was officially changed.
Not sure if this is what you wanted to point out but it was the Ottomans that introduced the more Turkish form of the city's name "Konstantiniyye" (city of Constantine) you wrote.

The name Istanbul derives from the Hellinic phrase "��� ��� ����/ Eis tin Poli", the foreign citizens of the city understood the phrase as "Stabulin" which is why we find documents with both names on them.
(here's a 1921 envelope)



We know of maps that refer to the city as Constandinopoli as some sources say well into the 1960's, so it seems that the new name took some time to be adopted.

Here are some documents with the name Constantinopoli but couldn't find anything older than the 1920's:

1911, "De Paris à Constantinople, les Guides Bleus" Hachette
http://www.trainsofturkey.com/maps/Constantinople_1911_L.jpg

"Plan du réseau, Société des Tramways de Constantinople"
http://www.trainsofturkey.com/maps/istanbul_tram11.jpg

Constantinople postcards 1910
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/curioshop/item/col8166

Censored Postcard Constantinople to Vienna.1917:
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/curioshop/item/col6149


1917: Old Turkey: Attractive Postcard of two Muslims
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/curioshop/item/col7120

Now guys, please understand our concern, we republican Kemalist Turks do not like Imperial names, so that changed the name.

It had no offence against Greeks.

Even if it was named after some Emperor named Mustafa, Mustafapolis , Kemal Ataturk would change it.

You should find Cankaya from Falih Rifki Atay and see how he is against Monarch and Konstantiniyye. He hates it to death...

Also it has ethimologically Greek roots, but it wasn't invented in the republican era. Itwas also used long before.

But its original roots are totally Roman, just the language is Greek...

Why would Ataturk offense Greeks? He even denied to step on Greek flags. And changing the name of the city into Istanbul cannot be against Greeks, but Romans. Because there is no Roman nation left in the world now, it wasnt disrespectful to anyone.

And the name Istanbul was invented by Topkapi and elite people. It is a Turkish word derived by Persian originated words. It means "landbridge"...

No it isnt. Ataturk wouldnt let people to call it with a misunderstood Byzanthine word.

"Istan" means land, like we say "Yunanistan", means Greek/Ionianland. "bul" means bridge like in Kabul. I heard it both from some Istanbulites and from a couple of Iranian forumers here.

And BTW, no, Polat Kaya didnt say this, also I dont recommend all his works, he is a good historican but lots of times his works sound nonsense and funny. I have just copy pasted and supported two of his works, one about Northern American natives, the other about Scythians.

Edited by Oguzoglu

Originally posted by kotumeyil The word Istanbul seems to have Greek origins but it's not a problem because it's the name of our beloved city and we love it very much together with its history...

An excellent and well respected reply!

I won't comment on Oguzoglu's "theory", just search for "istanbul + etymology" in Google....