Flag of Ethiopia

The flag of Ethiopia consists of a green, yellow, and red tricolour with the national emblem, a golden pentagram on a blue disc, superimposed at the centre. While the colours green, yellow, and red in combination held symbolic importance since at least the early 17th century, the modern tricolour was first adopted on 11 October 1897 by Menelik II, and the present flag on 31 October 1996.

The colors of blue, yellow and red were used for the flag of the Ethiopian Empire in 1914. On 11 October 1897, a year after Ethiopia decisively defeated the Kingdom of Italy at the Battle of Adwa, emperor Menelik II ordered the three pennants combined in a rectangular tricolour from top to bottom of red, yellow, and green with the first letter of his own name (the Amharic letter "ም") on the central stripe. The letter of Menelik's name was removed from the flag after his death in 1913. For unknown reasons, the colour order was flipped—with green on top, red on the bottom, and the yellow remaining in place. The flag's tricolour scheme has existed since the early 19th century, and the colours red, yellow, and green carried special importance prior to that. To commemorate its adoption in 1897, Ethiopia celebrates Flag Day on the first Monday of the month of Tikimt (September–October). The royal flag often featured the emblem of a Lion of Judah, a crowned lion carrying a cross centered in the banner's yellow midsection. Along with that, the symbols of Ethiopia in the Middle Ages were the war drums and red umbrellas carried by the Atse's retinue and the original sandak alama (ሰንደቅ…