Meaning of Aran's Flag
The green, white, and red colors are Iran's national colors. Their presence on the flag signifies Aran's belonging to the Iranian nation and indicates that this land is connected to Iran's cultural and historical identity. The green color on the flag represents Islam, white symbolizes peace and honesty, and red expresses martyrdom, courage, and love for the homeland. Together, these three colors symbolize a shared identity and national values.
The rising sun in the center of the flag is a symbol of truth, historical awakening, and awareness. It represents the return of light after a dark night, expressing hope and revival.
The blue line beneath the sun represents the Aras River. This river is not a natural or cultural boundary but a politically imposed border intended to divide Iranian lands. The sun rising from the north side of the Aras shows that the lands beyond the river are not foreign but part of the same identity. This expresses that forcibly drawn borders do not affect the national consciousness.
Why Isn’t the Azerbaijani Flag Our National Flag?
The current flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan, unlike many local and cultural flags, is a symbol based on pan-Turkist ideology.
This flag first appeared as the emblem of the Musavat Party. During the Musavat period, Ottoman and pan-Turkist influences were strong.
At that time, the initial Musavat flag was red and featured an Ottoman crescent and an eight-pointed star. After the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, a blue stripe (symbolizing Turanism and Turkish identity) and a green stripe (representing Islam) were added to this flag.
These symbols reflected the political tendencies of that era but were unrelated to the true identity and local culture of the Aran region. Because in these lands, traditions like Nowruz, Yel Charshanba, the Persian language, and ancient customs still survive, while the official state flag was shaped under the influence of Ottoman heritage and foreign ideologies.
What Does Aran Mean?
According to historical sources, the territory north of the Aras River has been known for centuries as Aran or Caucasian Albania. These names are accurate both geographically and culturally and are confirmed by many ancient documents.
In 1911, the Musavat Party was established in Tiflis, and after the fall of the Russian Empire in 1918, it came to power in Baku and named the newly formed state "Azerbaijan." However, until then, this name only referred to Iranian Azerbaijan south of the Aras. The purpose of this move was to create an artificial "union" with Iranian Azerbaijan and to lay the groundwork for future political claims.
In reality, this territory was never historically called "Azerbaijan" — the true and historical name of these lands is Aran. The Aran region includes ancient cities like Baku, Ganja, Karabakh, Quba, Shirvan, Derbent, and others.
At that time, the Iranian government openly protested this name change. However, the Soviets accepted this decision and simultaneously began spreading the term "South Azerbaijan." This term was also a product of Soviet propaganda and was not used historically before.
Today, many people are unaware of this difference in names. However, the name Aran is the most accurate and honest name for the true history, identity, and cultural memory of these lands.
