Hawk of Quraish

The Hawk of Quraish (Arabic: صَقْرُ قُرَيْشٍ, romanized: ṣāqr Quraysh) is a symbol which is found on a number of emblems, coats of arms and flags of several states of the Arab League. The Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula, today especially those from the Arab side of the Arabian Gulf coast, are traditionally falconry experts; falcons (and hawks) are seen as status symbols and are a common domesticated animal among ethnic Arabs. Also the traditions and recorded history about the Quraysh and Muhammad claim a falcon had been used as clan symbol. Therefore, several variants of the Quraishi hawk were and are seen in the flags, coat of arms, seals and emblems of several Arab states until today. In that meaning, the Hawk of Quraish is a rival to the Eagle of Saladin.[1][2]

Abd ar-Rahman I, the first Umayyad emir of Córdoba, was known as the Hawk of Quraish (Saqr Quraish). According to medieval chroniclers, this was an appelation given to him by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur, one of his greatest rivals. The Abbasids and Umayyads were both tribes of the Quraish clan, and Abd ar-Rahman had fled Damascus after the bloody and violent Abbasid Revolution, so for the Abbasid Caliph to give this appelation to the last surviving Umayyad heir was a sign of great respect.

References
  1. Karl-Heinz Hesmer: Flaggen und Wappen der Welt, pages 93, 155 and 171. Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Güstersloh 1992
  2. Syed Junaid Imam: The Flag of Quraish, Flags Of The World Archived 2013-07-10 at the Wayback Machine (1999)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hawk of Quraish.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.