Editing List of black flags

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{{about|significantly black flags|flags with any amount of black|List of flags by color#Black (Sable)}}

{{Prose|date=April 2015}}
This is a list of [[flag]]s which are entirely or largely [[black (color)|black]].

==In history==
<!--Dated references here, in order-->

[[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1901).svg|thumb|Solid black flag; flag of the [[Emirate of Afghanistan]] from 1880 to 1901.]]
[[File:Flag of the National Fascist Party (PNF) variant 2.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[Fascist National Party]] (Partito Nazionale Fascista) from 1926 to 1943. There were variations of the flag with different styles of fasces, this image shows one of those styles.]]
[[File:Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg|thumb|Flag of the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' from 1925 to 1945.]]
* The Black Banner or [[Black Standard]] used by Abu Muslim in his uprising leading to the Abbasid Revolution in 747.
* During the [[German Peasants' War]] in the 16th century, the white, black and pink flag was used by the revolting farmers.
*[[Afghanistan]] flew a solid black flag from 1709 to 1738 and from 1880 to 1901 (see [[Flag of Afghanistan]]).
* The black flag with the motto ''Viurem lliures o morirem'' (We live free or we will die) was flown by  Catalan army and militia corps during the final stages of the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], when the Allies had already abandoned Catalonia that fought alone against the Spanish and French armies during 1713–1714. This black flag was packaged in 2012 with the historical novel '' Lliures o Morts''<ref>[http://www.lliuresomorts. cat lliuresomorts.cat]</ref> (Free or Dead) authored by [[Jaume Clotet]] and David de Montserrat.
* The [[Anarchist symbolism#Black flag|Anarchist black flag]] has been an anarchist symbol since the 1880s. Anarchists use either a plain black flag or a black flag with an "A" and an "O" around it, this symbol is a reference to a [[Proudhon]] quote "'''A'''narchy is '''O'''rder Without Power".<ref>Marshall, Peter. [[Demanding the Impossible]]. Fontana, London. 1993. p. 558</ref> Since the [[Spanish Revolution of 1936]], the diagonal red-and-black flag became more widely used.
* The color black was famous as the flag of [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]'s [[National Fascist Party]], designed after the party's paramilitary [[Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale|Blackshirts]]. The Blackshirts had chosen this color to recall the [[Arditi]], the elite Italian special forces of World War I, whose flag featured a skull with a dagger in its teeth against a black field.
* [[Schutzstaffel]] used black flag with double [[Sowilō|sig]] runes.
* Upon the surrender of Nazi Germany in [[World War II]] German [[U-boat]]s were ordered to fly a black flag and sail to an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] port and surrender.<ref>{{cite web|title=SPECIAL ORDERS BY THE SUPREME COMMANDER, ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE TO THE GERMAN HIGH COMMAND RELATING TO NAVAL FORCES|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/gs5.asp|accessdate=2013-11-23}}</ref>
[[File:Jolly-roger.svg|thumb|The traditional "[[Jolly Roger]]" of [[piracy]].]]
[[File:Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya 1-2.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[Ahmadiyya]] Muslim Community, first designed in the 1930s. For Ahmadi Muslims, it symbolizes the advent of the [[Mahdi]].]]
[[File:Flag of the Chetniks.svg|thumb|[[Chetniks|Chetnik]] flag inscription reads: "For king and fatherland; freedom or death".]]
* The [[Jolly Roger]], or '''skull and crossbones''', is flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates about to attack. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the [[skull and crossbones]] (although swords are also common), a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones (probably tibias) set in an x-mark arrangement, most usually depicted crossing each other directly under the skull, on a black field. This design was used by several pirates, including Captains [[Samuel Bellamy|"Black Sam" Bellamy]], [[Edward England]], and [[John Taylor (pirate)|John Taylor]]. Some Jolly Roger flags also include an hourglass, another common symbol representing death in 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Despite the prominence of flags with art in popular culture, plain black flags with no art were often employed by most pirates in the 17th–18th century. Historically, the flag was flown to frighten the pirates' victims into surrendering without a fight, since it conveyed the message that the attackers were outlaws who would not consider themselves bound by the usual rules of engagement—and might, therefore, slaughter those they defeated (since captured pirates were usually hanged, they did not have much to gain by asking quarter if defeated). Since the decline of piracy, various military units have used the Jolly Roger, usually in skull-and-crossbones design, as a unit identification insignia or a victory flag to ascribe to themselves the proverbial ferocity and toughness of pirates. In a non-naval context the skull and crossbones motif has additional meanings, for example, to signify a hazard such as poison.
* The [[Ahmadiyya]] flag, first designed in the 1930s during the second [[Khalifatul Masih|Caliphate]]. Just as the black colour absorbs visible light, similarly the black colour symbolizes the absorption of spiritual light.
* The flag of the [[Chetniks|Chetnik]] movement in [[Serbia]] and former [[Yugoslavia]] during the 20th century, with the words "''Sloboda ili smrt'' ('liberty or death') inscribed in white under a skull.
* The [[flags of the Makhnovshchina|flags]] of the [[Makhnovshchina]] and [[Kholodny Yar Republic|Kholodnyi Yar Republic]] during [[Ukrainian War of Independence|the Ukrainian War of Independence (1917-1921)]].
* The National League of Families [[POW/MIA flag]] was adopted in 1972 and represents support for U.S. Vietnam War soldiers, airmen, and sailors, especially those captured by the enemy.

===Jihadism in the 20th/21st century===
[[File:Flag of Jihad.svg|thumb|The "[[black flag of jihad]]" as used by jihadist militants since around the late 1990s.]]
In [[Ali Soufan]]'s book ''The Black Banners'', he explains the title by noting that quotes from various [[Hadith]]s regarding "Black Banners" of a "new army" taking over Khorasan have some kind of prophetic significance with many modern adherents of [[Islamic extremism|extremist]] [[jihadism]]. He notes that it is "not a coincidence" that [[Osama bin Laden]] made [[al-Qaeda]]'s flag black. Soufan also notes that there is debate about whether the prophet Mohammed actually spoke some of the quoted Hadiths (such as one attributed to [[Abu Hurairah]]). He also notes that Sheikh [[Salman al-Ouda]] has said the Black Banner hadiths are not able to be authenticated.<ref>The Black Banners, [[Ali Soufan]], 2011, [[W. W. Norton & Company]]</ref>

==In society==
[[File:PsPr-lippu.jpg|thumb|right|Flag of the [[Armoured Brigade (Finland)|Armoured Brigade]] of the [[Finnish Army]].]]
[[File:United States POW-MIA flag.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[National League of POW/MIA Families]].]]
[[File:Rozlouceni s vaclavem havlem vladislavsky sal 443.jpg|thumb|right|Flag of mourning in Prague Castle.]]
[[File:Flag of Cornwall.svg|thumb|Flag of [[Cornwall]], a county of [[England]]]]<!--Non-dated references-->
* Black flags are often{{citation needed|reason=See talk page|date=August 2020}} associated with funerals in the West, particularly state funerals and public [[mourning]]. In the former [[Yugoslavia]], a plain black flag is the flag of mourning. It is displayed for 40 days after death on the deceased person's house.
* The black flag is the symbol of the Jewish ultra-Orthodox, anti-Zionist group, [[Neturei Karta]]. It is flown as a sign of mourning over the creation of the [[State of Israel]], most commonly on [[Israeli Independence Day]].
* The [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[Pirate Party (Sweden)|Pirate Party]] has a black flag as a symbol, shaped like the letter P.
* In the German and Finnish militaries, black has been the traditional color of armored troops, which carries over to the flags of armored units. In Finland, also combat engineers have a black flag. The Armoured Brigade has a black flag defaced with a helmet, and engineer battalions have the black flags defaced with various symbols.
* The New Zealand Rugby Union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, have a predominantly black flag with a white fern superimposed: see [[List of New Zealand flags]].
* The flag of [[Cornwall]] is mostly black with a white cross on it.

==As a signal in competitions and sports==
The black flag is a [[racing flag]] used to signal a driver's disqualification. In [[Racing Rules of Sailing|sail racing]], when the black flag is displayed with the [[Racing Rules of Sailing#Preparatory signal|preparatory signal]], a boat that is over the starting line in the minute before the starting signal is immediately disqualified without a hearing. In some forms of racing, <!--including most small boat races (especially [[sailing]] races)--> a black flag is used to disqualify competitors or indicate some other penalty (such as a forced pit stop in [[NASCAR]]).

==Fictional black flags==
[[File:Flag of Morgoth.svg|thumb|Flag of Morgoth]]
[[File:Flag of Gondor.svg|thumb|Flag of Gondor]]
[[File:Flag of Mordor SVG.svg|thumb|Flag of Mordor]]
[[File:Flag of Minas Morgul.svg|thumb|Flag of Minas Morgul]]
[[File:Flag of Isengard.svg|thumb|Flag of Isengard]]
[[File:Flag of Umbar.svg|thumb|Flag of Umbar]]
In ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' and other [[Middle-earth]] writings of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], the banner of the evil overlord [[Morgoth]] is described as being entirely black with no insignia. In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' set several thousand years subsequently, the good [[Dúnedain]] bore a flag with solid black background as their royal standard, charged in silver with depictions of heirlooms from the founding of [[Gondor]] and Arnor including the [[Palantír|Palantiri]] and the [[Gondor|White Tree]].

== See also ==
*[[Red flag (politics)]]
*[[Racing flags#Yellow flag|Yellow flag]]
*[[Green flag]]
*[[Blue flag (disambiguation)]]
*[[Bonnie Blue Flag]]
*[[White flag]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Lists and galleries of flags|Black flags]]
[[Category:Flags by color|Black]]
[[Category:Black symbols|Flags, black, list of]]
[[category:Pirate customs and traditions]]

[[ja:黒旗]]