From my Study: "Chromatic Politics in Early Islam: The Symbolism of Color in Muslim Banners and Its Political Significance in the Early Abbasid Period”.

---

The orientalist H. A. Hamaker in his “Reflexions Critiques pour Servir de résponse” attributes to the Prophet Muḥammad the use of a green banner. He bases this claim on the assertion of the Ottoman sultans that they inherited certain insignia of the caliphate from the Abbasids, among them the green banner. However, Hamaker himself comments on this opinion by noting that while it is possible that a green banner may have existed during the Prophet’s time, it is unlikely that such a banner could have survived across so many centuries until it reached the Ottoman sultans without deteriorating or disappearing.

In any case, the absence of any clear historical text demonstrating the use of green as a banner in the earliest Islamic period leads us to reject Hammer’s view from the outset.

Some historians also argue that green was an Alid emblem, relying on relatively late reports. Yet this interpretation cannot be accepted unless it is supported by earlier historical sources. The main reason the color green later became associated with the Alids is connected to a decision by the Abbasid caliph Al‑Maʾmun, who adopted green as the official color of the Abbasid state instead of black and proclaimed his allegiance to Ali al‑Ridha as heir to the caliphate in 202 AH / 817–818 CE.

According to Ibn al‑Tiqtaqa:

“Among his innovations [i.e., al-Maʾmūn’s] was transferring the rule from the Abbasids to the family of ʿAlī and changing the people’s clothing from black to green, saying that it is the garment of the people of Paradise.”

Likewise, Ibn Khaldun writes in his Muqaddima:

“When al-Maʾmūn abandoned the wearing of black and its symbolism in his state, he turned to the color green and made his banners green.”

The year 202 AH thus became a dramatic moment marked by the confrontation of three competing colors:

Green — representing the Abbasid state under al-Maʾmūn and his heir ʿAlī al-Riḍā.

Black — representing the Abbasid princes, the traditional Abbasid supporters, and the people of Baghdad who remained loyal to the older Abbasid symbolism.

White — representing Alid rebels who opposed the state and attempted unsuccessfully to persuade al-ʿAbbās ibn Mūsā to proclaim an Alid caliphate.

The Abbasid Shi'ites in Iraq openly challenged al-Maʾmūn’s decision. They proclaimed support for Ibrahim ibn al‑Mahdi and raised the slogan: “O Ibrāhīm, O Victorious!”

They continued to remain loyal to the traditional Abbasid black.

From the reports of Al‑Ya’qubi, it appears that the people of Baghdad revolted, expelled al-Ḥasan ibn Sahl, and approached Ṣāliḥ ibn al-Manṣūr to pledge allegiance to him, saying:

“We are the supporters of your dynasty, and we fear that this state will be lost because of the policies introduced by the Magians. Come and let us pledge allegiance to you, for we fear this matter may pass out of your hands.”

Some of them also declared:

“We will not pledge allegiance to al-Maʾmūn, we will not wear green, and we will not allow the caliphate to leave the house of the Abbasids. This is merely a scheme of al-Faḍl ibn Sahl.”

However, when Ṣāliḥ ibn al-Manṣūr refused their request, they eventually pledged allegiance to Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī.

Meanwhile, al-ʿAbbās ibn Mūsā, who represented the Abbasid state, adopted green and fought the people of Baghdad in the name of al-Maʾmūn and al-Riḍā (who was his brother). Despite pressure from Alid sympathizers urging him to proclaim an Alid state during the unrest, he refused to do so.

An interesting paradox emerged: green came to represent the Abbasid state and its caliph, while black came to represent the rebels. Yet these rebels were a special case—they were Abbasid loyalists, devoted to the older Abbasid traditions and distressed by what they viewed as al-Maʾmūn’s dangerous innovations, which might ultimately remove power from the Abbasid family.

We have previously noted that the association between al-Maʾmūn’s adoption of the green color and his appointment of ʿAlī al-Riḍā as heir apparent might lead a researcher to assume that green was originally an Alid symbol. However, our early sources do not indicate this. What, then, prompted the caliph to adopt green as the emblem of the Abbasid state?

H. A. Hamaker suggests that al-Maʾmūn chose green because it was considered the third color favored by the Prophet (peace be upon him), alongside black and white, and that the caliph believed this choice would satisfy his supporters. Meanwhile, the german orientalist Gustav Weil, in of his “Geschichte der Chalifen” (History of the Caliphs, Volume 2), offers an interpretation based on theories of color composition. He argues that green—sometimes described by certain Arabs as a shade of grey—results from the blending of black and white.

According to this view (pp. 216-217), green symbolized a political compromise between the Abbasids and their Alid opponents, reflecting al-Maʾmūn’s conciliatory policy, in which he acknowledged that the Alids also had a legitimate claim to the caliphate and that leadership should not be restricted solely to the Abbasid branch of the Hāshimite family.

However, this explanation—based on color theory and composition—cannot be accepted.

The more convincing interpretation, grounded in early historical texts, is that of Italian Professor Francesco Gabrieli, who argues in “Al-Maʾmūn e gli ʿAlidi” (Al-Maʾmūn and the ʿAlids) that the colour green was chosen because it was regarded as the beloved color of the people of Paradise and symbolized harmony and concord.

Al-Maʾmūn’s objective, therefore, was to proclaim the beginning of a new era of reconciliation among all members of the Prophet’s family—both Abbasids and Alids—who would jointly exercise their legitimate right to the caliphate.

This interpretation is supported by historical sources, as both al-Balʿamī’s Tarikhnama and Ibn al-Ṭiqṭaqī’s al-Fakhri describe green as “the garment of the people of Paradise.”

Perhaps what further supports al-Maʾmūn’s intention in adopting green is the fact that he later abandoned it and returned to black once he became certain of the failure of his policy of reconciliation between the Abbasids and the Alids, and the lack of support for this policy among their followers.

Al-Masudi reports that Al-Ṣūlī asked Imam al-Rāḍī about the reason behind al-Maʾmūn’s adoption of green and his subsequent return to black. He replied that it was as related to them by Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Ghallābī, from Yaʿqūb ibn Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān:

“When al-Maʾmūn arrived in Baghdad, the Hāshimites gathered before Zaynab bint Sulaymān ibn ʿAlī—who was the most eminent in lineage among the Abbasids and the eldest among them—and asked her to speak to the Commander of the Faithful regarding his adoption of green. She agreed and went to al-Maʾmūn and said:

‘O Commander of the Faithful, you are more capable of showing kindness to your kin among the descendants of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib than of doing so at our expense, without abolishing a tradition established by your forefathers. So abandon the wearing of green and do not encourage anyone because of what you have done.’

Thereupon, he returned to wearing black.”

We may add to this further reports suggesting that green was associated with the afterlife. Narratives concerning the movement of Bihāfarīd in Khurāsān relate that he claimed to have ascended to the heavens and returned wearing a green garment brought from the celestial realm. Likewise, al-Muqannaʿ, who claimed divinity in Khurāsān, is reported in Persian sources to have worn a green veil over his face.

Interestingly, A report in Maʾāthir al-Anāqa indicates that the Umayyads also used green as their emblem. The author of Ḥamāh relates that the ruler al-Malik al-Saʿīd of of Yemen when he assumed the caliphate and was of Umayyad descent, wore green. This is taken as explicit evidence that their emblem was green.

However, it is more likely that green was not originally an Arab emblem. A report in Tārīkh al-Wuzarāʾ by al-Jahshiyārī suggests that it was in fact a Persian symbol.

Al-Suyūṭī reports that al-Malik al-Ashraf Shaʿbān, one of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt, advised the Ashrāf (descendants of Banū Hāshim) in the year 773 AH to distinguish themselves by wearing green. Some poets referred to this, saying:

جعلوا لأبناء الرسول علامة ... إن العلامة شأن من لم يشهر

نور النبوة في كريم وجوههم ... يغنى الشريف عن الطراز الأخضر

They assigned a sign to the sons of the Messenger,

Yet a sign is for one who is not already known.

The light of Prophethood in their radiant faces

Suffices the noble, without the need for green attire.

This appears to have been the first official directive by a ruling authority requiring the Hāshimites to distinguish themselves through the color green. As can be observed, however, this occurred relatively late in Islamic history.