Flag of the Ethiopian Empire
Locally Ityop'iya · ኢትዮጵያ
What the flag looks like
Three equal horizontal stripes of green, yellow and red, with the crowned Lion of Judah in the center, carrying a staff topped by a cross and a small pennant in the same colors.
What it means
The Lion of Judah stood for the emperors, who claimed descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
How to remember it
Imperial Ethiopia's
green-yellow-red flag has a crowned lion carrying a cross-topped staff; today's Ethiopia swaps the lion for a blue disc and star, and Bolivia
has the stripes the other way up.
Fun facts
- Ghana borrowed Ethiopia's red, gold and green for its flag in 1957, and so many newly independent states followed that they became known as the pan-African colors.
- The lion flag remains a symbol of the Rastafari movement, which reveres Emperor Haile Selassie.
Ethiopian Empire at a glance
- Existed
- 1270–1974
- Flag used
- until 1974
- Today
- Ethiopia and Eritrea
- Capital
- Addis Ababa
- Region
- 1270–1974
- Languages
- Amharic
- Flag adopted
- 1897
Flags often confused with the Ethiopian Empire
- Ethiopia: The Ethiopian Empire and Ethiopia are both green, yellow and red horizontal stripes. The Empire has a crowned lion carrying a staff; Ethiopia today has a blue disc with a yellow star.
- Bolivia: The Ethiopian Empire and Bolivia both have horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green. Bolivia has red on top; the Ethiopian Empire has green on top and a crowned lion in the center.