Flags of Asia and Africa in 1600

About these flags

The states of around 1600, with the Spanish Empire at its height, and the flag or banner they flew. Hardly any state had a national flag then: many are royal standards or war flags. Those with no documented flag of the time (Ethiopia, for instance) are left out. Some are approximate:

• Spanish Monarchy: The Cross of Burgundy, flag of the tercios and the fleet of the empire; there was no national flag like today's.
• Tsardom of Russia: Ivan the Terrible's banner of the Saviour (Kazan campaign, 1552), from his Illustrated Chronicle: the tsardom flew religious and military banners, with no single flag.
• Ottoman Empire: One of the Ottoman flags of the 16th to 18th centuries; several were used.
• Saadi Sultanate of Morocco: War flag of the Marinid and Saadi dynasties (gold star on red); a white banner is also reported.
• Kanem-Bornu Empire: A flag attributed to the empire from travellers' accounts; it may not match 1600.
• Safavid Empire: The lion and sun on green, one of the Safavid flags; there were several versions.
• Mughal Empire: The alam, the imperial standard; the empire had no national flag.
• Ming China: A modern design with the character 明 (Ming): the dynasty had no national flag, and Commons marks it as fictitious. It is included so that China has its place on the map.
• Japan: The Tokugawa crest: they won Sekigahara in 1600 and founded the shogunate in 1603.
• Joseon (Korea): The king's standard; Joseon had no national flag until 1883.
• Ayutthaya Kingdom: The plain red of Siamese ships, the most described one; there is no official flag of the time.
• Đại Việt: A standard attributed to the Later Lê dynasty; sources are scarce.
• Aceh Sultanate: The sword and crescent on red, documented later; probably close to that of 1600.

Drawings from Wikimedia Commons, in the public domain except: Tsardom of Russia (Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0) · Mughal Empire (TRAJAN 117, CC BY-SA 3.0)

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