^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Morocco Historical Flags: hexagram vs. pentagram

(early 20th century)

Pentagram vs. Hexagram

See also:

Morocco Historical Flags
- Red Flags (from the 17th Century)
Colonial Morocco (clickable map)

French Protectorate of Morocco (1912-1946)
Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (1912-1956)

Ifni-Sahara Maritime Province (1946-1975)

International Zone of Tangiers (1912-1956)
Rif Region (since 1920)

Pentagram vs. Hexagram

Flags of Morocco with an hexagram - Images by António Martins-Tuválkin, 20 July 2025
1st row, after a picture at Fes Exhibition in 1916. 2d row, reconstructions after French dictionnary Petit Larousse, 1922.

There was recently a related kerfuffle in Wikimedia Commons, as an image analogous to the current national flag (down to the tiny star size and shady shade of red) but emblazoned instead with a David star was slated,
repeatedly, for deletion. In the ensuing discussion insights were shared and we get a couple pointers to interesting information:

A black and white photo taken at the opening of the 1916 Fes Exhibition [image] showing a very likely red flag with a very large, lightly colored, thin hexagram. (Attached reconstruction uses light green.)
A statement that this design was included as (a?, the?) flag of Morocco in «the 1924 Petit Larousse» [image]. The image in question shows the hexagram as medium green with black edging, and the option to present it as two triangles *superimposed* (the one pointing up over the one pointing down) instead of *interlaced*, seems to be contentious. Therefore I attach both versions — one of them matches the indicated source (left, superimposed; right, interlaced).

António Martins-Tuválkin, 20 July 2025

This was in fact in the 1922 edition of "Petit Larousse" : source. Se too these pictures: photo, photo.
According to this source there was still an hexagram drawn for Marocco in 1934, and the bicolore Palestine flag with a star of David was already there
Same thing in 1938: source.
In the 1939 edition, a pentagram could be seen: picture, picture.

Olivier Touzeau, 21 July 2025

The Seal of Solomon/Star of David is part of many more cultures than just the Jewish culture(it has even an Islamic tradition). See the Star of David blog's entries, filtered with "Solomon's seal": source.

Martin Karner, 21 July 2025

All different color areas of the flag images in the 1922 edition of "Petit Larousse" (source) are outlined in black and it shows well that the hexagram here is indeed made of two superimposed triangles, the one pointing down over the one pointing up, even with the very dark and greyish shade of green used in this source. However, the overall size of the emblem on the flag and the relative stroke thickness of the emblem don’t match the modern designs of the national flags of Morocco and Israel, the Petit Larousse 1922 design showing respectively larger size and thinner stroke. Besides, as seen on the 1916 photo, Moroccan flags could have the hexagram drawn even larger and thinner.
Therefore, the mentioned flag design in Wikimedia Commons was indeed recreated by adapting the two modern national flags, likely due to mere laziness or to a misguided strive for standartization.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 23 August 2025

back to Morocco main page click here