Last modified: 2009-05-16 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: marada | zgharta | pi | nu | text: greek (black) | text: greek (green) | text: arabic (white) | tree: cedar (green) | cedar (green) | ring: black | christian | maronite | sword (white) | lightning bolts: 2 (golden) | cross | compa |
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![[Marada Party (Lebanon)]](../images/l/lb}nmarb.gif) |
![[Marada Party (Lebanon)]](../images/l/lb}marad.gif) |
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In today's New York Times, under the title "Anti-Syrian Alliance Claims Victory in Lebanese Election," one finds the following:
"...the election also brought out old militia symbols and flags that had not been seen for years in Lebanon. In the Maronite Catholic mountain town of Zgharta, east of Tripoli, it is the flag of the powerful local Franjieh clan's Marada, or Giants, a stylized evergreen tree outlined by yellow lightning bolts and an upthrust sword whose hilt becomes a Christian cross."
"prometevsberg," 20 Jun 2005
The Christian Maronite "Northern Marada Brigade" was organized by ex-President Suleiman Franjieh and was also known as the "Zgharta Liberation Army," after the hometown of ex-Pres. Franjieh. Size of the flag is 60x78cm.
Bill Garrison, 16 Feb 2007
The Marada Brigades were a Maronite Christian militia, currently operating as a pro-Syrian political party in Lebanon. From Wikipedia:
The Marada Brigade was named after the legendary Marada warriors of the early Middle Ages. At its height it had about 3,500 full-time members. The Marada Brigade was the personal militia of Suleiman Franjieh, president of Lebanon at the outbreak of the war. They were also known as the "Zgharta Liberation Army" after Franjieh's home town of Zgharta.
Eugene Ipavec, 14 May 2007
From the Cedarland website:
After the Battle of Yarmuk, Caliph Umar appointed the Arab Muawiyah, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, as governor of Syria, with his sphere of influence covering much of the surrounding region. Muawiyah garrisoned troops on the Lebanese coast and had the Lebanese shipbuilders help him construct a navy to resist any potential Byzantine attack. He also stopped raids by Lebanese Maronites and Maronites from Jurjumah by paying a financial tribute. Concerned with consolidating his authority in Arabia and Iraq, Muawiyah negotiated an agreement in 667 with Constantine IV, the Byzantine emperor, whereby he agreed to pay Constantine an annual tribute in return for the cessation of Maronite incursions. In 685 the Maronites rebelled against the Emperor and become known as the "Marada" which means "rebels."
Eugene Ipavec, 15 Jun 2007
Green flag with large lower-case serif cursive black π, enclosed in a thick black ring charged with three green inward-pointing triangles at bottom and both sides and green upper case serif "N" (probably upper-case Greek ν [nu]) on top.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 30 Mar 2007
A different flag also appears in photos on the party website. The two flags seem to be used together – they appear side by side in some photos. Maybe one is the party flag and the other that of the eponymous militia?
The second flag is white with a red/blue shield bearing a golden/green cedar tree and a white sword, all on a white field. The party site offers a link titled "flag," but all that is there is a large logo.
The party website also gives a rather new-agey explanation of the symbolism of the π / compass flag:
Eugene Ipavec, 14 May 2007
Trusting Wikipedia, the name of this entity in Arabic is "تيار المردة", but the inscription on the red part of the logo (the heraldic chief of this shield-shaped element) seems to read "الـَرده" (to my untrained eyes).
António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 May 2007
That is correct; I got those characters (meaning "El-Marada") off their website myself. The other word doesn't seem to be "hizb" or "party," though: Google translation is "current." Perhaps the party is called "New Marada," to distinguish it from the former militia.
Eugene Ipavec, 16 May 2007
"Tayyar" (the word before al-marada) indeed means "current," but not in the sense of "new." It refers to a current as in water, in other words a movement. The same word is used for the FPM, the Future Movement, etc.
Anonymous, 18 Oct 2007
An explanation of the elements on the El Marada flag can be read here:
The Sword: Symbol of justice
Lighting: Creativity and sharpness
Red Color: Symbol of Sacrifice
Green Color: Cedar of Lebanon
Blue Color: Blue Horizon
Valentin Poposki, 18 Sep 2008
![[Marada Party Emblem (Lebanon)]](../images/l/lb)marad.gif) |
![[Marada Party Emblem (Lebanon)]](../images/l/lb)n-mar.gif) |
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