
Flags are, quite literally, a world standard. Your country, state/providence, county, city, school, company you work for, religion, and social clubs all most likely have flags. And that’s just scratching the surface! So how did flags become so prominent?
The direct ancestors of flags all fit into a broad category called vexilliods, which is anything that is flag-like. The earliest vexilloids were long metal or wooden poles with carvings or figures on top. Their most prevalent use was in battle where they represented armies and divisions with in them. In order to increase visibility in battle, soldiers eventually began attaching square pieces of fabric or materials such as metal with unique markings at the top of the poles, just below the carved figures. These were called vexillums, which mean €œlittle sail€ in Latin. The most prominent users of vexillums were the Romans and Persians during the first century B.C. However, examples of vexillums stretch as far back as 1,000 B.C. in Egypt and 3,000 B.C in the Iran.
It would take almost two centuries before flags started being used outside of militaries. The rise of nationalism birthed a need for national symbols in the late 18th century. Since flags were already used as national symbols at sea, they were quickly adopted by civilians. By the 19th century, it became a tradition for every government to adopt a flag.
Today, almost everything has a flag; from cities, states, and countries, to clubs, companies, and monarchs. Since the dawn of civilizations, humans have always had a drive to identify ourselves and where we come from. Flags have traveled with us into battle, into wild frontiers, and even to the moon. I can almost guarantee where ever humans go next, we will have a flag with us.
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