The Syrian flag is described in Article 6 of the Syrian Constitution. The first paragraph of the Article states: The current flag was first adopted in 1958 to represent Syria as part of the United Arab Republic, and was used until 1961. It was readopted in 1980. Since its first adoption, variations of the red-white-black flag have been used in various Arab Unions of Syria with Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq. Although Syria is not part of any Arab state union, the flag of the United Arab Republic was readopted to show Syria’s commitment to Arab unity. The usage of the flag has become disputed because it is often associated with the Ba’ath Party and has come to represent parties loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s government in the Syrian civil war.
The flag of the Syrian Arab Republic consists of three colors: red, white and black, with two green stars, of five angles each. The flag is rectangular, with its width measuring two-thirds of its length. It is divided into three rectangles of identical dimensions and have the same length as the flag. The upper one is red, the middle being white and the bottom one is black, with the two green stars in the middle of the white rectangle.
— 1st Paragraph of Article 6 of the Syrian Constitution
The flag of Syria is based on the Arab Liberation Flag, which had four colors – black, green, white and red – representing four major dynasties of Arab history: Abbasids, Faṭimids, Umayyads, and Hashimites.
Red: The Hashemite dynasty, bloody struggle for freedom.
White: The Umayyad dynasty, bright and peaceful future.
Green: The Fatimid dynasty, the stars representing Egypt and Syria.
Black: The Abbasid dynasty, oppression.