This is the latest flag that I designed for "It's A Wonderful World," an ongoing alternate history flag project of my making. Before I go on and on about the brief history of Rumelia, I discuss the reason why the design is what it is. Rumelia, as I will mention later, is made up of the land that composed the Zone of Straits, created out of the Treaty of Sevres in OTL. Unlike our world, a similar World War led to a similar conclusion and a similar peace treaty, only with the caveat that the Zone of Straits would become a British-administrated World Congress (League of Nations) Mandate and later an independent nation that celebrates the best of Ottoman and Byzantine heritage under a British monarchy. The double-headed eagle is a symbol of strength and power and for a state that harks back to the Byzantine Empire (while not being an exclusively Greek state), the double headed eagle serves as a great reminder of such greatness as well as being as a representation of British power; the height of the British strength being after the end of the First World War. Now the coat of arms is something that wasn't of my own volition but it was suggested upon by fellow amateur vexillologists in AH.com, the forum that I frequent with while I'm on the Internet. I couldn't really decide what to put as the symbol for Constantinople (it was suggested I use the coat of arms for the Latin Empire of Constantinople) but in the end, I decided to go for the star and crescent, a prominent pre-Christian symbol for ancient Byzantium and Constantinople; plus it doubles as a symbol for the Ottoman Turks as well. As for the crown on top, I've been told that it is quite similar to the Pahlavi Crown and I acknowledge it! It was a stylistic choice on my part and there is no reigning Pahlavi dynasty in Iran so far as this world is concerned, the crown on top of the double-headed eagle is the Crown of Constantinople! Now onto the historical background of the country this flag represents!


After the 1920 Treaty of Cairo had concluded hostilities between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied Powers, there was much disagreement amongst the leaders of France and Britain with the respect to the defeated Ottoman Empire. The common theme is that the "sick man of Europe" had come to an end though given the rise of Turkish nationalist militia in the occupied territories, the Allies agreed that it was preferable to provide military assistance to the Ottoman Sultan's government in exchange for them agreeing to releasing its remaining territories in Europe in addition to the lands it already ceded in Mesopotamia, the Levant and the Arabian peninsula. During treaty negotiations, the questions of the status of Constantinople became a growing international problem. Though Constantinople was included with the territories that were to be released of Ottoman rule, there was much disagreement as to who would receive control of the city; various nations have had their eyes set on the country especially the nations of Greece and Bulgaria; both governments sought to gain the city of Constantinople and fully establish themselves as the successors to the long-dead Byzantine Empire. At the height of the dispute, lawlessness was rampant and the city changed hands between a Greek National Council and a Bulgarian National Committee as well as sporadic fighting between units of the Greek and Bulgarian occupation forces, leading to the eventual arrival of ten thousand Franco-British troops from the Western Front who took over the city by December 1920. Their intervention prevented the possibility of a war between Bulgaria and Greece over the city. The National Council at the meantime had replaced overstamped Ottoman notes - the Constantinople lira was used as official currency. The complicated situation was exploited by prominent Greek politician Themistoklis Sofoulis, who entered the city with several thousand partisans, pushing out the Bulgarians and the few French and British troops from the city, and announced that he had annexed Constantinople to Greece. He was enthusiastically welcomed by the Russian and Greek Orthodox population of Constantinople though the feeling was not mutual amongst the Muslim or Armenian population. The move was opposed ironically by the Greek government of PM Venizelos, who despite his personal support for Sofoulis' seizure of the city was pressured by the French and British governments to condemn the partisans and not give them support. The Kingdom of Greece demanded that the surrender of the partisans or face a blockade of the city. After a few months of attempted negotiations, Sofoulis proclaimed the establishment of the Hellenic State of Roumeli.

On October 4th, 1920, representatives of France and Great Britain signed a secret arrangement with Greek assent, defining their proposed spheres of influence and control in the territories of the Ottoman Empire and Albania, then in personal union with Italy, should they be successful in crushing Sofoulis' newly formed state. The negotiation of the treaty between the three nations occurred between August and September of that very year. Greece was promised control of the Karaburun peninsula, included in it being the port of Smyrna, the two Aegean islands of Imbros and Tenedos, and a free hand in southern Albania. These areas either had a significant enough Hellenic population that wanted enosis with Greece or the Greek government had interest in annexing those territories. In exchange, all other lands that was to be allotted to France or Britain that had been previously claimed by the Greek government were dropped. The French, having already occupied the island of Kastellorizo during the Turco-Italian War, obtained control over the Italian Dodecanese on the condition that they would respect the rights of the local Greek, Turkish and Ladino population. PM Georges Clemenceau's government desired bases in the Aegean to maintain a supply line to their newly obtained colonies and protectorates in the Levant - particularly the Protectorate of Mount Lebanon. Britain obtained control over what was known then as the Zone of Straits, including Constantinople as a World Congress Mandate. The British though were required to keep navigation open in the Dardanelles during both peacetime and war to all vessels of commerce, regardless of flag. After French and British forces have arrived in Constantinople and defeated Sofoulis' partisans, a statute was passed, confirming British possession over the Straits with the creation of the Mandate of Rumelia. Greek and Turkish were made official languages alongside English.

The first Briton who was place in charge of Rumelia's administration was given the title of High Commissioner and his name was Admiral John de Robeck. Despite the Greek and Ottoman government having dropped all claims to Rumelia, the British authorities faced a problem. A small but vocal minority in the Greek and Turkish population wanted the region to be annexed to their respective countries of origin though unlike Cyprus, opposition to British rule never manifested into riots and violence against British officials. The British authorities carried out the first official census in 1924, the total population of Rumelia was 1,259,673, of which 425,600 (33.8%) were Greeks, 405,150 (32.3%) were Turks, 74,320 (5.9%) were Bulgarians, and 352,373 (28%) were minorities of Armenians, Jews, Pomaks and White Russian émigrés. In addition, five thousand British troops were put in charge of defending Rumelia as well as another thousand personnel put in charge of administrating the latest acquisition to the British Empire.

During the early 1930s, the British government devoted significant resources in the reconstruction of a naval base in Constantinople as a double deterrent against Balbo's Fascist Italy and the resurgent, increasingly expansionist Ottoman Empire, dominated by Turkish field marshal Fevzi Çakmak. Completed in 1939 at a staggering cost of $650 million, the naval base boasted what was then the largest dry dock in the world, the third-largest floating dock, and enough fuel tanks to support the entire British navy for six months. It was defended by heavy 15-inch naval guns and by Royal Air Force squadrons stationed at Palaiologos Air Base. Winston Churchill touted it as the "Gibraltar of the Eastern Mediterranean." It became the headquarters for the entire British Mediterranean Fleet after it was moved from Malta due to a perceived threat of air-attack from the Italian mainland. This decision would cost the British dearly when it came to the Mediterranean War against the RAM Pact.

On the morning of October 15th, 1944, the Ottoman Havakuvvetleri launched a surprise military strike against the British naval base at Constantinople's Chalkedon district. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the British Mediterranean Fleet from interfering with the Ottoman Empire's plans to strike Franco-British colonies and protectorates in the Middle East. The base was attacked by six hundred Ottoman fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from ten aircraft carriers. All ten of its battleships sustained damage, with three being sunk. Of the ships that had been damaged, one ship was raised and the remaining seven repaired, eight battleships returned to service later in the war. Two hundred British aircraft was destroyed and about three thousand six hundred people have been killed, with more than a thousand wounded. Turkish losses were minimal. The attack came as a profound shock to the people of Great Britain and Rumelia; it led directly to the British entry into the Mediterranean War against the RAM Pact. Support amongst the politicians and public for non-intervention and appeasement of the revanchist Turkish Grey Wolves that have taken control of the Ottoman Empire collapsed. Clandestine support of France and the Hashemite kingdoms in the Middle East was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the British prompted Francoist Spain and Italy to declare war on the Empire a few days later, which was reciprocated. In July 1945, in Operation Fatih, Ottoman forces overran and defeated the small, poorly equipped British command in Roumelia, occupying Constantinople, as part of a much larger, organized offensive with the Italians and Bulgarians to conquer and subjugate the countries of the Balkans that have aligned themselves with the Allies. The counter-attack was led by the United Kingdom, the 4th Infantry Division of the British Army landed on the islands of Heybeliada and Büyükada, not too far away from the Old City of Constantinople, in April 1947. Some of the bitterest fighting of the Mediterranean War took place on the islands; the fighting there lasted four months. Constantinople sustained heavy damage during the Siege of Constantinople by both Ottoman and Franco-British forces. One of the most hardest hit areas in the city was the Fatih district, resulting in about two thousand deaths and six thousand wounded. In November 1947, when the Allies were within reach of pushing the Ottomans out of Constantinople, Çakmak ordered General Ali Fuat, the military governor of Constantinople, to have his men set up bombs on the minarets of the Hagia Sophia along with the remainder of the city. With great reluctance, Ali Fuat complied with this order and much damage was caused in Constantinople, especially the Hagia Sophia; one of the minarets fell and smashed right through the dome.

The impact of the war on Constantinople, no less the rest of Rumelia, was profound. The destruction and death toll caused by the fighting was great; the reconstruction of Constantinople and the countless cities in the Mandate though was rapid, aided mainly by the assistance of American charity groups and individuals who sought out to help out with the recovery. Significantly, the experience held by many Rumelians of the British troops having fought and died alongside them in the defense, loss and later liberation of Rumelia from the Ottoman Turk brought a new sense of loyalty and identity as subjects of a much greater British Empire though at the same time, there would be an increased demand for greater autonomy and self-government, to have a status similar to the likes of countries such as Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Conditions improved for Rumelians during the Roaring Fifties, as the British colonial administration established a network of official local councils, where the local Rumelians began to have a say and participation in central government, appointed by the High Commissioner. As the decade drew on and the forces within the British Empire began to be receptive to the cries of decolonization throughout Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, more of the positions were directly elected by the people. And by 1959, the first general election was held for all representative seats on the Legislative Council.

During the 1960s, while Asia was mired in war against the Greater Japanese Empire, the cities of Rumelia underwent great structural change, as new public squares, boulevards, and avenues were constructed throughout the Mandate, sometimes at the expense of historical buildings. The population of Constantinople rose from approximately 1.1 million people in 1956 to 3 million people in 1968; as people from southern Europe, the Orient and even as far as Latin America to find employment in the new factories that were being built on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis to meet the demands of Rumelia's growing automobile industry. This sudden, sharp rise in Constantinople's population caused a large demand for newer housing developments and expansions to existent developments and it was around this time that many of the previously outlying towns and forests surrounding the city became incorporated into the Greater Constantinople Area.

Elections were held again in 1972 and a new constitution was introduced. The 1972 constitution replaced the Legislative and Executive Councils with a single Governing Council. It also established a 'committee system of government' where all members of the Council sat on one or more of five committees. The aim of this system was to reduce divisions between elected representatives and the colonial bureaucracy, provide opportunities for training new representatives in managing the responsibilities of government. It was also claimed that this system was more consistent with the Melanesian style of government, however this was quickly undermined by opposition to the 1970 constitution and the committee system by elected members of the council. As a result, a new constitution was introduced in 1978 which established a standard Westminster form of government and gave the Rumelians both chief ministerial and cabinet responsibilities. Steven Demetre Georgiou became the country's first Premier in July 1974 and when the country gained complete sovereignty as a fully independent country and member of the Britannic Commonwealth of Nations, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch in 1980; later that year, Michael Mironoff became the country's first Prime Minister and the rest is history.