Flag of Greece of the exact reasoning behind its official adoption in early 1822. It has been suggested by some Greek historians that the current flag derived from an older design, the virtually identical flag of the powerful Cretan Kallergis family. This flag was based on their coat of arms, whose pattern is supposed to be derived from the standards of their claimed ancestor, Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas (963–969 AD). This pattern (according to not easily verifiable descriptions) included nine stripes of alternating blue and white, as well as a cross, assumed to be placed on the upper left. Although the use
Flag of Greece cross) flag. On 7 February 1828 the Greek flag was internationally recognised for the first time by receiving an official salutation from British, French, and Russian forces in Nafplio, then the capital of Greece. After the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece in 1832, the new king, Otto, added the royal Coat of Arms (a shield in his ancestral topped by a crown) in the centre of the cross for military flags (both land and sea versions). The decree dated 4 (16) April 1833 provided for various maritime flags such as the war flag or naval ensign (set at 18:25),