Roj: the sun with 21 rays

Sun veneration is documented in Kurdish religious tradition. In Yezidism the faithful pray facing the sun and venerate a sun angel, Şêx Şems; dedicated fasting days carry his name. That much is documented.

The further claim that the flag sun descends in a straight line from ancient sun cults is an interpretation. It is widely repeated, and it may well be true, but no documented design lineage exists. This site keeps the two apart.

In the 1998 to 1999 specification the sun sits at the exact centre of the flag. Including its rays it spans precisely half the flag’s height; the disc alone spans a quarter. The rays have straight sides and sharp points, and adjacent rays touch at the base without any gap.

The single most useful check: one ray must point straight up, on the vertical line through the centre. During standardization the Flag Institute suggested a smaller sun with fewer rays; the designers kept 21 rays reaching into the red and green bands.