Flag of the Alban Archipelago
 | |
| Name | Alban: Is-seba ’aħwa The Seven Sisters |
|---|---|
| Use | Civil flag and ensign   |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 30 March 1994 |
| Design | A blue field with seven five‑pointed stars, placed four and three in the centre of the field. |
| Designed by | Antea Micallef and Immanuel Margalit |
The flag of the Alban Archipelago (Alban: Bandiera tal-arċipelagu qemsi, Emessan: Bandera de su Arcibelagu arborianu) or the flag of Alba, is the flag of the Autonomous Republic of the Alban Archipelago, a devolved administrative division of the State of Emessa. Popularly known as Is-seba ’aħwa ("the Seven Sisters"), the current flag was designed by couple Antea Micallef and Immanuel Margalit in 1988, and had already seen popular use before being selected by the Alban National Assembly out of five proposed designs. It was formally voted on by the National Assembly on 23 March 1994, and officially signed into law a week later by the then-Alban president Lażżru Mizzi.
According to its creators, the meaning of the colours is that the blue symbolises the waters of the Solarian Sea and the white references the archipelago's etymology, which originates in the Solarian word alba, meaning white. Each of the seven stars represents one of the major islands that make up Alba, arranged in a regular fashion as to invoke an idea of equality between its components. The choice of seven‑pointed stars was inspired by the seven key articles of faith of Irfan, the Alban people predominantly identifying with the religion and the archipelago being the most Irfanic region of Emessa. Margalit would later add that the choice of the colour blue was also a way to include the Atudite population of the islands, with whom the colour is traditionally associated.
The flag has been well positively in the Alban Archipelago, receiving praise for being "simple in design, yet strong in symbolism", rapidly eclipsing other flags in use after its adoption, and being a recognised symbol of national pride today. It has also been received positively in mainland Emessa, being commended by the first post-Transition president Elias Mereu-Tassinari as succeeding in "offering a clever design that honours Alba's dual nature, both a proud nation of its own and an inseparable part of the greater Emessan civilisation".
Controversy
Ever since its proposal to the Alban National Assembly, some criticism of the flag have been focused on the lack of definition of the seven major islands that are meant to be represented through the seven stars of the design. Prior to the adoption of the flag, the Alban Archipelago was thought to be constituted of either six or seven major islands, depending on whether the smaller Sciminsia was counted among them. Some critics – predominantly from mainland Emessa – consider that the seventh island could plausibly be interpreted to be Crisaia instead, an island not geographically part of the Alban Archipelago but with an ethnically Alban majority population, and warn against the perceived threat of potential Alban irredentism over the island.