E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Black Flags.
Moslem soldiers. The banner of the Abbasides (3 syl.) is black; that of the Fatimites (3 syl.) green; and that of the Ommiades (3 syl.) white. Hence the banner of the Kalif of Bagdad is black, but that of the Sultan of Damascus is green. (Gibbon, chap, iii.)
1
Black Flags. Pirates of the Chinese Sea who opposed the French in Tonquin, etc.
