The first flag of Qatar was plain red. It was used until about 1860, when a narrow serrated white stripe was added at the hoist (some sources claim the stripe was not originally serrated). Around 1916 a white flag with a red square in the center and a yellow (some say red) crescent in the canton was in use. It seems this flag was short-lived and was soon replaced by the previous flag. Around 1932, the vertical serrated stripe was changed to a wavy stripe taking up about 1/5 the length of the flag, which was in ratio 1:2). and the red was then changed to dark red or violet.