The coat of arms of Belgium bears a lion or, known as Leo Belgicus (Latin for the Belgian lion), as its charge. This is in accordance with article 193 (originally 125) of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH. A royal decree of 17 March 1837 determines the achievement to be used in the greater and the lesser version, respectively.[citation needed] The newly independent Kingdom of Belgium decided to base its coat of arms and flag on the symbols used by the short-lived United Belgian States. These came into being after the Southern Netherlands threw off Austrian rule. It existed as an independent polity from January to December 1790. The Duchy of Brabant had taken the lead in the so-called Brabant Revolution, the insurrection against Emperor Joseph II, and afterwards dominated the United Netherlandish States. Therefore, the Lion of Brabant (sable, a lion rampant or, armed and langued gules) came to stand for the entire federation. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)