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{{Short description|Overview of the national flags used by the Ottoman Empire throughout history}} | |||
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: ] --> | |||
{{Refimprove|date=June 2010}} | |||
] | |||
The ] used various flags and ]s during its history. The ] came into use in the second half of the 18th century. A ''{{lang|tr|]}}'' (decree) from 1793 required that the ships of the ] were to use a red flag with the star and crescent in white. In 1844, a version of this flag, with a five-pointed star, was officially adopted as the Ottoman ]. The decision to adopt a national flag was part of the '']'' reforms which aimed to modernize the Ottoman state in line with the laws and norms of contemporary European states and institutions. | |||
The star and crescent design later became a common element in the national flags of Ottoman successor states in the 20th century. | |||
The '''flag of the ]''' (and later ]) is called ''Ay Yıldız'' which means ''moon star''. Ottoman Empire used many flags through out times. Flags were changed based on the Sultan's title during an event. According to the Republic of ''Turkey's Presidential Insignia law'', the Ottoman Flag was a five point star within the outer circle of the moon. Other flags represented can be reached through Presidential . | |||
The current ] is essentially the same as the late Ottoman flag, but has more specific legal standardizations (regarding its measures, geometric proportions, and exact tone of red) that were introduced with the Turkish Flag Law on 29 May 1936. Before the legal standardization, the star and crescent could have slightly varying slimness or positioning depending on the rendition. | |||
== Early flag == | |||
== Flags From Ghazi to Emperor (1299-1453) == | |||
Pre-modern Ottoman armies used the horse-tail standard or '']'' rather than flags. | |||
] | |||
Such standards remained in use alongside flags until the 19th century. A depiction of a tugh appears in the ''{{lang|fr|Relation d'un voyage du Levant}}'' by ] (1718).<ref>''{{lang|fr| Lors des campagnes, la marche du Grand Vizir (1er ministre nommé par le Sultan de Constantinople) est précédée par trois Étendards ou Queues de cheval terminées chacune par une pomme dorée, ils sont l'enseigne militaire des Othomans appelée Thou ou Thouy. On dit qu'un Général de cette nation, ne sachant comment rallier ses troupes qui avaient perdu tous ses Étendards, s'avisa de couper la queue d'un cheval et de l'attacher au bout d'une lance; les soldats coururent à ce nouveau signal et remportèrent la victoire...}}'' | |||
] | |||
cited after Marc Pasquin, 22 November 2004, ; c.f. also a hosted at the website of the {{lang|fr|]}}.</ref> | |||
The Ottomans originally had two "state" flags, one for the imperial domains of the House of Osman, the other for the Sultanate of Rum, which the Osmans ruled. | |||
War flags came into use by the 16th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Ottoman war flags often depicted the bifurcated '']'' sword, often misinterpreted in Western literature as showing a pair of ].<ref>For example: ], ''{{lang|fr|Tableau des pavillons que la pluspart des nations arborent à la mer}}'' (1756).</ref> | |||
the ] exhibits a Zulfiqar flag claimed to have been used by Sultan ] ({{reign | 1512 | 1520}}). Two Zulfiqar flags are also depicted in a plate dedicated to Turkish flags in vol. 7 of ]'s ''{{lang|fr|Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde}}'' (1737), attributed to the ] and the ]. | |||
The ] symbol appears in flags attributed to ] from as early as the 14th century (''{{lang|it|]}}''), long before Tunis fell under Ottoman rule in 1574. But the crescent as a symbol also had 14th-century associations with the Ottoman military<ref> | |||
The flag of the Empire contained a cross with a Kayi clan ], a bow, in each corner. This may seem an odd choice for a Moslem ruler, but at the time he was the declared defender of the Orthadox Christians of his realm, who were actually more worried about the Latins than the Moslems. This flag is actually very similar to the Byzantine flag, save for one difference: The mirrored cyrillic ß's on the Byzantine flag are replaced with Osman ]. | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last1 = Ramchandani | |||
| first1 = Indu | |||
| editor1-last = Hoiberg | |||
| editor1-first = Dale | |||
| editor1-link = Dale Hoiberg | |||
| title = Students' Britannica India | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gz5WAAAAYAAJ | |||
| volume = 1 A to C (Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas to Cypress) | |||
| publisher = Encyclopaedia Britannica (India) | |||
| date = 2000 | |||
| page = 373 | |||
| access-date = 18 March 2020 | |||
| quote = the crescent appeared on the standards of infantry under Sultan Orhan (1324-1360) | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
and millennium-long associations with the city of Istanbul,<ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last1 = Chwalkowski | |||
| first1 = Farrin | |||
| title = Symbols in Arts, Religion and Culture: The Soul of Nature | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=W-22DQAAQBAJ | |||
| location = Newcastle upon Tyne | |||
| publisher = Cambridge Scholars Publishing | |||
| date = 2016 | |||
| page = 85 | |||
| isbn = 9781443857284 | |||
| access-date = 18 March 2020 | |||
| quote = The city of Byzantium, also known as Constantinople and, in modern times, as Istanbul, was dedicated to Diana, goddess of the hunt, and the crescent was the symbol of Diana. In 330 AD, the Emperor Constantine rededicated the city to the Virgin Mary whose star symbol was added to the previous crescent. When the Turks took possession of Constantinople, they found many crescent flags and adopted the crescent as a symbol of the Ottoman Empire in about 1453 AD. | |||
}} | |||
</ref><ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last1 = Bordeleau | |||
| first1 = André G. | |||
| chapter = Moon-Bearing Flags | |||
| title = Flags of the Night Sky: When Astronomy Meets National Pride | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NSu5BAAAQBAJ | |||
| series = SpringerLink : Bücher | |||
| location = New York | |||
| publisher = Springer Science & Business Media | |||
| date = 2013 | |||
| page = 233 | |||
| isbn = 9781461409298 | |||
| access-date = 18 March 2020 | |||
| quote = The city of Byzantium (later known as Constantinople and then Istanbul) adopted the crescent moon as its symbol long before the birth of Islam. When the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, they adopted the city's existing flag and symbol. | |||
}} | |||
</ref> | |||
which became the Ottoman capital after ]. The Spanish Navy Museum in Madrid shows two Ottoman naval flags dated 1613; both are swallow-tailed, one green with a white crescent near the hoist, the other white with two red stripes near the edges of the flag and a red crescent near the hoist.<ref> Nozomi Karyasu & António Martins, 8 October 2006 on .</ref> | |||
According to Rıza Nur, sultan Selim I (1512–1520) had a white personal flag, while the Ottoman Army flag was red (kızıl bayrak). During Süleyman I's reign (1520–1566) the janissaries had a white flag while the timariot cavalry had a red flag. It was used as the Ottoman civic and merchant flag from 1793 to 1923. | |||
While it is often stated that red was chosen as the colour of the Sultanate because it is much favored by Turks. The original Seljuk Sultans of Rum billed themselves as the Moslem successors to the Roman Empire, and their Ottoman successors continued this idea. The popular "Turkish" colour chosen by the various Ghazi states with no Roman pretentions was actually blue, and they liked to add the ] to their flags. | |||
<gallery class="center" heights="200" widths="200"> | |||
File:Szigetvár before the siege.jpg|Various Ottoman flags and ''tughs'' displayed before the ] in 1566 | |||
File:Bremen, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, ms. Or. 9, fol. 45r.jpg|Plain red banners for the Sultan's retinue. From the ''Turkish Costume Book'' by ], 1574. | |||
File:Assalto per mare e per terra al isola, e S. Michele. 15.07.1565.png|Ottoman flags in a 1581 fresco by ] depicting the ] | |||
File:Zulfikar flag.svg|Zulfikar flag typically in use during the 16th and 17th centuries. The design is a rough approximation of the Zulfikar flag used by Selim I in the 1510s. | |||
File:Zulfiqar flag at Guruslău (1601).svg|''Zulfiqar'' flag captured during the ] in 1601 | |||
File:Coat of arms of Moldavia under Scarlat Callimachi, Sfântul Spiridon version.svg|], {{circa | 1812}}. As supporters, flags which Sultan ] ({{reign | 1808 | 1839}}) may have granted to ] ({{reign | 1806 | 1819}}). | |||
</gallery> | |||
<!--primary refs to be worked into article with proper documentation | |||
== Flags of the Sublime Porte (1453-1789) == | |||
* Catalan Atlas, Cresques Abraham 1375 | |||
] | |||
* Portolan Chart, Petrus Roselli, 1466 | |||
] | |||
* Portolan Chart, Albino de Canepa, 1489 | |||
] | |||
--> | |||
In some Turkish clans and kingdoms crescent figure was used. The crescent was quite popular in Persia, which was the origin of most of the non-Roman Ottoman culture at that point, remarkably similar to the Osman ], and an ancient symbol of the city. Those early designers binded the crescent, the sign of kayi clan and traditional Turkish weapon of a bow's shape into their flag. | |||
==Crescent and star flag== | |||
The original flag changed very little, the gold crescent merely makes its appearance for the first time. By the 18th century this began to be flown as a rectangular as opposed to triangular flag, but remained essentially unchanged. The gold is actual gold-woven silk, and in lieu of this white cloth as opposed to yellow-dyed cloth was used, as not everyone can afford such luxury. | |||
{{see|Flag of Turkey|Star and crescent}} | |||
The star and crescent design appears on Ottoman flags beginning in the late 18th or early 19th century. The white star and crescent moon with a red background was introduced as the flag of the Ottoman Empire in 1844.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raw |first=Laurence |title=The Silk Road of Adaptation: Transformations across Disciplines and Cultures |date=2013-09-18 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=9781443852890 |pages=42 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=marshall>{{Cite book| publisher = Simon and Schuster| isbn = 978-1-5011-6833-8| last = Marshall| first = Tim| title = A Flag Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of National Symbols| date = 2017-07-04}}</ref> | |||
With the ] reforms in the 19th century, flags were redesigned in the style of the European armies of the day. The flag of the ] was made red, as red was to be the flag of secular institutions and green of religious ones. As the reforms abolished all the various flags (standards) of the Ottoman ]s, ]liks and ]s,{{elucidate|date=November 2016}}{{which|date=November 2016}} a single new Ottoman national flag was designed to replace them. The result was the red flag with the white crescent moon and star, which is the precursor to the modern ]. A plain red flag was introduced as the ] for all Ottoman subjects.{{Cn|date=September 2024}} | |||
With the conquest of Syria and Egypt, a new Imperial flag was needed. The Sultan was no longer a Roman successor in a mostly | |||
] | |||
] | |||
Christian land, but the Sultan of Egypt and Caliph of Islam. So the Byzantine cross was removed, and a disc of the colour | |||
green, the colour of Islam, was placed upon the imperial flag. The many-crescents motif was maintained, but was reduced to | |||
three upon the disc, and now represented the three titles and three continents that the house of Osman ruled over: Egypt in Africa, the Caliphate in Asia, and Rum in Europe. | |||
After the foundation of the ] in 1923, the ] maintained the last flag of the ]. Proportional standardisations were introduced in the Turkish Flag Law ({{langx|tr|Türk Bayrağı Kanunu}}) of 29 May 1936. | |||
] | |||
] | |||
With control of Constantinople and the Bosphorus came new commercial opportunities and new threats from Venice and Genoa, who feared for their interests and colonies in the Aegean and Black Sea. The Ottomans felt the need for a strong navy and merchant marine, and instituted a number of reforms. These included naval identifiers, including command, and a set of merchant flags based on religion, each of which was treated differently by the legal system. The naval system also had flags for individual ships and commanders, but those could not be considered to be "Ottoman" flags. | |||
<gallery class="center" widths="200"> | |||
] | |||
File:Ottoman army banner in the 1721 Hamse.svg|Army banner with crescent, as depicted in a 1721 illustration to 'Ata'i's ''Hamse'' | |||
File:Blue Ottoman Flag.svg|"Blue Turks' flag", seen in flag charts {{circa|1780}} | |||
File:Turkish Purple (Danker & Bowles).svg|"Turkish Purple flag", also used in 1780s charts | |||
File:1783 Ottoman Flag.svg|"Turks Standard", in ''Bowles's Universal Display of the Naval Flags of all Nations'' (1783) | |||
File:Ottoman army banner as rendered by Hochenleitter (1788).svg|Crescent flag reported during the ] in 1788. This is the reverse side; the horns of the crescent are therefore pointing towards the hoist (the inverse of the later national flag). | |||
File:Flag of the Ottoman Empire (eight pointed star).svg|Eight-pointed star flag (after 1844) | |||
File:Ottoman_troops_with_flag.jpg|Soldiers carrying a war flag during ], 1912<ref>]</ref> | |||
File:Ottoman War Flag.svg|Vectorial rendition of 1912 war flag | |||
File:Ottoman tui 1877 romanian capture.jpg|A 19th century ] tugh | |||
File:Flag of the South West Caucasian Republic.svg|Flag of the ] | |||
</gallery> | |||
===Source of the Star and Crescent symbol=== | |||
] | |||
Jews and Christians of the empire subjected to one more tax. However as "Romans", the Orthadox Christians had certain rights and privaledges that the Catholics did not, and for religious reasons Jews were the only people who could engage in certain financial activities. | |||
It has been suggested that the star-and-crescent used in Ottoman flags of the 19th century had been adopted from the Byzantine. ] (1992) suggests this possibility, noting that the crescent alone has a much older tradition also with Turkic tribes in the interior of Asia.<ref>"It seems possible, though not certain, that after the conquest Mehmed took over the crescent ''and'' star as an emblem of sovereignty from the Byzantines. The half-moon alone on a blood red flag, allegedly conferred on the Janissaries by Emir Orhan, was much older, as is demonstrated by numerous references to it dating from before 1453. But since these flags lack the star, which along with the half-moon is to be found on Sassanid and Byzantine municipal coins, it may be regarded as an innovation of Mehmed. It seems certain that in the interior of Asia tribes of Turkish nomads had been using the half-moon alone as an emblem for some time past, but it is equally certain that crescent and star ''together'' are attested only for a much later period. There is good reason to believe that old Turkish and Byzantine traditions were combined in the emblem of Ottoman and, much later, present-day Republican Turkish sovereignty." Franz Babinger (William C. Hickman Ed., Ralph Manheim Trans.), ''Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time'', Princeton University Press, 1992, p 108</ref> The crescent and star is found on the coinage of Byzantium since the 4th century BC<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Byzantium |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8pXhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 |author=Nigel Wilson |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |page=136| isbn=978-1-136-78800-0 }}</ref> and was depicted on Byzantine Empire's coins and shields of Christian warrior saints till the 13th century.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2spzj0jNVsC&pg=PA249 |author=Piotr Grotowski |title=Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints: Tradition and Innovation in Byzantine Iconography (843–1261) |publisher=Brill |year=2010 |pages=249, 250|isbn=978-90-04-18548-7 }}</ref> Parsons (2007) notes that the star and crescent was not a widespread motive on the coinage of Byzantium at the time of the Ottoman conquest.<ref>John Denham Parsons, ''The Non-Christian Cross'', BiblioBazaar, 2007, p 69: "Moreover, the question is what the symbol of Constantinople was at the time it was captured by the Turks. And an inspection of the coins issued by the Christian rulers of that city during the thousand years and more it was in their hands, will reveal to the enquirer that though the crescent with a cross within its horns appears occasionally upon the coins of the Emperors of the East, and in one or two instances we see a cross of four equal arms with each extremity piercing a crescent, it is doubtful if a single example of the so-called "star and crescent" symbol can be found upon them."</ref> Turkish historians tend to stress the antiquity of the ''crescent'' (not star-and-crescent) symbol among the ] states in Asia.<ref>"It is clear, however, that, whatever the origin, the crescent was used by Turkish states in various regions of Asia, and there is absolutely no reason to claim that it passed to the Ottomans from Byzantium" ], Gary Leiser (Trans.), ''Some Observations on the Influence of Byzantine Institutions on Ottoman institutions'', Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1999, p 118</ref> | |||
The Catholics had the worst deal, since they were taxed as heavily as the other non-moslems, without any of the benefits or privaledges. This wasn't that much of a source of discontent however, as most of the mercantilistic Catholic subjects of the Ottoman Empire lived under their own administration in the Republic of Ragusa. Only a few struggling Albanian merchants from Dürres or (later on) Croatians from Split fell under this category. | |||
==Imperial standards== | |||
== Reform and Decline (1789-1923) == | |||
] featured a green flag at left (representing the ]) and red flag at right (representing the ] and the other Asian ]s).<ref name="eksi"> (in Turkish)</ref>]] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
The flag of the Ottoman navy was made red as red was to be the flag of secular institutions and green of religious ones, following the New Order reforms. All religious institutions were "spun-off" and while the Emperor remained Caliph and retained religious roles, the Sultanate secularized itself. The Navy went through radical modernization reforms, but nothing compared to the army. | |||
The imperial standard displayed the ]'s ], often on a pink or bright red background. | |||
The Army was completely restructured. The Jannissaries were disbanded and many of them were killed as they resisted modernization. This came of course with a new flag design, without the colour, religious overtones, and excess of the Janissaries. | |||
<gallery> | |||
] | |||
File:Imperial standard of the Ottoman Sultan.svg|Imperial Standard of the Ottoman Sultan<ref> at ].</ref> | |||
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: ] --> | |||
File:Naval standard of the Ottoman Sultan.svg|] Standard of the Ottoman Sultan | |||
Furthering the New Order reforms, the Empire was centralized and all the various sub-Sultanates, Pashaliks, Beyliks and Emirates were abolished, including the Sultanate of Rum. And so a new flag was designed to replace both the Sultanate of Rum and Ottoman Empire flags. The result is the flag we know as the modern Turkish flag (see top). | |||
File:Soldiers 1900.png|Standards used by the ] in 1900 | |||
</gallery> | |||
The standard used by the last ], ] (between 19 November 1922 – 3 March 1924) consisted of a green flag with a ] in white on a red oval background within a rayed ornament, all in white. | |||
Secularization made the religions equal under law, doing away with the complex hierarchy of religions in relation to taxation and mercantile persuits, so a plain red flag was made the civil flag for all Ottoman subjects. | |||
<gallery> | |||
Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and rise of the Turkish Republic, the flag remained the same. | |||
File:Caliphate standard of Abdulmejid II (1922–1924).svg|Caliphate Standard of ]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://denizmuzesi.dzkk.tsk.tr/en/content/559|title=The Caliphate Ensign of the Yacht Söğütlü|publisher=Naval Museum Command}}</ref> | |||
</gallery> | |||
==Army Flags and Standards with Shahada== | |||
== Myths == | |||
The Ottoman army often used verses from the ] and ] on their flags. This tradition continued during the First World War. When Ottoman Turkey joined the war on the side of the Central Powers in 1914, it declared a ] against the Entente States. The modern Ottoman Turkish army used the Ottoman state coat of arms on one side of their standard regimental flags and Shahada on the other. The Ottoman regimental flags consisted of gold writings and the state emblem on a red background. After the empire was abolished in 1922, this practice continued for a while in modern Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C158080?image=1| language= english|publisher= Australian War Memorial|title= Regimental standard the 46th Turkish Infantry Regiment captured near Damascus, 1918|quote='' The other side of the standard is also embroidered in gold and shows two texts from the Koran written in arabic script. They translate as 'There is no god but God' and 'Mohammed, the Messenger of God'. The standard would originally have been attached to a pole surmounted by a nickel plated crescent moon and brass star. Two gold bullion and crimson silk cords and tassels would also have been attached to the pole. The side of the standard bearing the sultan's toghra has been damaged by over-exposure to light.''}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/ottoman-regimental-standard| language= english|publisher= New Zealand History Website of New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage|title=Ottoman regimental standard |quote='' Regimental standard of the Ottoman 80th Infantry Regiment captured at Magdhaba by Quartermaster Sergeant Dennis Walker, 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment, on 23 December 1916.Beneath is a scroll of leaves from which are suspended embroidered representations of five medals. The other side of the standard is also embroidered in gold and shows two texts from the Koran written in Arabic script. They translate as 'There is no god but God' and 'Mohammed, the Messenger of God'.''}}</ref> | |||
Because the flag has a complex origin, many myths have been generated over the centuries to explain the significance of the flag. Some anectodes tell that the present design is the result of an aftermath scene of a bloody field battle with reflections of moon over blood, besides some people build a thesis upon a wish to claim the Roman succession. | |||
<gallery> | |||
Also, there is another struggle about the color red. Some say it is a Turkish color, some claim that it is Roman. That struggle is the same on the symbols front; crescent and star are no subject of share. | |||
File:HGM Türkische Standarte 1683.jpg|Standard of the Ottoman Army at Vienna (1683) | |||
File:Οθωμανικό λάβαρο το οποίο απέσπασαν οι Βενετοί ως τρόπαιο όταν εκ - Peeters Jacob - 1690.jpg|Ottoman Flag at Morea (1690) | |||
File:Hellenic War Museum Banners (27977335343).jpg|Ottoman Regimental Standards with Ottoman National Flag | |||
File:Ottoman Regiment Flag.jpg|One Side of Ottoman Turkish Regimental Standard with ] which used in ](1914) | |||
File:Ottoman regimental flag at Kanlisirt.jpg|Ottoman Turkish Regimental Standard with ] in ](1915) | |||
</gallery> | |||
==See also== | |||
At first, blue is more dominant in colors of Turkish arts until Ottoman dynasty. However, Ottomans were the grandsons of the "KAYI" clan of Turks. Their flag was white with a yellow kayi clan sign. For more than a hundred years, this white flag with several other horsehair pennants (tug) did the representation job. A time about the sixth padishah's (ruler) reign, color red with the crescents adopted, but the old one was not become obsolete. | |||
{{Portal|Turkey}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==References== | |||
Infact, Ottoman Empire represented itself in anywhere with four flag generally. White and Red ones mentioned above, Green flag is harder to date but added some time near to the Red flag, symbolising the Reign and Ruler together. Last addition is the yellow one. Yellow means center in the Turkish color symbolism. | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
==External links== | |||
Hundreds of years life of an empire ended with the birth of a new country, and one of the beloved flags was chosen, same as the last choice of the empire. | |||
*{{Commonscat-inline|Flags of the Ottoman Empire}} | |||
* {{FOTW|id=tr-ott-i|title=Ottoman Empire}} | |||
{{Ottoman Empire topics}} | |||
As a result, trying to explain the whole process with a few words would be childish. Cultures affected each other apparently for years throughout the world. Examining a culture of an empire generally result as the pieces of those what it absorbed. Final design of the flag carries the present country's culture, its history. | |||
] | |||
Turkish people still think that it is the color of the blood that is on the flag, shed to win their homeland and their liberty. | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
The origin of crescent and the star has it roots in Asyrian Mythology, others stated that the crescent resembles Artemis and the star resembles the virgin mary, these emblems are also the symbol of constantinople, and appeared in various coins. I | |||
They are components of vast cultural heritage of the Anatolian people. Turkish Republic, founded in 1923 had its respect for all the history and culture of its land. | |||
== Personal Standard of the Sultan == | |||
The imperial banners displayed the sultan's ], often on a pink or bright red background. The religious colour of ] is green, and many Ottoman flags were dark green. Sometimes it was just a plain green flag, sometimes the moon and star were painted in white and sometimes in yellow. Many royal banners picture the legendary ] sword. As of ] the flag of the sultan was green with seven thin, red, horizontal lines. | |||
== Flag Poles == | |||
The flagpoles were often decorated by a cresent, a wolf head, a horse tail or a ] box. In addition, banners were always accompanied by a number of smaller flags, pennants, icons and various other items with symbolic meaning (for example, the ] used to parade with their cauldrons). | |||
== References == | |||
==External link== | |||
* | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 01:44, 7 January 2025
Overview of the national flags used by the Ottoman Empire throughout historyThis article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Flags of the Ottoman Empire" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Ottoman Empire used various flags and naval ensigns during its history. The crescent and star came into use in the second half of the 18th century. A buyruldu (decree) from 1793 required that the ships of the Ottoman Navy were to use a red flag with the star and crescent in white. In 1844, a version of this flag, with a five-pointed star, was officially adopted as the Ottoman national flag. The decision to adopt a national flag was part of the Tanzimat reforms which aimed to modernize the Ottoman state in line with the laws and norms of contemporary European states and institutions.
The star and crescent design later became a common element in the national flags of Ottoman successor states in the 20th century. The current flag of Turkey is essentially the same as the late Ottoman flag, but has more specific legal standardizations (regarding its measures, geometric proportions, and exact tone of red) that were introduced with the Turkish Flag Law on 29 May 1936. Before the legal standardization, the star and crescent could have slightly varying slimness or positioning depending on the rendition.
Early flag
Pre-modern Ottoman armies used the horse-tail standard or tugh rather than flags. Such standards remained in use alongside flags until the 19th century. A depiction of a tugh appears in the Relation d'un voyage du Levant by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1718). War flags came into use by the 16th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Ottoman war flags often depicted the bifurcated Zulfiqar sword, often misinterpreted in Western literature as showing a pair of scissors. the Topkapı Museum exhibits a Zulfiqar flag claimed to have been used by Sultan Selim I (r. 1512–1520). Two Zulfiqar flags are also depicted in a plate dedicated to Turkish flags in vol. 7 of Bernard Picart's Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (1737), attributed to the Janissaries and the Ottoman cavalry.
The crescent symbol appears in flags attributed to Tunis from as early as the 14th century (Libro de conoscimiento), long before Tunis fell under Ottoman rule in 1574. But the crescent as a symbol also had 14th-century associations with the Ottoman military and millennium-long associations with the city of Istanbul, which became the Ottoman capital after its conquest in 1453. The Spanish Navy Museum in Madrid shows two Ottoman naval flags dated 1613; both are swallow-tailed, one green with a white crescent near the hoist, the other white with two red stripes near the edges of the flag and a red crescent near the hoist.
According to Rıza Nur, sultan Selim I (1512–1520) had a white personal flag, while the Ottoman Army flag was red (kızıl bayrak). During Süleyman I's reign (1520–1566) the janissaries had a white flag while the timariot cavalry had a red flag. It was used as the Ottoman civic and merchant flag from 1793 to 1923.
- Various Ottoman flags and tughs displayed before the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566
- Plain red banners for the Sultan's retinue. From the Turkish Costume Book by Lambert de Vos, 1574.
- Ottoman flags in a 1581 fresco by Matteo Pérez depicting the Great Siege of Malta
- Zulfikar flag typically in use during the 16th and 17th centuries. The design is a rough approximation of the Zulfikar flag used by Selim I in the 1510s.
- Zulfiqar flag captured during the Battle of Guruslău in 1601
- Coat of arms of Moldavia, c. 1812. As supporters, flags which Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–1839) may have granted to Scarlat Callimachi (r. 1806–1819).
Crescent and star flag
Further information: Flag of Turkey and Star and crescentThe star and crescent design appears on Ottoman flags beginning in the late 18th or early 19th century. The white star and crescent moon with a red background was introduced as the flag of the Ottoman Empire in 1844.
With the Tanzimat reforms in the 19th century, flags were redesigned in the style of the European armies of the day. The flag of the Ottoman Navy was made red, as red was to be the flag of secular institutions and green of religious ones. As the reforms abolished all the various flags (standards) of the Ottoman pashaliks, beyliks and emirates, a single new Ottoman national flag was designed to replace them. The result was the red flag with the white crescent moon and star, which is the precursor to the modern flag of Turkey. A plain red flag was introduced as the civil ensign for all Ottoman subjects.
After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the government maintained the last flag of the Ottoman Empire. Proportional standardisations were introduced in the Turkish Flag Law (Turkish: Türk Bayrağı Kanunu) of 29 May 1936.
- Army banner with crescent, as depicted in a 1721 illustration to 'Ata'i's Hamse
- "Blue Turks' flag", seen in flag charts c. 1780
- "Turkish Purple flag", also used in 1780s charts
- "Turks Standard", in Bowles's Universal Display of the Naval Flags of all Nations (1783)
- Crescent flag reported during the war with Austria in 1788. This is the reverse side; the horns of the crescent are therefore pointing towards the hoist (the inverse of the later national flag).
- Eight-pointed star flag (after 1844)
- Soldiers carrying a war flag during Balkan Wars, 1912
- Vectorial rendition of 1912 war flag
- A 19th century Ottoman tugh
- Flag of the Provisional National Government of the Southwestern Caucasus
Source of the Star and Crescent symbol
It has been suggested that the star-and-crescent used in Ottoman flags of the 19th century had been adopted from the Byzantine. Franz Babinger (1992) suggests this possibility, noting that the crescent alone has a much older tradition also with Turkic tribes in the interior of Asia. The crescent and star is found on the coinage of Byzantium since the 4th century BC and was depicted on Byzantine Empire's coins and shields of Christian warrior saints till the 13th century. Parsons (2007) notes that the star and crescent was not a widespread motive on the coinage of Byzantium at the time of the Ottoman conquest. Turkish historians tend to stress the antiquity of the crescent (not star-and-crescent) symbol among the early Turkic states in Asia.
Imperial standards
The imperial standard displayed the sultan's tughra, often on a pink or bright red background.
- Imperial Standard of the Ottoman Sultan
- Naval Standard of the Ottoman Sultan
- Standards used by the Ottoman Army in 1900
The standard used by the last Caliph, Abdulmejid II (between 19 November 1922 – 3 March 1924) consisted of a green flag with a star and crescent in white on a red oval background within a rayed ornament, all in white.
- Caliphate Standard of Abdulmejid II
Army Flags and Standards with Shahada
The Ottoman army often used verses from the Quran and Shahada on their flags. This tradition continued during the First World War. When Ottoman Turkey joined the war on the side of the Central Powers in 1914, it declared a jihad against the Entente States. The modern Ottoman Turkish army used the Ottoman state coat of arms on one side of their standard regimental flags and Shahada on the other. The Ottoman regimental flags consisted of gold writings and the state emblem on a red background. After the empire was abolished in 1922, this practice continued for a while in modern Turkey.
- Standard of the Ottoman Army at Vienna (1683)
- Ottoman Flag at Morea (1690)
- Ottoman Regimental Standards with Ottoman National Flag
- One Side of Ottoman Turkish Regimental Standard with Shahada which used in World War 1(1914)
- Ottoman Turkish Regimental Standard with Shahada in Gallipoli Campaign(1915)
See also
References
- Lors des campagnes, la marche du Grand Vizir (1er ministre nommé par le Sultan de Constantinople) est précédée par trois Étendards ou Queues de cheval terminées chacune par une pomme dorée, ils sont l'enseigne militaire des Othomans appelée Thou ou Thouy. On dit qu'un Général de cette nation, ne sachant comment rallier ses troupes qui avaient perdu tous ses Étendards, s'avisa de couper la queue d'un cheval et de l'attacher au bout d'une lance; les soldats coururent à ce nouveau signal et remportèrent la victoire... cited after Marc Pasquin, 22 November 2004, crwflags.com; c.f. also a facsimile image hosted at the website of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
- For example: Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Tableau des pavillons que la pluspart des nations arborent à la mer (1756).
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Ramchandani, Indu (2000). Hoiberg, Dale (ed.). Students' Britannica India. Vol. 1 A to C (Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas to Cypress). Encyclopaedia Britannica (India). p. 373. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
the crescent appeared on the standards of infantry under Sultan Orhan (1324-1360)
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Chwalkowski, Farrin (2016). Symbols in Arts, Religion and Culture: The Soul of Nature. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 9781443857284. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
The city of Byzantium, also known as Constantinople and, in modern times, as Istanbul, was dedicated to Diana, goddess of the hunt, and the crescent was the symbol of Diana. In 330 AD, the Emperor Constantine rededicated the city to the Virgin Mary whose star symbol was added to the previous crescent. When the Turks took possession of Constantinople, they found many crescent flags and adopted the crescent as a symbol of the Ottoman Empire in about 1453 AD.
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Bordeleau, André G. (2013). "Moon-Bearing Flags". Flags of the Night Sky: When Astronomy Meets National Pride. SpringerLink : Bücher. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 233. ISBN 9781461409298. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
The city of Byzantium (later known as Constantinople and then Istanbul) adopted the crescent moon as its symbol long before the birth of Islam. When the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, they adopted the city's existing flag and symbol.
- Nozomi Karyasu & António Martins, 8 October 2006 on Flags of the World.
- Raw, Laurence (2013-09-18). The Silk Road of Adaptation: Transformations across Disciplines and Cultures. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 9781443852890.
- Marshall, Tim (2017-07-04). A Flag Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of National Symbols. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5011-6833-8.
- National Biblioteque of France
- "It seems possible, though not certain, that after the conquest Mehmed took over the crescent and star as an emblem of sovereignty from the Byzantines. The half-moon alone on a blood red flag, allegedly conferred on the Janissaries by Emir Orhan, was much older, as is demonstrated by numerous references to it dating from before 1453. But since these flags lack the star, which along with the half-moon is to be found on Sassanid and Byzantine municipal coins, it may be regarded as an innovation of Mehmed. It seems certain that in the interior of Asia tribes of Turkish nomads had been using the half-moon alone as an emblem for some time past, but it is equally certain that crescent and star together are attested only for a much later period. There is good reason to believe that old Turkish and Byzantine traditions were combined in the emblem of Ottoman and, much later, present-day Republican Turkish sovereignty." Franz Babinger (William C. Hickman Ed., Ralph Manheim Trans.), Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, Princeton University Press, 1992, p 108
- Nigel Wilson (2013). "Byzantium". Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-136-78800-0.
- Piotr Grotowski (2010). Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints: Tradition and Innovation in Byzantine Iconography (843–1261). Brill. pp. 249, 250. ISBN 978-90-04-18548-7.
- John Denham Parsons, The Non-Christian Cross, BiblioBazaar, 2007, p 69: "Moreover, the question is what the symbol of Constantinople was at the time it was captured by the Turks. And an inspection of the coins issued by the Christian rulers of that city during the thousand years and more it was in their hands, will reveal to the enquirer that though the crescent with a cross within its horns appears occasionally upon the coins of the Emperors of the East, and in one or two instances we see a cross of four equal arms with each extremity piercing a crescent, it is doubtful if a single example of the so-called "star and crescent" symbol can be found upon them."
- "It is clear, however, that, whatever the origin, the crescent was used by Turkish states in various regions of Asia, and there is absolutely no reason to claim that it passed to the Ottomans from Byzantium" Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, Gary Leiser (Trans.), Some Observations on the Influence of Byzantine Institutions on Ottoman institutions, Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1999, p 118
- Sosyal Medyada Şeriat Bayrağı Diye Paylaşılan Bayrağın Aslında Rumeli'den Gelmesi (in Turkish)
- "Ottoman Empire: Standard of the Sultan" at Flags of the World.
- "The Caliphate Ensign of the Yacht Söğütlü". Naval Museum Command.
- "Regimental standard the 46th Turkish Infantry Regiment captured near Damascus, 1918". Australian War Memorial.
The other side of the standard is also embroidered in gold and shows two texts from the Koran written in arabic script. They translate as 'There is no god but God' and 'Mohammed, the Messenger of God'. The standard would originally have been attached to a pole surmounted by a nickel plated crescent moon and brass star. Two gold bullion and crimson silk cords and tassels would also have been attached to the pole. The side of the standard bearing the sultan's toghra has been damaged by over-exposure to light.
- "Ottoman regimental standard". New Zealand History Website of New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
Regimental standard of the Ottoman 80th Infantry Regiment captured at Magdhaba by Quartermaster Sergeant Dennis Walker, 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment, on 23 December 1916.Beneath is a scroll of leaves from which are suspended embroidered representations of five medals. The other side of the standard is also embroidered in gold and shows two texts from the Koran written in Arabic script. They translate as 'There is no god but God' and 'Mohammed, the Messenger of God'.
External links
- Media related to Flags of the Ottoman Empire at Wikimedia Commons
- Ottoman Empire at Flags of the World
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