Flags of the Ottoman Empire
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The Ottoman Empire used various flags and naval ensigns during its history. The
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
The
According to Rıza Nur, sultan Selim I (1512-20) had a white personal flag, while the Ottoman Army flag was red (kızıl bayrak). During Süleyman I's reign (1520-66) 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.
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Various Ottoman flags and tughs displayed before the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566
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Plain red banners for the Sultan's retinue. From the Turkish Costume Book by Lambert de Vos, 1574.
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Ottoman flags in a 1581 fresco by Matteo Pérez depicting the Great Siege of Malta
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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.
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Zulfiqar flag captured during the Battle of Guruslău in 1601
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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
Following the
With the
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.
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A type Standart Flag of the Ottoman Empire
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Army banner with crescent, as depicted in a 1721 illustration to 'Ata'i's Hamse
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"Blue Turks' flag", seen in flag charts c. 1780
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"Turkish Purple flag", also used in 1780s charts
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"Turks Standard", in Bowles's Universal Display of the Naval Flags of all Nations (1783)
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Crescent flag reported during thewar with Austriain 1788. This is the reverse side; the horns of the crescent are therefore pointing towards the hoist (the inverse of the later national flag).
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Eight-pointed star flag (after 1844)
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Ottoman war flag used duringFirst World War[citation needed]
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A 19th century Ottoman tugh
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.
Imperial standards
The imperial standard displayed the sultan's tughra, often on a pink or bright red background.
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Imperial Standard of the Ottoman Sultan[15]
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Naval Standard of the Ottoman Sultan
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Standards used by the Ottoman Army in 1900
The standard used by the last
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Caliphate Standard of Abdulmejid II[16]
Civil ensigns
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Latin and Albanian Merchant Flag (1453–1793)
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Jewish Merchant Flag (1453–1793)
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Muslim Merchant Flag (1453–1793)
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Roman (Orthodox Christian, Greek) Merchant Flag (1453–1793)
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Ottoman Army, Civic, and Merchant Flag (1512–20; 1520–66; 1793–1923)
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).
- ^
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 [Ottoman] infantry under Sultan Orhan (1324-1360)
- ^
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.
- ^
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.
- ^ İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Vol. 4. Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı. 1991. p. 298.
- ISBN 978-1-5011-6833-8.
- ^ "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
- ISBN 978-1-136-78800-0.
- 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.
External links
- Media related to Flags of the Ottoman Empire at Wikimedia Commons
- Ottoman Empire at Flags of the World