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[[Image:Ottoman Empire declaration of war during WWI.png|thumb|240px|The [[Sheikh ul-Islam|Şeyhülislam]] declaring [[Jihad]] against the [[Allies of World War I]] in 1914<ref>[http://www.manorhouse.clara.net/book2/chapter18.htm Miller, Geoffrey: ''STRAITS: British Policy towards the Ottoman Empire and the Origins of the Dardanelles Campaign.'' Chapter 18.]</ref>, with Ottoman flags placed in front of the podium]] |
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[[Image:Hans Makart.jpg|right]] |
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The term '''Ottoman flag''' refers to any of the flags used by the ruling Sultans of the [[Ottoman Dynasty]]. Various flags were used within the [[Ottoman Empire]] during its existence, and the sultan also used different personal flags on different occasions of state. Due to the complex social and political organization of the Ottoman Empire, throughout most of its history there was no single proper ''national'' flag, until 1844. In [[1844]], as part of the [[Tanzimat]] reforms, the first official national flag of the Ottoman Empire was adopted. This flag, which had a five-pointed star and crescent, also formed the basis of the present-day flag of the [[Republic of Turkey]]. |
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'''Hans Makart''' ([[28 de mayo]], [[1840]] - [[October 3]], [[1884]]) was a 19th century [[Austria]]n [[academic art|academic]] [[history painter]], designer, and decorator; most well known for his influence on [[Gustav Klimt]] and other Austrian artists, but in his own era considered an important artist himself and was a celebrity figure in the high culture of [[Vienna]], attended with almost cult-liked adulation. |
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== Flags from ghazi to emperor (1299-1453) == |
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==Life== |
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<gallery caption="1299-1453" widths="150px" style="background:wheat;"> |
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Image:Kayihan Khanate flag.svg|Flag of the Kayihan khanate, displaying the Kayi [[tamgha]], very old - 1326 |
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Image:Flag of the Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1453).svg|Flag of the Ottoman Empire, 1383-1453 |
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Image:Ottoman1375.svg|Flag of the Osmanli 1326-1517 |
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Image:Turkey.Bodrum084.jpg|<small>From left to right: Flag of Algerian pirates; Flag given to Osman I by the Seljuk sultan Mesud II (1289); Ottoman naval flag (16th c.); Ottoman army flag (16th c.); Ottoman army flag (17th c.) </small> |
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</gallery> |
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The early years are a time of the Ottomans defining themselves, a process which did not come to a conclusion until they took [[Constantinople]] in [[1453]]. [[Osman I]], a [[ghazi]] warlord in [[Söğüt]] and the founder of the Ottoman Empire was acclaimed the Khan of the [[Kayıhan]] in 1299 and it was this title that he bore to his death, establishing the backbone upon which the empire was founded. This title he inherited from his father [[Ertugrul]], who inherited it from his father [[Suleyman Shah]], who inherited it from his father [[Kayaalp]] this going all the way back to when the Kayihan were a roving tribe of [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]] nomads who inhabited the area surrounding Mount [[Khan Tengri]]. |
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Makart was the son of a chamberlain at the Mirabell Palace, born in the former residence of the prince-archbishops of [[Salzburg]]. Initially, he received his training in painting at the Vienna Academy between 1850 and 1851 from Johann Fischbach. While in the Academy, German art was under the rule of a [[Neoclassicism|classicism]], which was entirely intellectual and academic--clear and precise drawing, sculpturesque modelling, and pictorial erudition were esteemed above all. Makart, who was a poor draughtsman, but who had a passionate and sensual love of color, was impatient to escape the routine of art school drawing. For his fortune, he was found by his instructors to be devoid of all talent and forced to leave the Vienna Academy. |
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His son [[Orhan I]] saw himself differently, he saw the state that he inherited from his father as a successor to the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire]], and even married a Byzantine princess. The flag that he flew combined the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palaiologos-Dynasty.svg Byzantine flag] of the [[Palaiologoi]] with that of the Kayihan [[khanate]], replacing the B's with Kayi [[tamgha]]s. |
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He went to [[Munich]], and after two years of independent study attracted the attention of [[Karl Theodor von Piloty]], under whose guidance, between 1861 and 1865 he developed his painting style. During these years, Makart also travelled to [[London]], [[Paris]] and [[Rome]] to further his studies. The first picture he painted under Piloty, ''Lavoisier in Prison'', though it was considered timid and conventional, attracted attention by its sense of color. [[Image:Modern Amoretti (Makart) right panel.jpg|thumb|right|325px|'''Modern Amoretti''', right panel of three main panels, Hans Makart]] In his next work, ''The Knight and the Water Nymphs'', he first displayed the decorative qualities to which he afterwards sacrificed everything else in his work. His fame became established in the next year, with two works, ''Modern Amoretti'' and ''The Plague in Florence''. His painting ''Romeo and Juliet'' was soon after bought by the Austrian emperor for the Vienna Museum, and Makart was invited to come to Vienna by the aristocracy. |
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Osman's grandson [[Murad I]], who bore the level of Roman legitimacy his father could only dream of, ironically reversed his father's policy and forged a completely new identity for the domains, casting off any claim to [[Eastern Roman Empire|Roman]] legitimacy or tribal affiliations and founding the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Why red was the perfect colour to say this with, we shall never know. It has no bearing to traditional tribal colours (which were white and gold) or popular [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] colours (usually blue, white and gold). It could be because it was a colour associated with the Romans, and he wasn't casting off Roman aspirations as totally as we would be led to believe. Red might just have been his favourite colour, like [[Napoleon]] and the green stripe on the [[Italian flag]]. |
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The prince Von Hohenlohe provided Makart with an old foundry at the Gusshausstraße 25 to use as a studio. He gradually turned it into an impressive place full of sculptures, flowers, musical instruments, requisites and jewellery that he used to create classical settings for his portraits, mainly of women. Eventually his studio looked like a salon and became a social meeting point in Vienna. [[Cosima Wagner]] described it as a "wonder of decorative beauty, a sublime lumber-room". His luxurious studio served as a model for a great many upper middle-class living rooms. |
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== Flags of the Sublime Porte (1453-1793) == |
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The opulent, semi-public spaces of the Makart [[atelier]] were the scene of a recurring rendezvous between the artist and his public. The artist became the mediator between different levels of society: he created a socially ambiguous sphere in which nobility and bourgeoisie could encounter one another in mutual veneration of the master, and aestheticized the burgeoning self-awareness of the bourgeoisie by means of historical models drawn from the world of the aristocracy. In this way, an artist like Makart lived out the image that high society had created of him. Makart is considered by many as being the first [[art star]], referred to by contemporaries an "artist prince" (Malerfürst) in the tradition of Rubens. |
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<gallery caption="1453-1793" widths="150px"> |
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Image:Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1453-1517).svg|Flag of the Ottoman Empire 1453-1517 |
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Image:Ottoman Army1453-1798.svg|Ottoman Battle Flag c.1500-1793 |
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Image:Ottoman Empire1517-1844.svg|Ottoman Flag 1517-1844 |
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Image:Ottoman Navy1453-1789.svg|Flag of the Ottoman Navy 1453-1793 |
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Image:Flag of the Ottoman Admiral (1453-1793).svg|Flag of an Ottoman Admiral 1453-1793 |
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Image:Muslim Merchant Flag 1453-1793.svg|Flag of a Muslim Merchant 1453-1793 |
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Image:Jewish Merchant Flag 1453-1793.svg|Flag of a Jewish Merchant 1453-1793 |
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Image:Latin (usually Albanian) Merchant Flag 1453-1793.svg|Flag of a Latin Merchant 1453-1793 |
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Image:Roman (Orthodox Christian) Merchant Flag 1453-1793.svg|Flag of a Roman (Orthodox Christian) Merchant 1453-1793 |
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</gallery> |
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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. |
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The [[crescent]] was an ancient symbol of Byzantium and Constantinople, and while this alone was an important reason to adopt the symbol as an Ottoman symbol, it was not the only reason. In some Turkish clans and kingdoms, the crescent-shaped symbols were used extensively. The crescent was quite popular in Persia, which was the origin of most of the non-Roman Ottoman culture at that point, and it was remarkably similar to the Kayi clan [[tamgha]] from which Osman was descended and the Khanate of which the Ottoman state emerged. The crescent for the Ottoman Empire therefore was a powerful message as well as an appropriate symbol, binding the past to the future. |
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Makart became the acknowledged leader of the artistic life of the Vienna, which in the 1870s passed through a period of feverish activity, the chief results of which are the sumptuously decorated public buildings of the [[Ringstraße]]. He not only practised [[painting]], but was also an [[interior decoration|interior designer]], [[costume]] designer, [[furniture]] designer, and decorator, and his work decorated most of the public spaces of the era. His work engendered the term "Makartstil", or "Makart style", which completely characterized the era. |
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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 Sea|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 identification flags, including flags signifying command ships, 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. |
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[[Image:Makart-parade.jpg|thumb|left|350px|'''Makart-parade''', hunting car from the Makart-parade]] |
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Jews and Christians of the empire were subjected to additional taxation, however as members of the ''[[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]]'' of the "[[Rûm|Romans]]", the [[Orthodox Christians]] had certain rights and privileges that the [[Catholics]] did not, and for religious reasons [[Jews]] were the only people who could engage in certain financial activities, so at the time this worked out to an early form of tax brackets. |
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In 1879, Makart had designed a pageant organised to celebrate the Silver Wedding Anniversary of the Imperial couple, emperor [[Franz Josef of Austria|Franz Josef]] and his wife [[Elisabeth of Bavaria]] —he designed, single-handed, the costumes, scenic setting, and triumphal cars. This became known as the "Makart-parade", and had given the people of Vienna the chance to dress up in historical costumes and be transported back into the past for a few hours. At the head of the parade was a float for artists, led by Makart on a white horse. His festivals became an institution in Vienna which lasted up until the 1960s. In the same year as the first parade the became a Professor at the Vienna Academy. |
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The Catholics had the worst deal, since they were taxed as heavily as the other non-Moslems, without any of the benefits or privileges. This wasn't that much of a source of discontent however, as most of the mercantilist Catholic subjects of the Ottoman Empire lived under their own administration in the [[Republic of Ragusa]]. Only a few struggling [[Albanians|Albanian]] merchants from [[Durrës]] or (later on) [[Croatians]] from [[Split]] fell under this category. |
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Makart's painting ''The Entry of Charles V into Antwerp'' caused some controversy, because Charles V was depicted arriving in a procession surrounded by nude virgins; the offense was the mistaken idea that the nudes had no place in the modern scene. In the United States, the painting fell under the proscription of [[Anthony Comstock]], which secured Makart's fame there. The American public desired at once to see what Comstock was persecuting, so they could tell whether he was acting correctly or in error. |
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While this all seems incredibly discriminatory today, it was in fact a much fairer system than that which existed in the rest of the Balkans, and despite these rules the nobility was hard pressed to keep their serfs from fleeing for Ottoman territory. |
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In 1882 emperor [[Franz Josef of Austria|Franz Josef]] ordered the building of the [[Hermesvilla| Villa Hermes]] at Lainz (near [[Vienna]]) for his empress and specified the bedroom decoration to be inspired from [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s Midsummernight's Dream. Makart designed for him a fascinating dreamworld that still exists at the [[Hermesvilla| Villa Hermes]] as a large painting (1882). Unfortunately his design was never executed after his early death in 1884. His collection of antics and art consisted of 1083 pieces and was put up for auction by art-dealer H.O. Miethke. |
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[[Salzburg]]'s Makart Square, or Makartplatz, was named after the painter. |
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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 Empire|Byzantine]] cross was removed, and a disc of the colour |
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==Art== |
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green, the colour of Islam, was placed upon the imperial flag. The many-crescents motif was maintained, but was reduced to |
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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 [[Rûm]] in Europe. |
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== Reform and decline (1793-1923) == |
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[[Image:The Sleeping Snow White (Makart).jpg|thumb|228px|right|'''The Sleeping Snow White''', Hans Makart]] |
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<gallery caption="1453-1793" widths="150px"> |
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Image:Ottoman1798.svg|Ottoman Naval Flag, flying on all military vessels 1793-1844 |
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Image:OttomanReligious.svg|Ottoman Religious Flag, or the Flag of the Caliphate 1793-1844 |
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Image:Ottoman Army or Land Flag 1793-1923.svg|Ottoman Army, or Land Flag 1793-1923 |
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Image:Ottoman Civic & Merchant Flag 1793-1923.svg|Ottoman Civic & Merchant Flag 1793-1923 |
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</gallery> |
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=== After the [[Tanzimat]] (1844-1923) === |
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The "Makartstil", which determined the culture of an entire era in Vienna, |
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<gallery caption="1844-1923" widths="150px"> |
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was an [[aestheticism]] the likes of which hadn't been seen before him and has not been replicated to this day. Called the "magician of colors", he painted in brilliant colors and fluid forms, which placed the design and the aesthetic of the work before all else. Often to heighten the strength of his colors he introduced asphalt into his paint, which has led to some deterioration in his paintings over the years. The paintings were usually large-scale and theatrical productions of historical motifs. Works such as ''The Papal Election'' reveal Makart's skill in the bold use of color to convey drama as well as his later developed virtuoso draughtsmanship. |
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Image:Ottoman Naval Flag.svg|The late [[Ottoman Navy]] flag with an eight-pointed star and crescent was used between 1793 and 1844 |
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Image:Ottoman flag.svg|The last flag of the [[Ottoman Empire]] from 1844 to 1923 was adopted with the [[Tanzimat]] reforms as the first official Ottoman national flag |
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</gallery> |
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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. |
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Makart was deeply interested in the interaction of all the visual arts and thus in the implementation of the idea of the "[[Gesamtkunstwerk|total work of art]]" which dominated discussions on the arts in the 19th century. This was the ideal which he realised in magnificent festivities which he organised and centred around himself. The 1879 Makart-parade was the culmination of these endeavors. Makart was also a friend of the composer [[Richard Wagner]], and it can be argued that the two developed the same concepts and stylistic tendencies in their differing art forms: a concern for embedding motifs of history and mythology in a framework of aestheticism, making their respective works historical pageants. |
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The army was completely restructured. The janissaries 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, and in the style of European armies of the day it was a bicolour flag containing the two, now official, Ottoman colours. |
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Makart's work, like those of other [[academic art]]ist's of the time, consisted of [[allegory|allegorical]] painting and [[history painting]] as seen in ''Catherina Carnaro'', ''Dianas Hunt'', ''The Entry of Charles V into Antwerp'', ''Abundantia'', ''Spring'', ''Summer'', ''The Death of Cleopatra'', ''The Five Senses'', and ''Bacchus and Ariadne''. He was considered the Austrian rival to the French [[William-Adolphe Bouguereau]]. Within Austria, his nearest competitor was considered to be [[Hans Canon]], and he was associated with the sculptor [[Viktor Tilgner]], who travelled with him to [[Italy]]. |
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Furthering the New Order reforms, the Empire was centralized and all the various sub-sultanates, pashaliks, beyliks and emirates were abolished, including the Ottoman Sultanate. A new flag was designed to replace all these flags with one single national flag. The result was the red and white flag with the crescent moon and star, which is the precursor to the modern Turkish flag. Secularization made the religions equal under law, doing away with the complex hierarchy of religions in relation to taxation and mercantile pursuits, so a plain red flag was made the civil flag for all Ottoman subjects. |
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==Influence== |
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Aside from his clear influence on the [[academic art]] and high culture of Vienna at the time, Makart also influenced a range of painters and decorators who followed him, including many who rebelled against his style--the most notable being [[Gustav Klimt]], who is said to have idolized him. Klimt's early style is based in [[historicism (art)|historicism]] and has clear similarities to Makart's paintings. The entire decorative focus of [[Jugendstil]], the Austrian [[Art Nouveau]] of which Klimt was a part, arose in an environment in which Makart had put the decorative aspects of art in the forefront. Some have also suggested that primacy of sexual symbolism in Jugendstil artworks also have an influence from the sensuality pushed in many of Makart's paintings. |
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==Relation to the flag of the Republic of Turkey== |
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{{main|Flag of Turkey}} |
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[[Image:Flag of Turkey.svg|thumb|The current flag of the [[Republic of Turkey]] after the Turkish Flag Law on May 29, 1936.]] |
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Subsequent to the fall of the Ottoman Empire after [[World War I]] and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey following the [[Turkish War of Independence]], the new Turkish state maintained the last flag of 1844 of the [[Turkish Empire]], but introduced proportional standardizations. The [[flag of Turkey]] bears, on a red background, the white crescent moon and a five-pointed star with definite geometrical proportions, established and regulated by the Turkish Flag Law ({{lang-tr|Türk Bayrağı Kanunu}}) since [[1936]]. |
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== Personal standard of the sultan == |
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The imperial banners displayed the sultan's [[tughra]], often on a pink or bright red background. The religious colour of [[Islam]] is green, and many Ottoman flags were dark green (either simple green flags, or bearing the star and crescent in either white or yellow). Many royal banners picture the legendary [[Zulfikar]] sword. As of [[1862]] the flag of the sultan was green with seven thin, red, horizontal lines. |
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== Flag poles == |
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The flagpoles were often decorated by a crescent, a wolf's head, a horsetail or a [[Qur'an]] 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 [[Janissary|Janissaries]] used to parade with their cauldrons). |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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<li>Catalan Atlas, Cresques Abraham 1375 |
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<li>Topkapı Museum, Flag Exhibit, Istanbul |
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<li>Ottoman Painted Miniatures, Turkish Ministry of Culture |
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<li>Portolan Chart, Petrus Roselli, 1466 |
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<li>Portolan Chart, Albino de Canepa, 1489 |
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<li>Flags of the World, Ottoman Empire |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/tr-ottom.html Flags of the World: Ottoman Empire] |
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{{commonscat|Hans Makart}} |
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* [http://www.wienmuseum.at/dynamicPage.asp?MenuID=2138 Makart page at Vienna's Historisches Museum Wien] |
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* [http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/art.asp?aid=1193# Makart page at artrenewal.org] |
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* [http://dynexcorp.com/pan/RING3.htm Article on the Ringstraße era] |
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* [http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/dreamcity/00044010.html Makart's entry in the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893] |
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[[Category:Historical flags]] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Makart, Hans}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Obsolete national flags]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Politics of the Ottoman Empire]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:History of the Ottoman Empire]] |
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[[Category:Austrian painters]] |
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[[Category:History artists]] |
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[[ar:العلم العثماني]] |
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[[cs:Hans Makart]] |
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[[fr:Drapeau de l'Empire ottoman]] |
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[[de:Hans Makart]] |
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[[he:דגל האימפריה העות'מאנית]] |
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[[et:Hans Makart]] |
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[[kk:Османлы империясы байрағы]] |
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[[fr:Hans Makart]] |
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[[lv:Osmaņu impērijas karogi]] |
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[[it:Hans Makart]] |
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[[pl:Flaga Imperium Osmańskiego]] |
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[[la:Ioannes Makart]] |
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[[pt:Bandeira do Império Otomano]] |
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[[pl:Hans Makart]] |
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[[ |
[[sh:Osmanlijska zastava]] |
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[[fi: |
[[fi:Osmanien lippu]] |
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[[tr:Osmanlı bayrağı]] |
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Revisión del 18:38 29 oct 2008
The term Ottoman flag refers to any of the flags used by the ruling Sultans of the Ottoman Dynasty. Various flags were used within the Ottoman Empire during its existence, and the sultan also used different personal flags on different occasions of state. Due to the complex social and political organization of the Ottoman Empire, throughout most of its history there was no single proper national flag, until 1844. In 1844, as part of the Tanzimat reforms, the first official national flag of the Ottoman Empire was adopted. This flag, which had a five-pointed star and crescent, also formed the basis of the present-day flag of the Republic of Turkey.
Flags from ghazi to emperor (1299-1453)
- 1299-1453
-
Flag of the Kayihan khanate, displaying the Kayi tamgha, very old - 1326 -
Flag of the Ottoman Empire, 1383-1453 -
Flag of the Osmanli 1326-1517
-
From left to right: Flag of Algerian pirates; Flag given to Osman I by the Seljuk sultan Mesud II (1289); Ottoman naval flag (16th c.); Ottoman army flag (16th c.); Ottoman army flag (17th c.)
.svg)
The early years are a time of the Ottomans defining themselves, a process which did not come to a conclusion until they took Constantinople in 1453. Osman I, a ghazi warlord in Söğüt and the founder of the Ottoman Empire was acclaimed the Khan of the Kayıhan in 1299 and it was this title that he bore to his death, establishing the backbone upon which the empire was founded. This title he inherited from his father Ertugrul, who inherited it from his father Suleyman Shah, who inherited it from his father Kayaalp this going all the way back to when the Kayihan were a roving tribe of Oghuz nomads who inhabited the area surrounding Mount Khan Tengri.
His son Orhan I saw himself differently, he saw the state that he inherited from his father as a successor to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, and even married a Byzantine princess. The flag that he flew combined the Byzantine flag of the Palaiologoi with that of the Kayihan khanate, replacing the B's with Kayi tamghas.
Osman's grandson Murad I, who bore the level of Roman legitimacy his father could only dream of, ironically reversed his father's policy and forged a completely new identity for the domains, casting off any claim to Roman legitimacy or tribal affiliations and founding the Ottoman Empire. Why red was the perfect colour to say this with, we shall never know. It has no bearing to traditional tribal colours (which were white and gold) or popular Turkic colours (usually blue, white and gold). It could be because it was a colour associated with the Romans, and he wasn't casting off Roman aspirations as totally as we would be led to believe. Red might just have been his favourite colour, like Napoleon and the green stripe on the Italian flag.
Flags of the Sublime Porte (1453-1793)
- 1453-1793
-
Flag of the Ottoman Empire 1453-1517 -
Ottoman Battle Flag c.1500-1793 -
Ottoman Flag 1517-1844 -
Flag of the Ottoman Navy 1453-1793 -
Flag of an Ottoman Admiral 1453-1793 -
Flag of a Muslim Merchant 1453-1793 -
Flag of a Jewish Merchant 1453-1793 -
Flag of a Latin Merchant 1453-1793 -
Flag of a Roman (Orthodox Christian) Merchant 1453-1793
_Merchant_Flag_1453-1793.svg)
_Merchant_Flag_1453-1793.svg)
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.
The crescent was an ancient symbol of Byzantium and Constantinople, and while this alone was an important reason to adopt the symbol as an Ottoman symbol, it was not the only reason. In some Turkish clans and kingdoms, the crescent-shaped symbols were used extensively. The crescent was quite popular in Persia, which was the origin of most of the non-Roman Ottoman culture at that point, and it was remarkably similar to the Kayi clan tamgha from which Osman was descended and the Khanate of which the Ottoman state emerged. The crescent for the Ottoman Empire therefore was a powerful message as well as an appropriate symbol, binding the past to the future.
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 identification flags, including flags signifying command ships, 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.
Jews and Christians of the empire were subjected to additional taxation, however as members of the millet of the "Romans", the Orthodox Christians had certain rights and privileges that the Catholics did not, and for religious reasons Jews were the only people who could engage in certain financial activities, so at the time this worked out to an early form of tax brackets.
The Catholics had the worst deal, since they were taxed as heavily as the other non-Moslems, without any of the benefits or privileges. This wasn't that much of a source of discontent however, as most of the mercantilist Catholic subjects of the Ottoman Empire lived under their own administration in the Republic of Ragusa. Only a few struggling Albanian merchants from Durrës or (later on) Croatians from Split fell under this category.
While this all seems incredibly discriminatory today, it was in fact a much fairer system than that which existed in the rest of the Balkans, and despite these rules the nobility was hard pressed to keep their serfs from fleeing for Ottoman territory.
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 Rûm in Europe.
Reform and decline (1793-1923)
- 1453-1793
-
Ottoman Naval Flag, flying on all military vessels 1793-1844 -
Ottoman Religious Flag, or the Flag of the Caliphate 1793-1844 -
Ottoman Army, or Land Flag 1793-1923 -
Ottoman Civic & Merchant Flag 1793-1923
After the Tanzimat (1844-1923)
- 1844-1923
-
The late Ottoman Navy flag with an eight-pointed star and crescent was used between 1793 and 1844 -
The last flag of the Ottoman Empire from 1844 to 1923 was adopted with the Tanzimat reforms as the first official Ottoman national flag
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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 army was completely restructured. The janissaries 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, and in the style of European armies of the day it was a bicolour flag containing the two, now official, Ottoman colours.
Furthering the New Order reforms, the Empire was centralized and all the various sub-sultanates, pashaliks, beyliks and emirates were abolished, including the Ottoman Sultanate. A new flag was designed to replace all these flags with one single national flag. The result was the red and white flag with the crescent moon and star, which is the precursor to the modern Turkish flag. Secularization made the religions equal under law, doing away with the complex hierarchy of religions in relation to taxation and mercantile pursuits, so a plain red flag was made the civil flag for all Ottoman subjects.
Relation to the flag of the Republic of Turkey
Subsequent to the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey following the Turkish War of Independence, the new Turkish state maintained the last flag of 1844 of the Turkish Empire, but introduced proportional standardizations. The flag of Turkey bears, on a red background, the white crescent moon and a five-pointed star with definite geometrical proportions, established and regulated by the Turkish Flag Law (en turco: Türk Bayrağı Kanunu) since 1936.
Personal standard of the sultan
The imperial banners displayed the sultan's tughra, often on a pink or bright red background. The religious colour of Islam is green, and many Ottoman flags were dark green (either simple green flags, or bearing the star and crescent in either white or yellow). Many royal banners picture the legendary Zulfikar sword. As of 1862 the flag of the sultan was green with seven thin, red, horizontal lines.
Flag poles
The flagpoles were often decorated by a crescent, a wolf's head, a horsetail or a Qur'an 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 Janissaries used to parade with their cauldrons).