Details
A LARGE METAL-THREAD EMBROIDERED SILK COMMEMORATIVE BANNER OF THE 2ND CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD
OTTOMAN TURKEY, DATED 11 TEMMUZ 1324/24 JULY1908 AD
Double sided, woven in silk and metal-thread, one side with a cream lower half and a pink upper half, the centre with a large crescent and star flanked by cartouches with foliate terminals containing naskh inscription, a large tughra of Mehmet V to the left, further calligraphic roundels above and the Ottoman coat of arms below, the other side with a green field with a large pink crescent and star in the centre containing smaller similar motifs, a large Ottoman coat of arms on the right and a pair of cartouches containing Qur'anic verses in naskh to the left, surrounded on three sides by two bands of calligraphic roundels on green ground followed by pink ground, the inner edge with a loop for the flag pole, the edges of the flag with long metal thread tassels, with an additional silk covered cloth band embroidered with naskh and two stars surrounded by a cusped metal thread border, long rope in two pieces with metal thread tassels at either end
68½ x 98½in. (174 x 250.3cm.)
Engraved
On the front:
In the bottom left corner, the two lines in the cartouche below the tughra of Mehmed V state that the flag was presented to the new Cami Kebir [Great Mosque] in Çomlekçi Köyü in memory of the services of the Battalion of recruits from the Muluh (?) district. This is presumably a Greek name; there are several towns and villages in Greece called Moloha
Below this, ma'mulat-e qal'eh-ye soltaniye, 'Production of Kale-i Sultaniye [i.e. Çanakkale]'
In the cartouche below this, yasasun kahraman niyazi bey, '[Long] live the hero Niyazi Bey!'
In the top right corner, vatan yasasun osmanli sancak, 'The homeland, [long] live the Ottoman flag!'
Beneath this, two patriotic couplets in praise of Hüriyyet 'Freedom'
Below this is the date 11 Temmuz 1324 [24 July 1908]
In the cartouche in the bottom right, yasasun kahraman enver bey, '[Long] live the hero Enver Bey!'
In the roundels along the top, hüriyet 'freedom', adalet 'justice', müsavet 'equality' and yasasun asker '(Long) live the army!'
On the back:
In the two lines in the upper cartouche, the bismallah, Qur'an XLVIII, v.1, and part of Qur'an IV, v.103
In the two lines in the lower cartouche, a hadith of the Prophet 'There is no god but God, My Fortress, whomsoever enters My fortress, he is safe from My punishment' and a Sufi version of the shahada finishing with the statement that Abdülkadir (Gilani) is the falcon (baz) of God
In the roundels around the border, the Names of God and the names of Muhammad, the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs and the Shi'i Imams
In the crescent moon beneath the tughra of Mehmed V on the right, al-mustanid bi'[l]-tawfiqat al-rabbaniya malik al-dawla al-'uthmaniya, 'The one supported by the aid of God, the King of the Ottoman State'
On the sash holding it together:
topcudur meydan-i harbin safderi ve hayder, 'The artilleryman is the battlefields hero and lion'
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