320 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 205. 



tbe Turks as an ornament, and probably as a 

 symbol, of their dominion, or in connexion with 

 their religion. This may have originated in the 

 following fact : — Mahomet, at the introduction of 

 his religion, said to his followers, who were ig- 

 norant of astronomy, " When you see the new 

 moon, begin the fast ; when you see the moon, 

 celebrate the Bairam." And at this day, although 

 .the precise time of the lunar changes may be 

 •ascertained from their ephemerides, yet they never 

 begin either the Ramazan, or the Bairam, till some 

 have testified that they have seen the new moon. 

 v(Cantemir's History of the Othman Empire, pref. 

 pp. Iv, V.) But the ancient Israelites had precisely 

 the same custom in commencing their " new moons 

 •and appointed feasts." (See Calmet, art. " Month.") 

 That which may properly be called the standard 

 of the Turks, is the Sarijah Cherif, or Standard of 

 the Prophet. It is of green silk*, preserved in 

 the treasury with the utmost care, and never 

 brought out of the seraglio but to be carried to 

 the army. This banner is supposed by the Turks 

 to ensure victory, and is the sacred signal to 

 which they rally. (De Tott's Memoirs, vol. ii. 



PP- 2, 3-) 



The military ensigns which the grand seignior 



' bestows on the governors of provinces and other 

 great men, Include the following : 1. The savjak, 

 or standard, only distinguished from that of Ma- 

 homet by the colour, one being red and the other 

 ^reen. 2. The tug, or standard consisting of one, 

 two, or three horse-tails, according to the dignity 

 of the office borne by him who receives it. Pachas 

 of the highest rank are distinguished by three 

 tails, and the title heglei-beg, or prince of princes. 

 Those next in rank are the pachas of two tails, 

 and the beys are honoured but with one. These 

 tails are not ivorn by the pachas, but fastened at 

 the end of a lance, having a gilt handle, and carried 

 before the pacha, or fixed at the side of his tent. 

 3. The alem is a large broad standard, which In- 

 stead of a spear-head has a silver plate in the 

 middle, bored In the shape of a crescent or half- 

 moon. (Cantemir, Hist. 0th. Emp., p. 10.) 



The sultan's barge, with canopy of purple silk, 

 supported throne-like by four gilt pillars, is 

 adorned with three gilt candlesticks ; and only the 

 capudan pacha, when going to sea. Is allowed to 

 have similar ornaments, as he Is then considered as 

 deriyd padishahi, emperor of the sea. Even the 

 vizier Is only permitted to display a canopy of 

 green silk on ivory pillars, but without candle- 

 sticks, (lb., p. 424.) 



* So says De Tott ; Cantemir says it is red. But 

 this discrepancy in the autliorities is easily accounted 

 for, since the Satijak Cherif is so sacred that it must 

 be looked upon by none but the Muslimans, the true 

 believers. If seen by the eyes of giaours (unbelievers), 

 it would be profaned. (De Tott, Memoirs, p. 3.) 



Thus It appears that the crescent holds but a 

 subordinate position among the ensigns at present 

 in use among the Turks. As to its history, I 

 have found no trace of it In connexion with that 

 of the Crusades. Tasso, in La Gerusalemme Li- 

 herata, mentions " the spread standards " of the 

 soldan's army "waving to the wind " (" Sparse al 

 vento ondeggiando Ir le bandiere," canto xx, 

 St. 28.), but he makes no allusion to the crescent. 

 I have not access to Michaud's Histoire des Croi- 

 sades, and shall be glad if your correspondent will 

 quote the passage to which he has referred. Does 

 Michaud speak of it as existing at that time f 

 This does not clearly appear from the reference. 

 There were several sultans named Mahomet who 

 reigned in or near the age of the Crusades, two 

 of the Seljak dynasty; the first the conqueror of 

 Bagdad, the second cotemporary with Bald- 

 win III., king of Jerusalem. In the Carizmlan 

 dynasty, Mahomet I. was cotemporary with 

 Godfrey, Baldwin I., and Baldwin 11. ; and Ma- 

 homet II. commenced his reign about a.d. 1206. 

 But the conqueror of Constantinople, Mahomet II., 

 was of the Othman dynasty, and lived some cen- 

 turies later, the fall of that city having taken 

 place A.D. 1 453. To which of these eras does Mi- 

 chaud ascribe the use of the crescent for the first 

 time ? 



After all, perhaps, the Turkish crescent, like the 

 modern crown of Western Europe, may be but a 

 variation of the horn, the ancient symbol of au- 

 thority, so often alluded to in the Old Testament. 

 The tivo cusps or horns of the crescent, and the 

 circle of diverging rays in the diadem, suggest 

 that the variation Is simply one of number; and 

 the derivation is strongly corroborated by ety- 

 mology. The Hebrew word yyp (keren) is con- 

 nected with, and possibly the original source of, 

 our two words horn and crown. Its dual (ha7-- 

 naim) signifies horns or rays, as In Habak. Hi. 4. 



A fact mentioned by D'Herbelot may have 

 some connexion with the Turkish crescent. When 

 the celebrated warrior, Tamugln, whose conquests 

 preceded those of the Othman dynasty, assumed 

 in a general assembly of the Moguls and Tartars 

 the title of Ghenghis Khun, or king of kings, " II 

 y ordonna qu'une cornette blanche seroit dore- 

 navant I'etendart general de ses troupes" (^Bihlio- 

 theque Orientate, p. 379.). Thus did the Mogul 

 conqueror (to use the words of the Psalmist) "lift 

 up the horn on high." (Psalm Ixxv. 5.) About 

 half a century after the death of Ghengis Khan, 

 Aladin, Sultan of Iconlum, conferred on Othman, 

 who afterwards founded the Turkish empire, the 

 tabl alem — the drum, standards, and other orna- 

 ments of a general. (Cantemir, Hist. 0th. Emp., 

 p. 10.) The explanation of the alem by the his- 

 torian In his annotations, I have already quoted. 

 This is the only allusion to the crescent as an en- 

 sign that I have met with in Cantemir. 



