Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and civilian order of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The Order was instituted in 1851 by

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Abdulmejid I Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the r ...

History

Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in five classes, with the First Class being the highest. The Order was issued in considerable numbers by Sultan Abdülmecid as a reward for distinguished service to members of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

who came to the aid of the

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and to British recipients for later service in Egypt and/or the Sudan. In Britain it was worn after any British gallantry and campaign medals awarded, but, as an Order, before foreign medals like the

Turkish Crimean War medal The Turkish Crimean War Medal ( tr, Kırım Harbi Madalyası) is a campaign medal issued by Sultan Abdülmecid I of the Ottoman Empire to allied military personnel involved in the Crimean War of 1854–56. It was only awarded to those who survive ...

. The Order was usually conferred on officers but a few enlisted soldiers and sailors also received it in a lower class. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was also awarded to a number of German, Austrian and Bulgarian officers. The Order was often conferred on non-Turkish nationals.

Design of the Order

On the obverse of the star is Sultan Abdülmecid's royal cipher surrounded by an inscription on a gold-bordered circle of red enamel; all on a star of seven triple quills with small crescents and five-pointed stars between them, suspended from a red enameled crescent and star suspender with green enameled edges. Mecidi 1Kl

Rough translation of the front: To the left: (you have) crossed. To the right: (you are proven to be) correct. At the top: (you have provided) protection. At the bottom: Year 1268. In the centre: In the name of the God the forgiver, the merciful. The order has 5 classes. First, second, third and fourth classes are gold. Fifth (lower) class is silver. Owners of the order: * First Class Order (Gold) - 50 people (Given by Sultan) * Second Class Order (Gold) - 150 people (Given by Sultan) * Third Class Order (Gold) - 800 people * Fourth Class Order (Gold) - 3,000 people * Fifth Class Order (Silver) - 6,000 people

Some notable recipients

Distribution of the Medjidie, After the Battle of Citate

Order of the Medjidie awarded to Major Rodolph De Salis of the 8th Hussars

Abdelkader El Djezairi Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in th ...

, Algerian Islamic scholar and political and military leader who led a struggle against the French invasion. *

Abraham Ashkenazi Avraham Ashkenazi (1813–1880) was a Sephardi chief rabbi (Rishon LeZion). Rabbi Ashkenazi was born at Janishar, near Salonica, in 1813.Isidore Singer & Herman Rosenthalpalestine Abraham Ashkenazi ''1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia'', Jewish Enc ...

, chief rabbi of Palestine *

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

, Ottoman Army officer * Lucien Baudens, French military surgeon *

Edward Wilmot Blyden Edward Wilmot Blyden (3 August 1832 – 7 February 1912) was a Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician who was primarily active in West Africa. Born in the Danish West Indies, he joined the waves of black immigrants from the ...

, Pan Africanist and Liberian Statesman *

Eugène Chauffeur Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Charles Doughty-Wylie Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hotham Montagu "Richard" Doughty-Wylie, (23 July 1868 – 26 April 1915) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be ...

, English army officer who was later killed in the Gallipoli Campaign, ironically in action against Ottoman forces. *

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

, Scottish author * Richard England, British soldier *

Pierre Louis Charles de Failly Pierre-Louis Charles de Failly (21 January 1810 – 15 November 1892) was a French general. He was born in Rozoy-sur-Serre, Aisne, the son of Count Charles-Louis de Failly (descendant of a family of ancient nobility from Lorraine), and of Sop ...

, French soldier *

Emanuele Luigi Galizia Emanuele Luigi Galizia (7 November 1830 – 6 May 1907) was a Maltese architect and civil engineer, who designed many public buildings and several churches. He is regarded as "the principal Maltese architect throughout the second half of the ni ...

, Maltese architect and civil engineer *

Rafael de Nogales Méndez Rafael Inchauspe Méndez, known as Rafael de Nogales Méndez (October 14, 1877 in San Cristóbal, Táchira – July 10, 1937 in Panama City) was a Venezuelan soldier, adventurer and writer who served the Ottoman Empire during the Great War (1914 ...

, Venezuelan soldier, adventurer and writer. *

George Walter Grabham George Walter Grabham OBE FRSE FGS (1882–1955) was a British geologist strongly linked to the Sudan in Africa. Life He was born on the island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean on 28 June 1882. He was the son of Dr Michael Comport Grabham (184 ...

, British geologist *

George Alfred Henty George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 – 16 November 1902) was an English novelist and war correspondent. He is most well-known for his works of adventure fiction and historical fiction, including ''The Dragon & The Raven'' (1886), ''For The ...

, English Commissariat Officer and author *

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...

, journalist and Zionist leader *

Auguste Lumière Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) was a French engineer, industrialist, biologist, and illusionist. During 1894–1895, he and his brother Louis invented an animated photographic camera and projecti ...

, French industrialist and biologist *

Léon-Eugène Méhédin Léon-Eugène Méhédin (21 February 1828, L'Aigle – 4 March 1905, Bonsecours) was a French archaeologist, architect and photographer. Méhédin's was a fervent Bonapartist and his career was greatly facilitated when he erected two triumphal ar ...

, French architect and photographer * Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian Army officer *

Sir William Montgomery-Cuninghame, 9th Baronet Sir William James Montgomery-Cuninghame, 9th Baronet (20 May 1834 – 11 November 1897) was a British Army officer from Scotland, Conservative politician and Victoria Cross recipient. Early life Montgomery-Cuninghame was born in Ayr to Sir ...

, British Army Officer and

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

recipient *

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, Emperor of The French * Major-General

Charles George Gordon Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles George Gordon Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and ...

, Gordon of Khartoum * Rear-Admiral Maurice Horatio Nelson, son of

Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson, born Thomas Bolton (7 July 1786 – 1 November 1835), was the 2nd Earl Nelson. He was the son of Thomas Bolton of Wells, Norfolk, and Susannah Nelson, daughter of the Rev. Edmund Nelson. He was educated at Norwich ...

* Lord Blyth

James Blyth, 1st Baron Blyth James Blyth, Baron Blyth ( ; 10 September 1841 – 8 September 1925), known as "Sir James Blyth, 1st Baronet" from 1895 to 1907, was a British businessman and liberal party supporter. Blyth was the son of James Blyth and his wife Caroline, daughte ...

, British businessman and politician * General Sir William Parke, British soldier *

Lord George Paulet George Paulet CB (12 August 1803 – 22 November 1879) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He entered the navy shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and after some years obtained his own command. He served off the Iberian Peninsula durin ...

, British naval officer *

Pedro II of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...

, Emperor of Brazil *

Ludomił Rayski Ludomił Antoni Rayski (29 December 1892 – 11 April 1977) was a Polish engineer, pilot, military officer and aviator. He served as the commander of the Polish Air Force between 1926 and 1939, being responsible for modernization of Polish milit ...

, Polish pilot *

Cecil Spring Rice Sir Cecil Arthur Spring Rice, (27 February 1859 – 14 February 1918) was a British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1912 to 1918, as which he was responsible for the organisation of British efforts to end ...

, British diplomat *

Haim Palachi Haim Palachi ( he, חיים פלאג'י yi, חיים פאלאדזשי; Acronym: MaHaRHaF or HaVIF) (January 28, 1788– February 10, 1868) was a Jewish- Turkish chief rabbi of Smyrna (İzmir) and author in Ladino and Hebrew. His titles include ...

, chief rabbi of Izmir *

Jules Ernest Renoux Jules Alphonse Ernest Renoux (5 May 1863 – 9 June 1932) was a French painter working during the height of French Impressionism and the Belle Epoque. Training and career Renoux was the son of Jules Alphonse Renoux and Ernestine Veron. He ...

, French painter *

Pierre-Auguste Sarrus Pierre-Auguste Sarrus (March 14 or 15, 1813 – May 3, 1876) was a French musician and inventor. History * He joined the army at the age of 23. * November 27, 1843: Sarrus is affected to the 74th ''Régiment d'Infanterie'' as corporal-chief of t ...

, French musician * Emanuel Stross, Wholesaler *

Charles Carroll Tevis Washington Carroll Tevis (February 22, 1829 – September 29, 1900), also known as Charles Carroll Tevis, Nassim Bey and Charles Carroll de Taillevis, was an American-born soldier of fortune who served in a variety of armies and conflicts during ...

, American soldier of fortune and Anatolian Cavalry leader *

Alfred Tippinge Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Tippinge, KCH (2 May 1817 – 2 August 1898) was a British Army officer. As a Grenadier Guard he "served with distinction" in four fields of the Crimean War of 1854: at Alma, Balaclava, Sebastapol and Inkerman. A ...

, British Army officer of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, and Legion of Honour recipient * Maréchal Vaillant *

Carol Davila Carol Davila (; 1828 – 24 August 1884) was a prestigious Romanian physician of Italian ancestry. He is considered to be the father of Romanian medicine. Biography He started from humble beginnings, most probably as an abandoned child, and the ...

Živojin Mišić Field Marshal Živojin Mišić ( sr-cyrl, Живојин Мишић; 19 July 1855 in Struganik – 20 January 1921 in Belgrade) was a Field Marshal who participated in all of Serbia's wars from 1876 to 1918. He directly commanded the First ...

, Serbian field marshal and Chef of General Staff *

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

, French chemist and microbiologist * Yosef Navon, Jerusalem businessman and the man principally responsible for the construction of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. * Field Marshal Sir Frederick Paul Haines GCB GCSI CIE * Charles Pomeroy Stone, career U.S. Army officer, post Civil War soldier of fortune in Ottoman service. *

Dimitrije Cincar-Marković Dimitrije Cincar-Marković ( Šabac, 6 September 1849 – Belgrade, 11 June 1903) was a Serbian politician serving as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia, army general, Chief of General Staff, professor of war history and strategy. As o ...

, Serbian Prime Minister and general *Grocholski Tadeusz * Perestu Kadın, Valide Sultan of Ottoman Empire * Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, Duchess Consort of Brunswick

References

Citations

Bibliography

* ''The Americana'', Vol.15, Ed. Frederick Converse Beach, George Edwin Rines, 1912.
About Tadeusz Grocholski
(in Polish)

External links

{{commons category, Order of the Medjidie Medjidie Crimean War 1851 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Awards established in 1851