A tamga or tamgha (from otk, 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga, lit=stamp, seal; tr, damga; mn, tamga; ; ); an abstract

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

or stamp used by

Eurasian nomads The Eurasian nomads were a large group of nomadic peoples from the Eurasian Steppe, who often appear in history as invaders of Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and South Asia. A nomad is a member of people having no permanent ab ...

and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the emblem of a particular tribe, clan or family. They were common among the Eurasian nomads throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Similar tamga-like symbols were sometimes adopted by sedentary peoples adjacent to the

Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian steppe, formed by the Caspian steppe and the Pontic steppe, is the steppeland stretching from the northern shores of the Black Sea (the Pontus Euxinus of antiquity) to the northern area around the Caspian Sea. It extend ...

both in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

Tamgas in the steppe tradition

Ancient origins

Tamgas originate in pre-historic times, but their exact usage and development cannot be continuously traced over time. There are, however, symbols represented in rock art that are referred to as tamgas and that are most likely functionally equivalent with medieval tamgas. In the later phases of the

Bosporan Kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, ...

, the ruling dynasty applied personal tamgas, composed of a fragment representing the family and a fragment representing the individual king, apparently in continuation of steppe traditions and in an attempt to consolidate seditary and nomadic factions within the kingdom.

Mongol Empire

"Tamga," or "tamag'a," literally means "stamp" or "seal" in Mongolian. In the Mongol Empire, a tamgha was a seal placed on taxed items and, by extension, a tax on commerce (see Eastern Europe below). Tamga or tamag'a are emblematic symbols which were historically used by various Mongolic tribes or clans in Central Asia. The term is sometimes also applied to emblematic symbols used in other Asian cultures, but this document is only concerned with the specific use of clan symbols on coins issued by Mongolian and Central Asian rulers. Over a hundred different Mongolian tamga are known. Certain tamga were adopted by individual medieval Mongolic and Turkic rulers, and were consequently used on coins and seals issued by these rulers. Tamga are most widely found on Islamic coins issued by the descendants of

Chinggis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

in the various khanates of Central Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries, in particular the Chaghatai Khanate. Tamga are of immense interest to numismatists, and are discussed in many academic works relating to the medieval Islamic coins of Central Asia. However, numismatists and historians currently have limited options for representing tamga symbols in text, and cannot reliably interchange text including tamga symbols because they are either represented as images, or are handdrawn, or use an ad hoc font. Doctor Nyamaa identifies nearly a hundred tamga signs used on coins, although only about half of them can be assigned to a specific ruler, and some of them are variant forms or presentation forms of the same tamga. File:Naran Tamga.svg, alt=, Naran Tamga or Ongin Tamga File:Chinggis khan tamga.svg, alt=, Tamga of

Chinggis khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

File:Tului khan tamga.svg, alt=, Tamga of Tului khan File:Ugudei khan tamga.svg, alt=, Tamga of

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khagan (also Ogodei;, Mongolian: ''Ögedei'', ''Ögüdei''; – 11 December 1241) was second khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. ...

File:Tsagadai khan Tamga.svg, alt=, Tamga of Tsagadai khan File:Zuchi khan tamga.svg, alt=, Tamga of

Juchi khan Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka ...

File:Guyug khan tamga.svg, alt=, Tamga of Guyug khan Mongolian State Seal Monument

Tamgas are also stamped using hot irons on domesticated animals such as horses in present-day

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and others to identify that the livestock belongs to a certain family, since livestock is allowed to roam during the day. Each family has their own tamga markings for easier identification. Tamga marks are not very elaborate, since they are made from curved pieces of iron by the individual families. A ''tamag'a'' is also used as the "state seal" of

, which is handed over by the

President of Mongolia The president of Mongolia ( mn, Монгол Улсын Ерөнхийлөгч, ''Mongol Ulsyn Yerönkhiilögch'') is the executive head of state of Mongolia.Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, , p. 42 The current president is Ukhnaagiin ...

as part of the transition to a new president. In the presidential case, the tamag'a is a little more elaborate and is contained in a wooden box.

Turkic peoples

The Turks who remained pastoral nomad kings in eastern Anatolia and Iran, however, continued to use their clan tamgas and in fact, they became high-strung nationalistic imagery. The Aq Qoyunlu and Qara Qoyunlu, like many other royal dynasties in Eurasia, put their tamga on their flags and stamped their coinage with it. For the Turks who never left their homeland of

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

in the first place, it has remained what it originally was: a cattle brand and clan identifier. Among modern

Turkic peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging t ...

, the tamga is a design identifying

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

belonging to a specific Turkic clan, usually as a

cattle brand Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to hot branding large stock with a branding iron, though the term now includes alternative techniques. Other fo ...

or stamp. When Turkish clans took over more

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...

s, tamgas dropped out of use as pastoral ways of life became forgotten. That is most evident in the Turkish clans that took over western and eastern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

after the Battle of Manzikert. The Turks who took over western Anatolia founded the Sultanate of Rûm and became Roman-style aristocrats. Most of them adopted the then-Muslim symbol of the Seal of Solomon after the Sultanate disintegrated into a mass of feuding ghazi states (see

Isfendiyarids The Isfendiyarids or Isfendiyarid dynasty (Modern Turkish: ''İsfendiyaroğulları'', ''İsfendiyaroğulları Beyliği''), also known as the Beylik of Sinop, Beylik of Isfendiyar (''İsfendiyar Beyliği''), Jandarids or Beylik of Jandar (''Cand ...

, Karamanids). Only the Ottoman ghazi state (later to become 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) ...

) kept its tamga, which was so highly stylized that the bow was stylized down eventually to a crescent moon. Tamgas of the 21 Oghuz tribes (as Charuklug had none) according to Mahmud al-Kashgari in ''

Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk The ' ( ar, ديوان لغات الترك, lit=Compendium of the languages of the Turks) is the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, compiled in 1072–74 by the Turkic scholar Mahmud Kashgari who extensively studied the Turkic ...

'': File:Kinik.svg,

Kınık

File:Kayi.svg,

Kayı Kayı can refer to: * Kayı (tribe) * Kayı, Çorum * Kayı, Ilgaz Kayı is a village in the Ilgaz District of Çankırı Province Çankırı Province ( tr, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province of Turkey, which lies close to the capital, An ...

File:Bayundur.svg,

Bayandur The Bayandur (, tr, Bayındır, tk, Baýyndyr) or Bayundur, was one of the 24 Oghuz Turkic tribes. Originally one of the 7 original tribes that made up the Kimek–Kipchak confederation, they later joined the Oghuz Turks. The Bayandur origina ...

File:Yiva.svg,

Iwa IWA may refer to: Organizations International * International Water Association * International Webmasters Association * International Woodworkers of America, United States and Canada * International Workers Association, an anarcho-syndicalist fed ...

(''Yiwa'')

File:Salur.svg,

Salur Salur or Saluru is a municipal town and mandal headquarters in Parvathipuram Manyam district, of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography Salur is on the banks of River Vegavathi at . It has an average elevation of 118 metres (387&nb ...

File:Avsar.svg,

File:Begdili.svg,

File:Bugduz.svg,

File:Bayat.svg,

File:Yazir.svg,

File:Eymur.svg,

Eymur Eymur is a village and municipality in the Agdash Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country locate ...

File:Karaevli.svg,

Karaboluk

File:Akevli.svg,

Аlkaboluk

File:Igdir.svg,

Iğdır Iğdır ( Turkish ; ku, Îdir or ; hy, Իգդիր, Igdir, also ) is the capital of Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. History Iğdır went by the Armenian name of Tsolakert during the Middle Ages. s.v. "Igdir," Armenia ...

File:Yuregir.svg,

Uregir (''Yüregir'')

File:Dodurga.svg,

File:Alayuntlu.svg,

File:Doger.svg,

File:Pecenek.svg,

File:Cavuldur.svg,

File:Cepni.svg,

Chepni Chepni ( az, Çəpni; tr, Çepni; tk, Çepni) is one of the 24 Oghuz Turkic tribes. History In the legend of Oghuz Qaghan, the Chepni was stated as one of the clans of the tribe of ''Gök Han'' that consists of Pecheneg (''Beçenek''), Bayand ...

File:None-100.gif,

Charuklug

Secondary Usage

Eastern Europe

Russia

In Russia, the term ''tamga'' (тамга) survived in state institution of border customs, with associated cluster of terms: ''tamozhnya'' (таможня, customs), ''tamozhennik'' (таможенник, customs officer), ''rastamozhit (растаможить, pay customs duties), derived from the use of tamga as a certificate of

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. The symbol is recognized as a

national symbol A national symbol is a symbol of any entity considering and manifesting itself to the world as a national community: the sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of colonial or other dependence, federal integration, or even an e ...

in Ukraine, colloquially called ''

tryzub The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a gold trident. Officially referred to as the ''Emblem of the Royal State of Volodymyr the Great'', or, colloquially, the ''tryzub'' ( uk, тризуб), the insignia derives from the seal-t ...

'' (тризуб).

Circassia

Among the Circassians, almost every family has a tamga.Цуекъо, Алый. Адыгэ лъэкъуацIэхэмрэ тамыгъэхэмрэ

Islamic empires

In the late medieval

Turco-Mongol The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventuall ...

states, the term ''tamga'' was used for any kind of official stamp or seal. This usage persisted in the early modern Islamic Empires (

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

), and in some of their modern successor states. In the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

Tamgha-i-Jurat Tamgha-i-Jurat ( ur, تمغہِ جرأت, , Medal of Courage), is the fourth highest military award of Pakistan. This citation is awarded for extraordinary heroism while engaged in armed combat with an opposing force on Pakistan soil or outside it ...

is the fourth highest Military medal of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. It is admissible to all ranks for gallantry and distinguished services in combat.

Tamgha-i-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

or Tamgha-e-Imtiaz ( ur, links=no, تمغہ امتیاز), which translates as "medal of excellence", is fourth highest honour given by the Government of Pakistan to both the military and civilians.

Tamgha-i-Khidmat Tamgha-i-Khidmat or Tamgha-e-Khidmat ( ur, تمغہِ خدمت, literally "medal of services") is a Civilian and military award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In Pakistan Army, it is applicable to junior commissioned officers, in addition to ...

or Tamgha-e-Khidmat (), which translates as "medal of services", is seventh highest honour given by the Government of Pakistan to both the military and civilians. It is admissible to non-commissioned officers and other ranks for long meritorious or distinguished services of a non-operational nature. In

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, the term ''damgha'' ( ar, دمغة) or ''tamgha'' () is still used in two contexts. One is a tax or fee when dealing with the government. It is normally in the form of stamps that have to be purchased and affixed to government forms, such as a driver license or a registration deed for a contract. The term is derived from the Ottoman

damga resmi The damga resmi was a form of stamp duty in the Ottoman Empire. During most of the Tanzimat period, it was one of the more effective sources of revenue. The original form of damga resmi was abolished in 1839 as part of a complex series of tax re ...

. Another is a stamp put on every piece of jewelry made from gold or silver to indicate it is genuine, and not made of baser metals.