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A tughra ( ota, طغرا, ṭuġrā) is a calligraphic monogram, seal or
signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the tamgha, it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign. Very elaborate decorated versions were created for important documents that were also works of art in the tradition of Ottoman illumination, such as the example of Suleiman the Magnificent in the gallery below. The tughra was designed at the beginning of the sultan's reign and drawn by the court calligrapher or '' nişancı'' on written documents. The first tughra examples are from the 14th century. Tughras served a purpose similar to the
cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the f ...
in ancient Egypt or the Royal Cypher of British monarchs. Every Ottoman sultan had his own individual tughra.


Etymology

There are two main schools of thought on the origins of the word tughra. The first sees it derived from a Turkic secretarial emblem called ''tughragh'', and the second as an effort by Persian scribes to shape the name of the ruler into a bow-like element called ''turgha''/''turghay'', subsequently mispronounced as tughra. The primary argument for the first school is a remark by
Mahmud al-Kashgari Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammed al-Kashgari, ''Maḥmūd ibnu 'l-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Kāšġarī'', , tr, Kaşgarlı Mahmûd, ug, مەھمۇد قەشقىرى, ''Mehmud Qeshqiri'' / Мәһмуд Қәшқири uz, Mahmud Qashg'ariy / М ...
in his '' Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk'':


Visual elements of a tughra

The tughra has a characteristic form, two loops on the left side, three vertical lines in the middle, stacked writing on the bottom and two extensions to the right. Each of these elements has a specific meaning, and together they make up the form that is easily recognizable as a tughra. The name of the sultan is written out in the bottom section, called a ''sere''. Depending on the period, this name can be as simple as Orhan, son of Osman, in the first tughra in 1326. In later periods honorifics and prayers are also added to the name of the tughra holder and his father. The loops to the left of the tughra are called ''beyze'', from Arabic meaning ''egg''. Some interpretations of tughra design claim that the beyzes are supposed to symbolize the two seas the sultans held sway over: the outer larger loop signifying the Mediterranean and the inner, smaller loop signifying the Black Sea. The vertical lines on the top of the tughra are called ''tuğ'', or flagstaff. The three tugs signify independence. The S-shaped lines crossing the tugs are called ''zülfe'' and they, together with the tops of the tugs that also look to the right, signify that the winds blow from the east to the west, the traditional movement of the Ottomans. The lines to the right of the tughra are called ''hançer'' and signify a sword, symbol of power and might.


Tughras of the Ottoman sultans

File:THES-Heptapyrgion inscription.jpg, Tughra of Murad II at the Heptapyrgion in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
(1431) File:Estambul20100627P1090259.JPG, The Tughra at Dolmabahçe Palace. File:Eyüp_Sultan_Mosque_-_Door_-_Ottoman_language.jpg File:İstanbul-Topkapı_palace._-_panoramio.jpg File:20131204_Istanbul_224.jpg File:20131204_Istanbul_029.jpg File:Tughra Suleiman.jpg, Decorated tughra of
Süleyman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...
(1520) File:Tughra of Selim III.JPG, Tughra of
Selim III Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...
(1789) File:Berat_za_imam_vo_Sultan_Mehmed_dzamija_vo_Ohrid.jpg File:Цакафнаме_за_Охризаде_1491.jpg File:5_Piastres_1327_Mehmed_V_(obv)-8475.jpg File:Gate of Felicity Topkapi Istanbul 2007 detail 003.jpg, Tughra on the Gate of Felicity at
Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio, is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the compl ...
File:EmirganMosque_(3).jpg File:Port Gate tughra.jpg, Tughra above Port Gate in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...


Other tughras

Although the tughra is largely identified with the Ottoman Sultans, they have also sometimes been used in other states, such as the
Qajar dynasty The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic origin ...
, Safavid Empire and the Khanate of Kazan. Later, tughras were used among the
Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different Turki ...
of Imperial Russia. The
Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...
s are also known to have used calligraphic symbols, alongside the Ottomans, the Mughal "Tughra" was circular in shape with three points at its tip, beside the calligraphic signature of the emperor. Afghan currency notes from 1919 to 1936 had the tughra present as well. Pakistan had the tughra on it coins from 1947 till 1974; both of these are present in the State Bank Museum in Karachi. The nawab of Bahawalpur and the Nizam of Hyderabad had tugras on their coinage as well. The flowing lines could symbolize the wide reach of Suleyman's rule and his future conquests. It could also signify the spread of Islam to other realms beyond the Ottoman Empire. File:Uzun hasan tughra.png, Tughra of Uzun Hasan File:Тугра Сахиб Герая.jpg, Tughra of Sahib I Giray File:Naser al-Din Shah stamp.jpg, Tughra of
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...
File:Mogultughra.jpg, The official imperial Tughra of the
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 ...


Post-imperial interpretations

There are modern artists of
calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined ...
that use the characteristic tughra form today. Examples are the tughras of Russian president
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and
Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. B ...
, the
Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...
, created by artist Vladimir Popov.


See also

*
Culture of the Ottoman Empire Ottomans culture evolved over several centuries as the ruling administration of the Turks absorbed, adapted and modified the various native cultures of conquered lands and their peoples. There was influence from the customs and languages of Islami ...
* Gallipoli Star *
Islamic calligraphy Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the alphabets derived from it. It includes Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, and Urdu calligraphy.Chapman, Caroline (2012). ...
*
Huaya A ''huaya'' ("Flower Print"; ; ko, 화압, Hwaap; ja, 花押, Kaō) is a stylized signature or mark used in East Asian cultures in place of a true signature. Originating from China, the ''huaya'' was historically used by prominent figures such ...
, stylised calligraphic signatures used in East Asia * Khelrtva, stylised calligraphic signatures used in Georgia * Ottoman Emperors family tree * Ottoman Dynasty * Ottoman family tree (more detailed) * Line of succession to the Ottoman throne *
List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...
* List of Valide Sultans *
Postage stamps and postal history of Turkey The postal history of Turkey and its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, dates to the 18th century when foreign countries maintained courier services through their consular offices in the Empire. Although delayed in the development of its own ...
* Rota (papal signature) *
Totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or '' doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the ...


References


External links


Ottoman Sultan Tughras
{{Authority control Islamic calligraphy Ottoman culture Monograms Signature