Coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire

Coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire
Armiger	Sultan Abdul Hamid II
Adopted	1882
Crest	Tughra
Use	Ottoman dynasty

Every sultan of the Ottoman Empire had his own monogram, called the tughra, which served as a royal symbol. A coat of arms in the European heraldic sense was created in the late 19th century. Hampton Court requested from the Ottoman Empire the coat of arms to be included in their collection. As the coat of arms had not been previously used in the Ottoman Empire, it was designed after this request, and the final design was adopted by Sultan Abdul Hamid II on April 17, 1882.

It included two flags: the red flag of the Ottoman dynasty with a star and crescent, and the green flag of the Islamic caliph, largely obscured by a cornucopia.

Behind the flags are a number of spears and other weapons.

Hanging beneath the lower flourish are the medals of five of the Ottoman decorations, the depiction of which vary greatly between sources.

External links

• The Ottoman Coat of Arms
• About the arms (Turkish)

See also

• Emblems of Turkey
• Islamic flags