Ottoman Empire (Turkey, 1299-1923) (original) (raw)

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Osmanlı İmparatorluğu

[ [Flag] ](../images/t/tr.gif) image by Željko Heimer, 2 March 1999

National flag
Flag for ocean-going vessels
Civil ensigns
Land flag
Sandjak cherif
2nd Heavy Artillery

See also:

National flag

There was an Ottoman flag with crescent and seven-pointed star. Several sources report that the star was later replaced by a five-pointed one, without providing any evidence. Indeed, the five-pointed star has always been present in the Imperial flag.
The five-pointed star had always pointed to the hoist, as show some flag charts, and also Turkish charts of 1857 and 1905.

Ralf Stelter, 27 June 1999

Zanamierowski [zna99] gives 1793 as the date for the introduction of the red flag with white crescent and star (presumably as some sort of flag for national identity) and 1844 for the change from an eight-pointed to a five-pointed star, without providing any evidence, either

Christopher Southworth, 18 January 2011

Flag for ocean-going vessels

[ [Flag] ](../images/t/tr%5Fot7.gif) image by António Martins, 18 September 2006

The flag with a seven-pointed star was the flag for "ocean-going vessels".

Ralf Stelter, 27 June 1999

Civil ensigns

Ottoman civil ensign

[ [Merchant ensign] ](../images/t/tr~o-civ.gif) image by Ivan Sache, 10 March 2001

Muslim civil ensign

[ [Flag] ](../images/t/tr~o-cim.gif) image by Ivan Sache, 10 March 2001

Smith [smi75c] says that "Muslims used a green stripe through their red civil ensign."
This flag is also shown in Colton's Delineation of Flags of All Nations (1862) [clt62] (colour plate reproduced in Znamierowski [zna99]) and captioned: "#140. Turkish Merchant".

Ivan Sache, 10 March 2001

Greek civil ensign

[ [Flag] ](../images/t/tr~o-cig.gif) image by Ivan Sache, 10 March 2001

Smith [smi75c] says that "The Christians of Greece used a blue stripe through their red civil ensign."
This flag is also shown in Colton's Delineation of Flags of All Nations (1862) [clt62] (colour plate reproduced in Znamierowski [zna99]) and captioned: "#141. Ottoman Greek".

Ivan Sache, 10 March 2001

Albanian civil ensign

[ [Flag] ](../images/t/tr~o-cia.gif) image by Ivan Sache, 10 March 2001

Smith [smi75c] says that "The Albanians used a black stripe through their red civil ensign", making it similar to the current Albanian civil ensign.

Ivan Sache, 10 March 2001

Ship commanded by a reserve officer

A green flag with three stars was a merchant flag for a ship commanded by captain being a reserve Ottoman Navy officer (similar to the British Blue Ensign for merchant ships).

Ralf Stelter, 27 June 1999

Land flag

[ [Flag] ](../images/t/tr-impla.gif) image by Jaume Ollé, 27 June 1999

Sandjak cherif

Larousse du XXe siècle (1928) mentions under the heading ÉTENDARD CÉLESTE (lit., "celestial standard") "the standard of green colour, which is venerated by the Turks who claim it was borne by Muhammad, and hoist it on special occasions".

Ivan Sache, 18 November 2000

2nd Heavy Artillery

[ [Flag] ](../images/t/tr^2ha.jpg) image located by William Garrison, 7 April 2024

A flag seen when Gen. Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) visited the "2nd Heavy Artillery Regiment" in Jan. 18, 1923 in the Kocaeli Province of Turkey. Technically, the "Ottoman Empire" ended Nov. 1, 1922 when the title of "Ottoman Sultan" was eliminated, but the "Republic of Turkey" was not proclaimed until Oct. 29, 1923.

Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mustafa_Kemal,_Nureddin's_inspection_of_2nd_Heavy_Artillery_Regiment.jpg- includes an xpanded original photo at link above (Gen. Kemal seen with his hand in his coat).

William Garrison, 7 April 2024