History of Tughra Ottoman Arab Calligraphy
SULTAN AHMED III’S HADITH-TUGHRA:
UNITING THE WORD OF THE PROPHET AND THE IMPERIAL MONOGRAM
This paper discusses Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra,
in which the Sultan, for the first time in the history of
Ottoman calligraphy, employed a hadith text in the
tughra form. It examines how, due to the decreasing
number of new military conquests, the Sultan used
his calligraphy to create an alternative image, replacing the vanishing ‘warrior/ghâzi sultan’ with that of
the ‘pious/omniscient sultan’. Furthermore, this
paper will highlight the iconic nature of the hadithtughra which, unlike the rest of the Sultan’s calligraphic works, gained outstanding popularity
throughout the 18th and 19th centuries like no other
calligraphic composition. Little has been written on
the calligraphic works of Ahmed III and, to date, no
study had attempted to examine his hadith-tughra.
A tughra is the stylised calligraphic representation of the name and titles of the Ottoman sultans. Tughras were primarily designed in the royal chancellery (Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn) by the head of chancellors
(kalemiye sınıfı), called nişancı (literally: sign-affixer). The commissioner of the register (defter-emîni),
the chief of clerks (reisülküttâb4
) and the chancellery
scribes working under the nişancı were also designing
tughras. Grand-viziers(sadrâzam), the sultan’s absolute representative (vekîl-i mutlak), were also authorised and under certain circumstances even obliged,
to design the tughra of the reigning sultan.
Tughras were employed on coins, seals, and official sultanic decrees (fermân, berât, mülknâme, sınırnâme), and endowment documents (vakfiye).
Tughras do not appear to have been commonly used
in monumental scale before the 18th century. The
two exceptions to my knowledge are an epigraphic
tughra of Sultan Murad II (r. 1421‒1444;
1446‒1451), located above the foundation inscription of the Sungur Çavuş tower in Thessaloniki,
dated 833AH / 1430AD, and the tughra of Sultan
Murad III (r. 1574‒1595), located above the main
entrance of the Nişancı Mehmed Pasha Mosque,
built in Karagümrük, Istanbul, between 1584 and
1588. In the latter, the employment of the tughra in
epigraphy must have been closely linked to the profession of the mosque’s founder: nişancı.
INDIVIDUAL TUGHRA PANELS
Although some unusually large individual panels bearing illuminated tughras8 of sultans, such as
Süleyman I, Murad III and Ahmed I exist, it was
only by the mid-17th century that designing tughras as calligraphic compositions unattached to an official decree gained popularity among the Ottoman
administrative elite. For example, Evliya Çelebi
informs us that Grand-vizier Melek Ahmed Pasha
(d. 1652) designed the tughra of Sultan Murad IV
(r. 1623‒1640) “masterfully” (üstâdâne). The individual sultanic tughras were either mounted on
wooden panels or located in albums. An extant
example located within an album, is the tughra of
Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648‒1687), in the Cleveland
Album signed by Silahdar Mehmed Pasha. Those
mounted on large wooden panels were placed in the
royal chancellery (Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn) chambers to
serve as proper models and represent the presence
of the sultan.
Composing individual tughra panels gained
much more popularity in the early 18th century. Although they appear to have been designed only by
officials of the vizieral rank throughout the 17th century, after the turn of the next century, an Ottoman
sultan, Ahmed III personally drew his own tughra.
In doing this, Ahmed III could have been inspired
by Sultan Mehmed II’s (r. 1451‒1481) sketchbook
(TSMK, H. 2324) in the Topkapı Palace, which includes five tughra sketches drawn by Mehmed himself. Following the 17th century prototypes, he had
his tughras mounted on wooden panels (TSM, G.Y.
1560) as well as including it as an individual tughra
in his tughra album (TSM, A. 3653, fol. 4).
During the reign of Ahmed III, possibly under
the sultanic influence, court officials of many different ranks began designing individual tughra panels,
an activity that continued into the following reigns.
According to the Ottoman historian Suyolcuzâde Mehmed Necip Efendi (d. 1757), reisülküttâb Abdî
Efendi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was especially celebrated for the excellence of the tughras of
Ahmed III that he designed. An outstandingly large
panel (TIEM, 2737), measuring 125 x 190 cm, bearing the tughra of Sultan Osman III (r. 1754‒1757)
dated 1170/1756, was designed by the Grand Admiral, Kapudan Süleyman Pasha. A second panel,
bearing the tughra of Sultan Osman III (r.
1754‒1757) dated 1169 / 1755, by Süleyman Pasha
is in the İstanbul University Library. There are
many more examples of individual tughra panels of
18th century sultans, signed by calligrapher bureaucrats from different levels of administration. These
include chancery scribes (dîvân kâtibi), office scribes (kalem halîfesi), secretaries of the grand-vizier
(tezkîreci), chief secretaries (mektûbî), finance ministers (defterdâr), treasurers (kesedâr), and heads
of the office issuing fatwas (fetva emîni). Published
ones can be found in Suha Umur (1980), including
those signed by İbrahim Muhâfız-ı Ağriboz (Guardian commander of Ağrıboz), Cidde Vâlisi (Governor of Jidda) Ebûbekir Pasha, Sadaret Mektupçusu
(Grand vizier’s secretary) Hamza Hâmid dated respectively 1133, 1137, 1153 A.H. (1721, 1725, 1740
AD).
The administrative elite’s ongoing interest in
calligraphy is related to the fact that, instead of officials of military (askerî) and administrative (mülkî)
origins, an increasing number of civilian bureaucrats
in secretarial positions (kalemiye) were appointed to
high-ranking posts, including that of the grand-vizier. Civilian bureaucrats were now able to attain as
high a position in the palace service, as their military counterparts could in the army. The promotion of
officials from a bureaucratic background reached
unprecedented heights after the treaty of Carlowitz
in 1699. These were men of the pen (erbâb-ı
kalem), who were mainly of ilmiye (religious scholarship) origin, as those not successful in pursuing a
career in the ilmiye preferred to go to the kalemiye
(bureaucracy).
Many of the bureaucrats who advanced within
the administrative ranks of the court in the early 18th
century appear to have also been calligraphers. İsmâil Efendi, the secretary of the Darüssaade Ağası
Hacı Beşir Agha; Ahmed Efendi, the secretary of finance (mâliye kalemi hülefâsı); Emînî Mehmed Bey,
the chancery scribe (dîvân kâtibi); Rahmî Mustafa
Efendi, the seal-bearer (mühürdar) of Dâmâd İbrahim Pasha, Veliyüddîn Efendi, the chief judge of
Egypt (Mısır kadısı), Sâlim Mehmed Efendi, the minister of finance in Baghdad (Bağdad defterdârı);
Abdülbâki Ârif Efendi, the chief military judge (Rumeli Kazaskeri); Hamîdîzâde Hasan Efendi, the
chief judge of Egypt (Mısır kadısı); door-keeper
Horoz Ahmed Efendi were noted calligraphers. The Topkapı Palace became a palace of calligraphers. In some cases the teacher and the student were
both courtly officials. For instance, Abdülbâkî
Efendi, the chief-judge of Damascus (Şam Mollası),
studied calligraphy under the supervision of Bahrî
Mehmed Pasha, the governor of Cyprus (Kıbrıs Vâlisi) . Some viziers and even grand-viziers were
noted calligraphers such as Köprülüzâde Fâzıl
Ahmed Pasha (d. 1676), Dâmâd İbrahim Pasha (d.
1730), Abdullah Pasha (d. 1740), Kabakulak İbrahim Pasha (d. 1743), Şehlâ Ahmed Pasha (d. 1753),
Hamza Hâmid Pasha (d. 1770), all recorded in calligraphers’ biographies.
TUGHRA-SHAPED COMPOSITIONS
After the evolution of individual sultanic tughras, an alternative type of calligraphic design in the
tughra shape was introduced in the early 18th century. The texts they comprised could be religious or
secular. The earliest example comprises a religious
text, names of the Prophet, his two grand-sons and
the four righteous caliphs: ‘Muhammed, Hasan, Hüseyin, Ebûbekir, Osman, Ömer, Ali, rıdvanallâhu
‛aleyhim ecma’în’ (may God be pleased with
them). It is mounted on a wooden panel measuring
36x53cm, and carries the date 1114 AH / 1702 AD.
It is signed, in two separate cartouches, by Hacızâde
Mustafa, a palatial scribe from the Kethüdâ’s office
(Kethüdâ kalemi küttâbından).
Throughout the 18th century, both individual sultanic tughra panels and tughra-shaped compositions
were signed in two separate cartouches, usually
comprising a rhymed couplet. The couplet was often
divided into two lines flanking the tughra, with the
first on the right and the second, on the left, both
being a little lower than the tughra itself. Dividing
the couplet into two and locating each line on either
side can be interpreted as a visual reference to official decrees in which the tughra crowns the text.
During the reign of Abdülhamid I, some of the
couplet signatures were written only on the left
lower side of the tughra, with the second line located exactly below the first. But locating each line on
one side was the most common application. During
the reign of Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808‒1839), court
calligrapher and the sultan’s calligraphy teacher,
Mustafa Râkım Efendi (d. 1829) re-organised the
proportions of the tughra, as well as setting a new
standard in signing calligraphy. He signed his name
in a tiny, compact and extremely sophisticated calligraphic composition (istif ketebe). The earliest
known version of a signature designed as a compact
composition (istif) was first introduced by Sultan Ahmed III almost a century before. Mustafa Râkım
developed the sultan’s version into a more sophisticated design and popularized its usage among the
calligraphers, to such an extent that couplet signatures were abandoned during the early 19th century,
when both calligraphic panels and monumental
epigraphy began to be signed with compact signatures. The couplet signatures were replaced by the
compact ones on the tughras as well, whether on individual panels or used on buildings.
UNITING THE WORD OF THE PROPHET
AND THE IMPERIAL MONOGRAM:
SULTAN AHMED III’S HADITH-TUGHRA
Sultan Ahmed III comes to the fore as the real
master of tughra-shaped compositions. He is the
only calligrapher Ottoman sultan who penned his
own tughra and specialised in designing tughra-shaped compositions. He designed ten different examples, nine of which are found in his Imperial Tughra
Album31 (TSM, A. 3653). Out of these, two identical
examples, carved on marble plaques are located on
both sides of the Hall of the Mantle of the Prophet
(Hırka-i Saadet Dairesi) in Topkapı Palace. The
final, tenth one, which comprises a hadith of Prophet
Muhammad, hereafter the hadith-tughra, was executed twice on paper (TSM, G.Y. 425 and TSM,
G.Y. 947). This hadith composition became the most
favoured out of all the ones designed by the Sultan.
It was reproduced in monumental scale and inscribed on mosque walls, mounted on wooden panels,
applied on polychrome ceramic tiles and carved on
tomb-stones.
The hadith he chose to inscribe in this shape is:
“Şefâatî li ehli’l kebâiri min ümmetî” (My intercession is for those in my community, who commit
greater sins) .
The first example on paper (TSMK, G.Y. 425)
is dated 1122 AH / 1710 AD and the second (TSMK,
G.Y. 947) is undated. Additionally, the Sultan signed
his name on both in a couplet. The dated example
(TSMK, G.Y. 425) (Fig. 1) reads:
“İ’lâm içün ihlâsını Hân Ahmed-i yektâ
Güftârını şâh-i rüsülün eyledi tuğrâ”
(As a declaration of his sincerity, the peerless
Han Ahmed / Created this tughra out of the words
of the king of the prophets.)
The couplet bearing the Sultan’s signature in the
second example (TSM, G.Y. 947) (Fig. 2), which
comprises the same hadith, reads:
“Şefî’ al-müznibînsin ey şeh-i iklîm-i mâ evhâ
Hadîs-i pâkini Sultân Ahmed eylemiş tuğrâ”
(You are the intercessor for sinners on the day
of judgment. You, the king of the land of revelations
[şeh-i iklîm-i mâ evhâ] / Sultan Ahmed has transformed your pure hadith into a tughra.)
The expression mâ evhâ’ from the first line of
the second signature couplet is also the last word of
the tenth verse of the Surat al-Najm, which reads
“and revealed to God’s servant what he revealed.” The expression şeh-i iklîm-i mâ evhâ (king of the
country of revelations) refers to the Prophet. Mâ
evhâ’ also indicates the intimacy that took place between the Prophet and God during the miracle of the
mi’râc (the Prophet’s ascent to heaven), when Muhammad was granted entry into God’s presence. Both signature couplets refer to the Prophet as a
“king” (şeh).
Ahmed III’s Imperial Tughra Album (TSM, A.
3653), which comprises his sultanic tughra (fol. 4b)
and the other nine tughra-shaped compositions (except hadith-tughra), interestingly, opens with two examples, the texts of which are eulogies to the
Prophet alluding to kingly attributes. It is almost
as if the Sultan, in designing a personalized monogram in the shape of an imperial Ottoman tughra for
the Prophet, was symbolically associating his sultanic identity with that of the Prophet’s majesty of the
two worlds.
Fig. 1: Sultan Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra (TSMK, A. 425).
Both of Ahmed’s hadith-tughras were most probably first written on paper in soot ink to be subsequently perforated and made into stencils by an
illuminator. Those stencils were then used to transfer
each tughra on to a second sheet of paper. The same
technique was used for the production of Ahmed
III’s Imperial Tughra Album (TSM, A. 3653).
38 Master illuminators such as Ahmed-i Hazîne (d. 1761)
who worked on this album (TSM. A. 3653), and Ali
Üsküdârî (d. 1763?),
40 who worked on Ahmed III’s
Muhaqqaq-Thulth Calligraphy Album (TSM, A.
3652) must have taken part in the production of the
hadith-tughras.
Ahmed III’s dated hadith-tughra (TSM, G.Y.
425) features an innovative style of decoration consisting of stylised flowers that evoke those found in
Mughal imperial albums. They are also similar to those seen in the decoration of Ahmed III’s Fruit
Room (Yemiş Odası) at Topkapı Palace as well as
the façade decorations of his two public fountains. Shirine Hamadeh draws attention to the formation
of this innovative genre. She remarks on “the emerging cultural contact with the Mughal world, whose
aesthetics (visual and literary), and decorative styles
and techniques penetrated the Ottoman vocabulary
more than ever before” . Turgut Saner agrees with
this, seeing further Mughal inspiration in the decorative fashion of depicting flowers and fruits in
vases, something he believes to have originated
from the so-called ҫini-hane style of interior design
in 17th century Mughal India . The flowers, particularly the white rose on the right upper side of the
composition, are stylistically very close to those executed by court illuminator Ali Üsküdârî. Directly
related to the text of the composition, the hadith, the
white rose refers to the gül-i Muhammedî (the rose
of Prophet Muhammad). The lightly marbled (ebru) sheets on the borders are very similar to the
sheets produced by the master marbler Hatib Mehmed Efendi (d. 1773), in Ahmed III’s Imperial
Tughra Album (TSM, A. 3653), dated 1140/1727.
Fig. 2: Sultan Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra (TSMK, G.Y. 947)
In the Sultan’s second, undated hadith-tughra
(TSM, G.Y. 947), however, a more local innovation
is observed. On the right upper side of the tughra is
a miniature painting of the Tomb of the Prophet in
Medina. This is part of a new iconography, which
also came to the fore in illustrated copies of contemporary prayer manuals and Delâilü’l-Hayrât manuscripts.
According to Mehmed Süreyyâ Bey, the author
of the Sicill-i Osmânî (Ottoman Records), the Sultan
presented the hadith-tughra as a royal gift to the
Mausoleum of Abâ-Ayyûb al-Ansârî (popularly called “Eyüp Sultan”), the standard-bearer of the Prophet Muhammad . Ali Emîrî Efendi (d. 1924), who
has transcribed the collected poems (Dîvân) of
Ahmed III, composed a poem praising the hadithtughra. In the short introduction before the poem,
he states that he was moved to composing, following
his visit to the Mausoleum of Abâ-Ayyûb al-Ansârî
where he saw an individual panel bearing Ahmed
III’s hadith-tughra on its wall. This record indicates
that this panel of the hadith-tughra appears to have
been in situ until the first decades of the 20th century.
It was unfortunately no longer in the mausoleum during my visit in 2006.
In this poem eulogising the hadith-tughra, Ali
Emîrî Efendi also states that he saw the couplet that
comprised the sultan’s signature and he quotes its
text, which is identical to his couplet signature on
the undated hadith-tughra (TSM, G.Y. 947) . In the
poem, the signature couplet by Ahmed III is repeated after each quatrain by Ali Emîrî Efendi, forming
a so-called tesdîs (see, Appendix).
THE HADITH CONTEXT
Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra is the earliest tughrashaped composition, in which the text of a hadith of
the Prophet and the form of the imperial monogram
are united. Understanding Ahmed III’s interest in
applying the tughra form to a hadith and no other
text is crucial. Ahmed III’s interest in religious texts,
particularly in the study of hadith (‘ilm-i hadith),
was probably related to his fondness for his
extremely pious great-grand father, Ahmed I
(r. 1603‒1617)
It almost appears as if Ahmed III desired to
model himself on his namesake’s pious image. He
used the same golden axe, which had been used by
Ahmed I to lay the foundation stone of the Sultan
Ahmed Mosque in 1609, for laying the foundation
stone of his library at Topkapı Palace in 1719. He
restored and re-decorated the Hall of the Mantle of
the Prophet at Topkapı Palace, just like his greatgrand father, as well as having a common interest in
calligraphy. Ahmed I had also been interested in
copying hadiths, even though he did not practise calligraphy in general.
The Ahmed I Album (TSMK, B. 408), produced
in the imperial nakkaşhâne (court workshops), includes a lavishly illuminated opening page bearing
hadiths of the Prophet, which bears a colophon signed by Ahmed I (TSMK, B. 408, 5b); ketebehu Sultân Ahmed Hân imâmü’l Müslimîn (Sultan Ahmed Khān, leader of Muslims, wrote it). He also wrote
three hadiths in naskh script, on the margin of fol.
4a in a 15th century album in the Topkapı Palace Library (TSM, H. 2160).
Ahmed III’s interest in the study of hadith is also
manifested by the calligraphic panel he placed in the
eastern corner of his library at Topkapı Palace. The
Sultan personally inscribed one of his own poems
in the panel, which states his purpose: “I created this
corner in order to receive divine blessing (li marzati’llâh). I hope for the Prophet’s intercession for
as long as the reading of Qur’an commentaries and
hadith continues.” This panel in jali thuluth script clearly informs the reader of the function of this corner of the library and declares the sultan’s support
of the study of hadith (‘ilm-i hadith)
The act of reading hadiths, particularly from the
Bukhârî-i Sharâf, and works on the exalted status of
Prophet Muhammad, such as the Shifâ-i Sharîf by
Qâdî ‘Iyâdh (d. 1149), was considered as an importantsource of divine aid for facilitating affairs ofstate
(tehsîl-i umûr-i devlet) and means ofsuccess and victory (fevz ü nusrete medâr). Thisfact was especially
underlined in scholarly works such as İsmail Hakkı
Bursevî’s Sharh-i Nuhbat al-Fikar fi Usûl al-Hadith,
completed in 1717, a commentary on Ibn Hajar alAsqalânî’s (d. 1449) Nuhbat al-Fikar.
Besides creating a tughra-shaped composition
bearing the hadith, ‘Şefâatî li ehli’l kebâiri min ümmetî’ (My intercession is for those who commit
greater sins in my community), Ahmed III inscribed
three other hadiths on calligraphic panels: Re’sü’l
hikmeti mehâfetullâh (Fearing God is the beginning of wisdom), El cennetu tahtu’l akdâmu’l ummehâ (Paradise is under the feet of mothers), En
necâtü fi’s sıdk64 (Salvation comes with loyalty).
Ahmed III’s interest in the hadith is manifested
in various ways besides playing an important role in
the textual repertoire of his calligraphic works. Many collections and translations of hadiths (hadis
mecmûaları) were compiled in manuscript form and
dedicated to him during his reign. When the hadith
scholar Ismail al-Aclûnî (d. 1748), the author of
Keşfü’l Hafâ, came to Istanbul in 1707, he visited
Ahmed III and was appointed chief-tutor to the
Great Mosque of Damascus by the Sultan, where he
lectured for forty years. Another outstanding authority on hadith was Yûsuf Efendizâde Abdullah
Efendi (d. 1754) who dedicated his commentary on
Buhârî to Ahmed III.
The particular hadith thatAhmed III chose to inscribe in a tughra-shaped composition (My intercession is for those who commit greater sins in my
community) primarily stresses his desire for the Prophet’s intercession. İsmail Hakkı Bursevî (d. 1725),
the leading sheikh of the Celvetî sufi order and the
spiritual mentor of Ahmed III’s father Mehmed IV,
might also have been influential in his selection. Bursevî, in his Kitâbü’l Netîce discusses those who
receive intercession and adds: “even sultans envy
those saintly people.” (selâtin ona reşk eyler).
Although, following the Sultan’s design, many
tughra-shaped compositions were produced throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, none of them received as much attention as the hadith-tughra of
Ahmed III, nor were they employed in as many variations.
MONUMENTAL COPIES
OF THE HADITH-TUGHRA
As discussed by Gülru Necipoğlu, in the 16th
century, the epigraphy of Sinan’s imperial mosques
became exceedingly Qur’anic. The application of
the hadith-tughra in mosques, therefore, indicates a
departure from the exclusively Qur’anic nature of
classical Ottoman mosque epigraphy. With its complicated and hard-to-decipher composition, it also
indicates a departure from the “concern for legibility
and interest in the more easily grasped”stretching
back to mid-16th century
In the 18th century the hadith-tughra was employed in monumental scale in the earlier mosques, the
Eski Mosque in Edirne, the Great Mosque of Bursa
and the Yeni Mosque in Edessa, Greece, with no reference to Ahmed III. Its application in Edirne and
Bursa can be interpreted as the addition of a sultanic
souvenir to these two old capitals. The epigraphic
programme of both of these two 15th century mosques combined Qur’anic texts with hadiths , a textual repertoire that must have seemed suitable for
the addition of the hadith-tughra. In both mosques,
the monumental hadith-tughra stands beautifully together with the other monumental compositions that
were probably somewhat earlier. They are located
under arched windows and on all sides of the foursided pillars. Interestingly, these monumental inscriptions were not added to the later mosques in
Istanbul. This may have been to enrich the epigraphic decoration of the interior of these two old mosques. Although their original inscriptions are not
documented, modern scholars think that they did not
have calligraphic bands running over the walls when
they were originally built, since this does not appear
to have been a 15th century characteristic. Unfortunately, Doğan Kuban does not mention the epigraphic decoration. Zafer İhtiyar, who catalogued all the
epigraphic inscriptions found in the Great Mosque
of Bursa, only remarks that the mosque is like a museum of calligraphy refraining to comment on their
historical background of their production (Fig. 3)
The Hadith-tughra in the Eski Mosque, in Edirne
Two monumental hadith-tughras were inscribed
on the walls of the Eski Mosque, in Edirne. Its first
usage is on the southern wall while the second is on
the pillar in front of the minbar. The first one seems
to have been inscribed by the court calligrapher Abdullah Vefâî (d. 1728) who was responsible for the execution of the monumental ‘Allah’ and ‘waw’ (و(
inscriptions in this mosque.
a. The hadith-tughra in the Eski Mosque, Edirne.
b. The hadith-tughra in the Eski Mosque, Edirne.
c. The hadith-Tughra in the Great Mosque, Bursa.
d. The hadith-tughra in the Yeni Mosque, Vodina
Fig. 3: Four monumental copies of the hadith-tughra (P. B. Keskiner, 2011):
These two appear to be the earliest monumental
applications of the hadith-tughra. Ayverdi has noted
that one of them was signed Kâtibzâde Mustafa but
the signature was erased possibly during the major
restoration in 1863. The second, by Kâtipzâde Hasan
b. Mustafa, must have been executed following the
major restoration of the mosque in 1753, after it
was damaged in the earthquake of 1752.
The Hadith-tughra in the Great Mosque of Bursa
In 1777, Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra was inscribed on the western wall of the Great Mosque of
Bursa. This is a monumental composition measuring
6,5 x 6,5 meters, signed by Kâtibzâde Hasan b.
Mustafa al-Cezâirî and dated 1192 AH / 1777 AD.
According to Ayverdi, this composition is the earliest monumental calligraphy in the mosque, since the
rest were entirely over-painted and re-composed by
calligrapher Abdülfettah Efendi and calligrapher
Mehmed Şefik Bey, following the earthquake on
the 1st March 1855.
The Hadith-tughra in the Yeni Camii in Vodina
(Modern Edessa)
The hadith-tughra of Ahmed III also appears in
the transitional zone of the Yeni Camii in Vodina(Modern Edessa). According to Ayverdi, Vodina
Yeni Camii was built in late 16th century and briefly
restored. The hadith-tughra appears to have been
added to the pendentives of the mosque during the
redecoration of the interior, possibly in the first half
of the 19th century.
Fig. 4: Copies of the hadith-tughra on calligraphic panels (P. B. Keskiner, 2011)
The increasing number of copies indicate a common and continued appreciation for Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra. No other tughra-shaped composition
attracted so much attention, nor was another copied
so many times. The chronological list of copies of
the hadith-tughra on calligraphic panels I have become aware of is as follows:
COPIES OF THE HADITH-TUGHRA ON CALLIGRAPHIC PANELS
The chronological list of the copies of Ahmed
III’s hadith-tughra executed on panels is as follows
(Fig. 4):
a. Panel signed by Seyyid Hakim, dated
1181/1767, private collection, İstanbul.
Executed during the reign of Mustafa III,
Ahmed III’s son, it is the earliest identical copy of
the hadith-tughra known to us.
b. Panel signed by Ahmed Râzî Efendi, dated
1191 AH / 1776 AD, private collection, İstanbul.
The hadith-tughra executed by Ahmed Râzî
Efendi, a member of the scribal office of the court,
and dated 1191 AH / 1776 AD, shows the ongoing
interest in Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra throughout the
18th century. A particularly interesting feature of this
work is the Turkish quatrain located to the upper
right side of the hadith-tughra. The quatrain is about
the calligrapher’s willingness of receiving the Prophet’s intercession. Until the end of the 18th century,
intercession-seeking poems were combined and presented with the hadith-tughra. The poem reads:
“Buyurdun Ya Resûlallâh Kebâir ehline müjde
Umarım ki benim cürm-i siyâhım olmaya perde
Ola gufrânıma işbu hadîsin tuğra-i fermân
Şefâat eyle yarın varıcak Râzî’ye mahşerde”
(You have given good news to the great sinners
O, Messenger of God! / I hope my sins shall not
be… / May this hadith of yours be the command for
my forgiveness / Have your Intercession on Râzî on
the day of judgment)
And the signature reads:
“Ârzû-i şefâat ile hemân / Yazdı tuğrâda resm-i
mümtâzı
Serhalîfe-i ocâğ-ı fâruka / Bende el-Hâc Ahmed Râzî 1191”
(Desiring the intercession of the Prophet, serhalîfe of the ocak servant Hajj Ahmed Râzî, designed
the honourable sign in tughra shape.)
c. The hadith-tughra framed by a poem, by
Vâsıf-ı Enderûnî, 18th century (TSM, H. 2143)
d. The hadith-tughra in Gold, 18th century, private collection, İstanbul
Another outstanding copy of Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra in a private collection in Istanbul. Although it is not signed, the tughra of Selim III found
on the frame indicates that it was produced during
his reign, and probably at his order.
e. Calligraphic panel, unsigned, undated, Turgut
Bezmen Collection, 18th century, İstanbul.
f. The hilye-panel bearing the hadith-tughra,
signed by Sâlih Recâî Efendi, dated 1211 / 1796, private collection, İstanbul.
The hadith-tughra of Ahmed III was not only
used as a stand-alone composition, but was also utilised as the centre of some hilye-panels in the 19th
century. Of these, a hilye-panel signed by Sâlih
Recâî Efendi in a private collection in Istanbul, is
noteworthy.
In this piece, the hadith-tughra of Ahmed III has
been placed in the centre of the composition, surrounded by the hilye text, which consists of a description of the Prophet. This composite piece enables us
to see Ahmed III’s impact on the transition of the
tughra from a stamp on stately documents and coins
to a decorative device on hilye-panels. With regard
to its text, that of the hadith-tughra was incorporated into the layout and design of the hilye-panel. Undoubtedly, in this context the hadith-tughra had been
transformed into a source of grace.
g. The hadith-tughra in the Collection of Edwin
Binney 3rd
,second half of the 18th century.
Another unsigned copy of the hadith-tughra,
formerly in the Collection of Edwin Binney 3rd
, is
in Harvard Art Museums.
h. Calligraphic Panel Signed Ahmed Nâilî
Efendi
88 (d. 1812), İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal
Collection of the Istanbul University Library
(IUNEK, IM. 85).
Another composite calligraphic creation, in
which Ahmed’s hadith-tughra was employed is a
thuluth-naskh panel by Ahmed Nâilî Efendi, in the
İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal Collection of the Istanbul University Library (İÜNEK IM. 85). In this
instance, however, the imitation of the hadith-tughra
is placed at the top half of the composition, as it
would have been on an official tughra.
i. An unsigned hadith-tughra, early 19th century,
private collection, İstanbul
In addition to high quality imitations of the hadith-tughra, copies of average quality were also executed by amateur calligraphers, mostly by members
of dervish-lodges. An unsigned 19th century panel
bearing Ahmed’s hadith-tughra is found in a private
collection in Istanbul. This piece, lacking in calligraphic quality and proportion, is important in terms
of understanding the importance of the hadith-tughra
to the common people. To my knowledge, no other
tughra-shaped composition was so commonly used.
j. The hadith-tughra signed by Hâfız Mustafa,
dated 1806. A Copy of the hadith-tughra of Sultan
Ahmed III, Signed by Hâfız Mustafa better-known as
Enderûnî, dated 1221 AH / 1806 AD, private collection, Istanbul calligraphic panel, signed Hâfız Mustafa, sold by Maçka Mezat on 16th Dec. 1990,
Lot:165.
The production of copies of the hadith-tughra
of Ahmed III seems to have continued throughout
the entire reign of Selim III. A later example from
his reign is another panel of the hadith-tughra signed by Hâfız Mustafa, dated 1806.
k. The hadith-tughra panel signed Recâî, dated
1245 AH / 1829 AD.
l. Calligraphic panel, El-Hac Yusuf el-Tevkiî,
1247 AH / 1831 AD - İstanbul University Library,
İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal Collection, inv no.
2431.
m. A hadith-tughra panel signed Sâdullah, dated
1266 AH / 1849 AD, private collection, İstanbul.
n. The hadith-tughra panel signed by Rıfkı,
dated 1323 AH / 1905 AD; The David Khalili Collection, London (KC: CAL 8).
The copy of the hadith-tughra by Recâî Efendi
was itself reproduced in the early 20th century, as a
decoupage. This latter work is today in the Khalili
Collection (KC: CAL 8); it is signed by Rıfkı and
dated 1323 AH / 1905 AD.
o. Calligraphic panel, signed İsmail Hakkı Altunbezer, dated 1364 AH / 1945 AD, İstanbul, private collection.
 |
Fig. 5: The Tekfursaray tile bearing the hadith-tughra in the Kara Ağalar Mosque (P. B. Keskiner, 2010). |
THE HADITH-TUGHRA ON TILES
The hadith-tughra was applied on tiles between 1725‒30, in the Tekfursarayı kilns, in Istanbul. This appears to be the earliest application of a tughra on ceramic. The first application consists of six tiles located in the Kara Ağalar Mosque at Topkapı Palace in 1726 (Fig. 5).The second is a single tile located on the western wall of the Damad İbrahim Pasha Mosque in Nevşehir (Fig. 6).
Although it is undated, it was possibly produced in 1727, during the construction of the mosque. Thethird, in the Nevşehir Museum, was originally located in the Nar Köyü Mosque in Nevşehir, built in 1728, by Damad Ibrahim Pasha’s chamberlain Osman Agha. Further discussion on these tiles can be found in my paper regarding Ahmed III’s calligraphy on Tekfur Sarayı tiles presented at the 14th International Congress of Turkish Art.
THE HADITH-TUGHRA ON TOMB-STONES
Şehid Yakub Bey’s tombstone, dated 1182 / 1768, in the Eski Topkapı Cemetery, is the earliest
tombstone bearing the hadith-tughra known to me. By the early 19th century, the hadith-tughra began
to appear particularly on the tombstones of leading members of the imperial council (Hâcegân-ı Dîvânı Hümâyûn). For instance, the hadith-tughra is found on the tombstone of Said Efendi (Hâcegân-ı Divân-ı Hümâyûn’dan sâbıkan Haremeyn kesedârı), dated 1223 AH / 1807 AD, in the Ayrılık Çeşmesi
Cemetery, Istanbul. A second example bearing the hadith-tughra is the tombstone of Esseyyid Hafız
Halil Efendi (Hâcegân-ı Dîvân-ı Hümâyûndan sâbıkan şıkk-ı evvel mektubçusu), dated 1239 AH /
1823 AD, in the same cemetery (Fig. 7).
Fig. 6: The Tekfursaray tile in the Damat İbrahim Pasha Mosque in Nevşehir (P. B. Keskiner, 2011).
a. The 19th century tombstone bearing the hadith-tughra of Sultan Ahmed III, the Mausoleum of
Mustafa Devâtî, İstanbul.
b. The 19th century tombstone bearing the hadith-tughra of Sultan Ahmed III, the Eski Topkapı
Cemetary, İstanbul.
d. The 19th century tombstone bearing the hadith-tughra of Sultan Ahmed III, the Eyüp Sultan
Cemetery, İstanbul.
Fig. 7: Table of tombstones bearing the hadith-tughra (P. B. Keskiner, 2012).
The fashion of uniting a tughra with a hadith
continued throughout the 19th century. Hadiths, praising the qualities of the ideal sultan were particularly
favoured. The hadith, “Es-Sultânu’l âdilu’l mutevâzıu zıllıllâhu ve rumhuhu fi’l ‛ardi yurfau lehu
‛amelu seb‛ine sıddıykan” (The just and humble
sultan is the shadow and mercy of God on the earth,
seventy pious people’s good deeds fly his banner),
for example, began to be written on the right upper
side of tughra panels as it appears in five lines, on right upper side of the panel bearing the tughra of
Sultan Mahmud II (TSM, the Harem 8/323), signed
by Mahmud Celâleddînü’l Üveysî, dated 1223 AH /
1807 AD. An identical panel bearing the tughra of
Sultan Mahmud II, signed by Mahmud Celâleddîn,
dated 1225 AH / 1810 AD, is in the Abdul Rahman
Al Owais Collection of Islamic Calligraphy, in Sharjah.
CONCLUSION
Tughra-shaped compositions flourished throughout the 18th century the hands of the administrative
elite following the rise of civil bureaucrats (kalemiye) to higher ranks. The main impulsion was calligrapher Sultan Ahmed III’s profound interest and
personal involvement in designing tughras. Particularly with his hadith-tughra, Ahmed III managed to
unite two vital concepts in one calligraphic composition: the Prophet and the Sultan; the religion and
the state. Although many tughra-shaped compositions of a great variety of religious and secular textual
contents were designed, none of them became as popular as Ahmed III’s hadith-tughra.
APPENDIX
Ali Emîrî Efendi’s poem, praising Ahmed III’s
couplet signature, reads:
“Üçüncü hazret-i Sultan Ahmed Hân-ı Cem-pâye
Ubûdiyet edüb izhâr ey kevneyne pirâye
Kelâm-ı akdesin resm eylese tuğrâ-i garrâye
Bu vâlâ beyti de tahrir kılmış zîr-i tuğrâye
Şefi’ü’l-müznibînsin ey şeh-i iklîm-i mâ evhâ
Hadîs-i pâkini sultân Ahmed eylemiş tuğrâ”
The most exalted sultan, Ahmed III, exalted in
station as King Jem / Respectfully ready to serve the
lord of the two worlds / Has composed (Oh Muhammad!) your most exalted words in the form of an illustrious tughra / And has penned this supreme
couplet under the tughra / ‘You are the intercessor
for sinners on the day of judgment, You, the king of
the country of mâ evhâ / Sultan Ahmed has transformed your pure hadith into a tughra’.
“O sultân-ı cihân el-hak mahâret âşikâr etmiş
Hutût erbâbı hayretle tasvîr-i cidâr etmiş
Cihâna levha-i garrâ-i yektâ yâdigâr etmiş
Bu şâhâne kelâm-ı pâki anda derkenâr etmiş
Şefi’ü’l-müznibînsin ey şeh-i iklâm-i mâ evhâ
Hadîs-i pâkini sultân Ahmed eylemiş tuğrâ”
The sultan of the universe has indeed shown his
giftedness / The masters of calligraphy have all been
astonished by his work / He has left a unique and
supreme panel behind as a souvenir to the world /
And has noted down these kingly words to the edge
of this work / ‘You are the intercessor for sinners on
the day of judgment, You, the king of the country of
mâ evhâ / Sultan Ahmed has transformed your pure
hadith into a tughra’
“Mülûkî nüshadır ta’zîm ile ey dil ziyâret kıl
Yazılmış bak ne san’atlı medâd zerle dikkat kıl
Hadîsin aşkına ey fahr-i âlem lütf ü şefkat kıl
Bu abd-i nâtüvâne hem o sultâne şefâat kıl
Şefi’ü’l-müznibînsin ey şeh-i iklîm-i mâ evhâ
Hadîs-i pâkini sultân Ahmed eylemiş tuğrâ”
Oh my heart! Do exalt and visit this kingly work
/ Pay attention to the gold that it has been written in
/ You…97 The pride of the universe, have mercy, for
the sake of your hadith / Do have mercy to this poor
slave of yours and the sultan / ‘You are the intercessor for sinners on the day of judgment. You, the king
of the country of mâ evhâ / Sultan Ahmed has transformed your pure hadith into a tughra’.
“Bu levha rûhunu şâd eylemişdir Şeyh u Yâkût’un
Yanında kıymeti kemter kalur elmâs ü yâkûtun
Gelüb sürsün yüzün ta’zim ile sükkân-i nâsûtun
Ziyâret eylesün kerrûbiyânı milk-i nâsûtun
Şefi’ü’l-müznibînsin ey şeh-i iklîm-i mâ evhâ
Hadîs-i pâkini sultân Ahmed eylemiş tuğrâ”
This is the panel which rejoiced the souls of
Sheikh98 and Yaqut
99 / In comparison, diamond and
ruby would be of less value / The residents of the
land of humanity shall come and rub their face to it
/ The most exalted angels of the heavens shall visit
it / ‘You are the intercessor for sinners on the day of
judgment. You, the king of the country of mâ evhâ /
Sultan Ahmed has transformed your pure hadith into
a tughra’.
