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.

    c. The 19th century tombstone bearing the hadith-tughra of Sultan Ahmed III, the Eyüp Sultan Cemetery, 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’.