Red Crescent Medal (Hilali Ahmer Madalyasi)

The distinction between decorations and orders is somewhat vague, except that most orders imply a membership into a group. In the case of most Ottoman orders, as with many European orders, that membership was limited in number. Decorations have no such limitations, and are awarded purely to recognize the merit or accomplishments of the recipient.

Ottoman decorations, like the campaign medals, often came in multiple classes. In theory, the higher classes represented additional recognition after earning the lower classes. Unlike the campaign medals, the higher classes were not restricted for officers and high ranking civilians, but in practice the awards of gold Liyakat, Imtiyaz and Sanayi medals was extremely limited. They would not have been conferred on anyone of lower status without that person simultaneously being given a higher station. The military medals - the Liyakat and Imtiyaz medals, were awarded in a specific order of precedence. The lowest was the silver Liyakat, followed by the silver Imtiyaz, then the gold Liyakat and gold Imtiyaz. The War Medal of 1915 ranked below the silver Liyakat.

Statute ribbons for all of the Ottoman decorations are well documented, but it is not uncommon to find examples where the ribbons have been replaced. There also appears to have been some substitution during World War I, with the Sanayi medal being awarded in place of the Liyakat. German medal bars have been seen with the Sanayi medal planchet suspended on a Liyakat ribbon, with the crossed sabers device of the Liyakat medal attached to the ribbon.

Mavi Boncuk |


 

Paintings in William Simpson's fine The Seat of War in the East, second series.


Red Crescent Medal (Hilali Ahmer Madalyasi)

Instituted in 1903 to reward services to the Red Crescent (the equivalent of the Red Cross in Islamic countries). The medal is round, 29 mm. in diameter, with a red crescent facing left on a white field enameled in the center of the obverse. Below this is a sprig of laurel, and above it the inscription "Humane Assistance". The uniquely shaped suspension bar bears the tughra of Sultan Mehmed Reshad V below a white enameled bar that reads "Ottoman Red Crescent Association." There is also a bar at the top of the ribbon, enameled white, which is sometimes seen with year designations on the bar, indicating years served with the Red Crescent. This medal came in three classes, gold, silver and bronze. There was also an oak leaf device worn on the ribbons of all three classes (white with a narrow red center stripe), but as this was a unique practice among Ottoman medals it is not clear whether this represented an additional award or a higher level within each class. Recommendations for award of the two lower classes were made by the Executive Committee of the Red Crescent, but only the Sultan himself could recommend a recipient of the first class. This medal continued to be awarded after World War I, until the establishment of the Republic.