Ottoman War Medal

[OttomanSipahi]

İ am a proud owner of a Ottoman War Medal. İn the West it is known as the 'Gallipoli Star', the Germans call it 'Eiserner Halbmond'. But the official name is Ottoman War Medal (Osmanlı Harp Madalyası), issued in 1915 by Sultan Mehmet Reşad. İt was given to Ottoman, German and Austro-Hungarian soldiers who displayed courage. İt is not in good condition but the paint is still original. This one was produced by the Darphane-i Amire (Imperial Mint). There are other variants in silver also produced in Germany.

[michaeldr]

Welcome to the Great War Forum

There is a very good paper which includes details on this medal; The Aesthetics of War: Ottoman Martial Iconography Under German Influence.
It is by Edhem Eldem, who is Professor of History in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Boğaziçi University and International Chair of Turkish and Ottoman History at Collège de France. 
[The text was delivered as a keynote lecture on September 7, 2019 on the occasion of the international conference “Fighting under the Same Banner: Memories from the Ottoman Theatre of the Great War.” It has been edited for publication, with the addition of footnotes.] 

[RussT]

Thanks for posting.

For interest, were they named or otherwise marked e.g. on the reverse to identify the recipient?

Regards

Russ

[OttomanSipahi]

1 minute ago, michaeldr said:

Welcome to the Great War Forum

There is a very good paper which includes details on this medal; The Aesthetics of War: Ottoman Martial Iconography Under German Influence.
It is by Edhem Eldem, who is Professor of History in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Boğaziçi University and International Chair of Turkish and Ottoman History at Collège de France. 
[The text was delivered as a keynote lecture on September 7, 2019 on the occasion of the international conference “Fighting under the Same Banner: Memories from the Ottoman Theatre of the Great War.” It has been edited for publication, with the addition of footnotes.] 

Thank you sir! Will look into that.

[OttomanSipahi]

1 minute ago, RussT said:

Thanks for posting.

For interest, were they named or otherwise marked e.g. on the reverse to identify the recipient?

Regards

Russ

İ am not aware of names or any other markings but these were issued by a ferman, a decree by the Sultan which the name was mentioned. For the German made medals there are markings of the manufacturer.

[michaeldr]

 

Re-reading Prof Eldem's article I cannot find any reference to the medal itself being named or engraved, however, they were issued with a document (from Enver Pasha) which seems to have been personalised:- “It came with many radical innovations, such as the replacement of the traditional imperial berat, a diploma bearing the sultan’s tughra, with a vesika, a document signed by the deputy commander in chief, Enver Pasha. The text of the document was also innovative: instead of the flowery officialese of previous berats, it used a very demotic style, addressing the recipient directly, and using the intimate “sen” (thou) to create a sense of national communion.”

Edited 29 April , 2023 by michaeldr

[Hotaru]

There are 2 books written about the topic

by Demir Erman (Turkey):

The Ottoman-Turkish Medals and Orders

The Turkish War Medal

I could send you his email if you like.

Cheers,

Frank