These descriptions used in the Ottoman Sailor and Janissary sanjaks have different interpretations. There is a common point where they meet; The first is the analogy with the forked-headed sword of Caliph Ali, called “Zulfiqar”. This type of sword, the like of which we have not seen in the Turkish sword structure, is not among the early Turkish findings.

It is used as a description in Bulgarian and Hungarian findings. It is difficult to say for sure whether this sword structure was used in our Turkish blacksmithing tradition or just because it was Caliph Ali’s sword. It is a fact that when we look at the findings that have survived until today, there are very few examples of this sword structure. The depiction on the starboard is quite different from the known Zülfikar.

The fork part of the sword is not the tip, there is no bifurcation on the side, the fork is not long or short. The structure of the sword is shown as two separate sword blades, starting from the root. This fork mouth is quite open. The easily understood part of the description is that the handle part is a two-headed or twin Büke (Dragon).

This imaginary creature, also called Ebren (universe); It describes “evolution, twisting”; It describes “the cycle and change of every part in the universe”. For Turks, it is the fiction of what is invisible, what is on earth and in the sky, what surrounds us. (I will talk about this beta in detail in another article.)
Second; This description is a compass. Maritime means compass.

It is very necessary both in sea battles and in navigating the seas. Knowing your way, finding it, drawing and interpreting a map is essential for measuring distance and duration. It is balance.. This may be the reason why these flags are included in many Sailor Flags, including Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha’s.

Looking at the top image and other starboard images, it is obvious that such a wide prong is an exaggeration and that it would be difficult to have it on a sword, but this angle can be achieved with a compass. It is very difficult to use this structure in the sword and to swing it while keeping it balanced. The large round part in the middle of the image, written with the appearance of a star, cannot be seen in a sword structure. This structure is located at the angle root of the compasses.

The sword depiction on the Janissary Sanjaks is clearly a sword and has a Zülfikar structure. The same depiction also appears on the regular flags of the navy. The depiction on the banners of the Sultan and the Naval Pashas is as shown in the upper image. Are there any drawings similar to this among the depictions of Turks as an ongun? Yes there is.

On the Turkish inscribed rock found in Bömbögör (Bombogor) in Mongolia, there are tamgas of the tribes who came to the kurgan of the Turkish convoy who was about to fly. Among these tamgas, there are Turkish tribe tamgas that are very similar to the depictions on the Ottoman Sanjaks. Some of these are single-edged swords with bent handles and knobs, while others are forked and radically angled swords.

When we look at the structures of the description used in the Ottoman Sanjaks, we see that both interpretations can be correct. This depiction must have been intended as both a sword and a compass. While the compass appearance predominates in some depictions, the sword structure stands out in others. Considering that both of them were very important for Ottoman sailors, it would not be wrong to think that this description was structured as an ogun.

A sword like Zulfiqar and an object like a compass seem to be very valuable, powerful and exemplary gifts for the Muslim land and naval navies.

Kürşad BAYTOK

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