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Any serious research into the historical development of banners is hindered by the scarcity and heterogeneity of sources (archeological, iconographical, literary, etc.). Problems arise from the identification of both finials and streamers or other pieces of cloth attached to the staffs. Shapes and functions of standards, banners, and badges from pre-Islamic Persia until now undoubtedly show signs of continuity, particularly in the use of astral symbols. <ref>Ackerman, “Standards,” pp. 2771ff.</ref> Contradictory views have been voiced about the appearance and shape of the Shir o khurshid (lion and sun) motif in iconography and on the cloth or finials of standards. <ref>a few hints in Ackerman, “Standards,” pp. 2778ff.; ʿA. Nayyer-e Nuri, “Beyraq;” Ḏoka, “Tarikhcha;” H. Nayyer-e Nuri, “Ḏayl”.</ref> Although it became the Iranian national armorial bearings, it was not the most frequent emblem to appear on religious standards or Shiʿite ʿalam banners.
Any serious research into the historical development of banners is hindered by the scarcity and heterogeneity of sources (archeological, iconographical, literary, etc.). Problems arise from the identification of both finials and streamers or other pieces of cloth attached to the staffs. Shapes and functions of standards, banners, and badges from pre-Islamic Persia until now undoubtedly show signs of continuity, particularly in the use of astral symbols. <ref>Ackerman, “Standards,” pp. 2771ff.</ref> Contradictory views have been voiced about the appearance and shape of the Shir o khurshid (lion and sun) motif in iconography and on the cloth or finials of standards. <ref>a few hints in Ackerman, “Standards,” pp. 2778ff.; ʿA. Nayyer-e Nuri, “Beyraq;” Ḏoka, “Tarikhcha;” H. Nayyer-e Nuri, “Ḏayl”.</ref> Although it became the Iranian national armorial bearings, it was not the most frequent emblem to appear on religious standards or Shiʿite ʿalam banners.
==Alam in Muharram Rituals==  
==Alam in Muharram Rituals==  
Banners of some kind seem to have been used in [[Muharram]] ceremonies under the [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buyids Buyids]. <ref>Calmard, Culte, pp. 103, 257, n. 257.</ref> In the popular Persian and Turkish literature relating to the drama of [[Karbala]] drums and banners (tabl va ʿalam) are an attribute of all the historical or legendary avengers of Hussainn’s blood. <ref>ibid., pp. 230ff., and below.</ref> Drums, banners, and royal ensigns were also distinctive signs of dervish orders (e.g., the Kazeruniya had their own neshana, ʿalam, va nawbat; ibid., p. 192). Tuq banners were used by religious story tellers (maddahan; see Kashefi, Fotuwat-nama-ye soltani, ed. M. J. Mahjub, Tehran, 1350 Sh./1971, pp. 288ff.). Under the Āq Qoyunlū, ʿalam banners and drums from [[Imamzadas]] were carried by ʿolamaʾ and ʿalam banners and tuqs by dervishes in a civil and military review in Fars. <ref>Jalal-al-din Davani, ʿArz-nama, ed, Ī. Afshar, MDAT 3/3, 1335 Sh./1956, p. 47.</ref> With the advent of the [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids Safavids] <ref>907-1145/1501-1732.</ref> and the establishment of [[Twelver Shiʿism]] as the state religion, banners came to be used extensively in Muharram ceremonies and other rituals. Only from the Safavid period onward is it possible to summarize the formal functional evolution of religious ʿalam banners; first, however, certain preliminary remarks need to be made. <ref>FIGURES 22-24.</ref>
Banners of some kind seem to have been used in [[Muharram]] ceremonies under the [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buyids Buyids]. <ref>Calmard, Culte, pp. 103, 257, n. 257.</ref> In the popular Persian and Turkish literature relating to the drama of [[Karbala]] drums and banners (tabl va ʿalam) are an attribute of all the historical or legendary avengers of Hussainn’s blood. <ref>ibid., pp. 230ff., and below.</ref> Drums, banners, and royal ensigns were also distinctive signs of dervish orders.<ref>e.g., the Kazeruniya had their own neshana, ʿalam, va nawbat; ibid., p. 192.<br /></ref> Tuq banners were used by religious story tellers.<ref>maddahan; see Kashefi, Fotuwat-nama-ye soltani, ed. M. J. Mahjub, Tehran, 1350 Sh./1971, pp. 288ff.</ref> Under the Āq Qoyunlū, ʿalam banners and drums from [[Imamzadas]] were carried by ʿolamaʾ and ʿalam banners and tuqs by dervishes in a civil and military review in Fars. <ref>Jalal-al-din Davani, ʿArz-nama, ed, Ī. Afshar, MDAT 3/3, 1335 Sh./1956, p. 47.</ref> With the advent of the [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids Safavids] <ref>907-1145/1501-1732.</ref> and the establishment of [[Twelver Shiʿism]] as the state religion, banners came to be used extensively in Muharram ceremonies and other rituals. Only from the Safavid period onward is it possible to summarize the formal functional evolution of religious ʿalam banners; first, however, certain preliminary remarks need to be made. <ref>FIGURES 22-24.</ref>


Carried in procession, ʿalams are hardly recognizable, since they are loaded with ex-votos (sing. [[nadhr]], dakhil) similar to those attached to sacred trees, and ornaments; these include pieces of cloth (cashmere shawls, ribbons, etc.); precious or eye-catching objects such as mirrors, jewels, and watches; large feathers, vases with flowers and greenery, rose water bottles, lamps, lanterns, and candles burning in tulip shaped glasses (lala). The banners are called many names besides ʿalam. The word tuq, although said now to be confined to Qom (Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 277), was used in [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Qajar-dynasty Qajar] times in Azerbaijan, <ref>described in Lassy, Mysteries, p. 112.</ref> Tehran (Van Vloten, “Drapeaux;” Mostawfi, Sharh), and probably elsewhere. Beyraq seems still to be used to designate various kinds of religious banners. <ref>e.g. Lassy, loc. cit.; Homayuni, Farhang, pp. 400ff.; here, Figures 25-27.</ref> The Mongol term kotal also applied to specific kinds of banners, <ref>Calmard, “Etendards,” pp. 37ff.</ref> which may be known under other names. <ref>e.g. the ʿalam e rakhtpush formerly used in Qom, Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 275.</ref>
Carried in procession, ʿalams are hardly recognizable, since they are loaded with ex-votos (sing. [[nadhr]], dakhil) similar to those attached to sacred trees, and ornaments; these include pieces of cloth (cashmere shawls, ribbons, etc.); precious or eye-catching objects such as mirrors, jewels, and watches; large feathers, vases with flowers and greenery, rose water bottles, lamps, lanterns, and candles burning in tulip shaped glasses (lala). The banners are called many names besides ʿalam. The word tuq, although said now to be confined to Qom<ref>Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 277.<br /></ref>, was used in [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Qajar-dynasty Qajar] times in Azerbaijan, <ref>described in Lassy, Mysteries, p. 112.</ref> Tehran (Van Vloten, “Drapeaux;” Mostawfi, Sharh), and probably elsewhere. Beyraq seems still to be used to designate various kinds of religious banners. <ref>e.g. Lassy, loc. cit.; Homayuni, Farhang, pp. 400ff.; here, Figures 25-27.</ref> The Mongol term kotal also applied to specific kinds of banners, <ref>Calmard, “Etendards,” pp. 37ff.</ref> which may be known under other names. <ref>e.g. the ʿalam e rakhtpush formerly used in Qom, Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 275.</ref>


Various kinds of banners and pennants are used in Muharram ceremonies; each social group such as senf (guild), [[hayʾat]]-e madhabi (religious organization), and mahalla (town or village quarter), owns at least one, symbolizing its own identity. An ʿalam banner as wide as a street and provided with many staffs and spearheads was exhibited in Tehran at least until recently at the Abanbar qahwa-khana. Colors used in banners include black, the so-called color of the Prophet, but also that of the Mahdi and the [[ʿAbbasids]]: blue or purple, the traditional color of mourning; green, the ʿAlid color from [[Imam Riza]]’s time and the color of Islam; white (even though it was connected with the [[Umayyads]] and the [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fatimid-dynasty Fatimids]; <ref>Van Vloten, “Drapeaux,” pl. V.</ref> yellow (ibid.); and red, which is connected with Mahdist movements and the cult of martyrs and is the color of Imam Hussain’s banner. There was a progressive restriction in the use of red, since it is the color of the villain’s garments in the [[taʿziya]] and was used by the Kharijites on their banners; in India, Shiʿites avoid it because it is the Sunnis’ color. <ref>Ali, Observations, p. 37.</ref>
Various kinds of banners and pennants are used in Muharram ceremonies; each social group such as senf (guild), [[hayʾat]]-e madhabi (religious organization), and mahalla (town or village quarter), owns at least one, symbolizing its own identity. An ʿalam banner as wide as a street and provided with many staffs and spearheads was exhibited in Tehran at least until recently at the Abanbar qahwa-khana. Colors used in banners include black, the so-called color of the Prophet, but also that of the Mahdi and the [[ʿAbbasids]]: blue or purple, the traditional color of mourning; green, the ʿAlid color from [[Imam Riza]]’s time and the color of Islam; white (even though it was connected with the [[Umayyads]] and the [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fatimid-dynasty Fatimids]; <ref>Van Vloten, “Drapeaux,” pl. V.</ref> yellow<ref>ibid.<br /></ref>; and red, which is connected with Mahdist movements and the cult of martyrs and is the color of Imam Hussain’s banner. There was a progressive restriction in the use of red, since it is the color of the villain’s garments in the [[taʿziya]] and was used by the Kharijites on their banners; in India, Shiʿites avoid it because it is the Sunnis’ color. <ref>Ali, Observations, p. 37.</ref>


Tuq or ʿalam banners are taken out of their respective [[tekyeh]]s only before noon on the day of [[Ashura]]. <ref>Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 278.</ref> Under [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Naser-al-Din-Shah Naser-al-din Shah] the ornamentation and departure of the royal ʿalam from the andarun to the tekyeh was made with great ceremony. <ref>Moʿayyer-al-mamalek, Yaddashtha, p. 105.</ref> Influential preachers ([[rawza]]-khan) had their emblematic ʿalam banners. <ref>Mostawfi, Sharh, I, pp. 282ff.</ref> Heavy banners needed to be carried by strong bearers (ʿalam-kesh, tuqchi, beyraqdar), generally belonging to a local [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zur-kana zur-khana] or “house of strength,” who were surrounded by attendants (patuqi). In Qom, these patuqis protect the bearer from the pressure of the crowd eager to touch or kiss the spearhead of the tuq. Various kinds of banners were used in contests between young men in towns and villages. <ref>e.g., Calmard, “Etendards”, p. 36.</ref> Jugglers of banners (ʿalam-bazan, patuqi) exhibited their skills in Muharram ceremonies. <ref>e.g., Calmard, Monde iranien 2, 1974, pp. 80ff., 114ff.</ref>
Tuq or ʿalam banners are taken out of their respective [[tekyeh]]s only before noon on the day of [[Ashura]]. <ref>Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 278.</ref> Under [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Naser-al-Din-Shah Naser-al-din Shah] the ornamentation and departure of the royal ʿalam from the andarun to the tekyeh was made with great ceremony. <ref>Moʿayyer-al-mamalek, Yaddashtha, p. 105.</ref> Influential preachers ([[rawza]]-khan) had their emblematic ʿalam banners. <ref>Mostawfi, Sharh, I, pp. 282ff.</ref> Heavy banners needed to be carried by strong bearers (ʿalam-kesh, tuqchi, beyraqdar), generally belonging to a local [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zur-kana zur-khana] or “house of strength,” who were surrounded by attendants (patuqi). In Qom, these patuqis protect the bearer from the pressure of the crowd eager to touch or kiss the spearhead of the tuq. Various kinds of banners were used in contests between young men in towns and villages. <ref>e.g., Calmard, “Etendards”, p. 36.</ref> Jugglers of banners (ʿalam-bazan, patuqi) exhibited their skills in Muharram ceremonies. <ref>e.g., Calmard, Monde iranien 2, 1974, pp. 80ff., 114ff.</ref>
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(5) It is difficult to know exactly when ʿalam or tuq banners lost their military function to take on an exclusively religious one. The politico-military connection of the term ʿalam was retained in such expressions as amir ʿalam/mir ʿalam, which became an honorific title. <ref>cf. the territorial connotation of sanjaq in Turkish; see also H. Bowen, “Bayraqdar,” EI2 I, pp. 1134-35.</ref>
(5) It is difficult to know exactly when ʿalam or tuq banners lost their military function to take on an exclusively religious one. The politico-military connection of the term ʿalam was retained in such expressions as amir ʿalam/mir ʿalam, which became an honorific title. <ref>cf. the territorial connotation of sanjaq in Turkish; see also H. Bowen, “Bayraqdar,” EI2 I, pp. 1134-35.</ref>
==Alam under Safavid==
==Alam under Safavid==
The most striking feature of Safavid ʿalam banners is the “extraordinary length” of their staffs (Della Valle); their crests were relatively small and mostly made of metal. Besides the tuq device and its variants, the pancha was widely used <ref>e.g., Chardin, De Bruijn.</ref> and eventually became the equivalent of the Turkish crescent; it figured on standards, religious and civil monuments, “national” flags, etc. Crests included “scissors” (probably a Dhu’l-faqar device), cross-like emblems, rings, lions, two cardboard dragons (variant of the tuq device; Oléarius, with drawing), a kind of tower with four scimitars (ibid.), and a horseshoe which allegedly belonged to ʿAbbas ([[Muhammad]]’s uncle according to Oléarius, more probably ʿAbbas b. ʿAli). There was a tendency toward a shortening of the staff and a lengthening of the spearhead blades of the tuq device, which could reach considerable size. There was also a multiplication of the spearhead blades above the ʿalam banner’s cross-bar.
The most striking feature of Safavid ʿalam banners is the “extraordinary length” of their staffs (Della Valle); their crests were relatively small and mostly made of metal. Besides the tuq device and its variants, the pancha was widely used <ref>e.g., Chardin, De Bruijn.</ref> and eventually became the equivalent of the Turkish crescent; it figured on standards, religious and civil monuments, “national” flags, etc. Crests included “scissors” (probably a Dhu’l-faqar device), cross-like emblems, rings, lions, two cardboard dragons (variant of the tuq device; Oléarius, with drawing), a kind of tower with four scimitars<ref>ibid.<br /></ref>, and a horseshoe which allegedly belonged to ʿAbbas ([[Muhammad]]’s uncle according to Oléarius, more probably ʿAbbas b. ʿAli). There was a tendency toward a shortening of the staff and a lengthening of the spearhead blades of the tuq device, which could reach considerable size. There was also a multiplication of the spearhead blades above the ʿalam banner’s cross-bar.
==Components of ‘Alam==
==Components of ‘Alam==
In its most common shape, an ʿalam banner used in modern Shiʿite rituals in Iran comprises essentially three parts: <ref>Figure 24.</ref>
In its most common shape, an ʿalam banner used in modern Shiʿite rituals in Iran comprises essentially three parts: <ref>Figure 24.</ref>
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(3) various metal objects on the cross-bar; these include animal representations (goats, peacocks, doves, hybrids such as birds with human heads and fish tails, etc.), other metal objects such as models of mosques, and small bells hanging from the spear-heads.  
(3) various metal objects on the cross-bar; these include animal representations (goats, peacocks, doves, hybrids such as birds with human heads and fish tails, etc.), other metal objects such as models of mosques, and small bells hanging from the spear-heads.  
==Alam in Persian Folklore==  
==Alam in Persian Folklore==  
Both military and ritual uses of ʿalam banners have given rise to sayings and proverbs. ʿAlam be khun charb kardan “to anoint the ʿalam with (the enemies’) blood” seems to be connected with old magical practices to obtain victory. ʿAlam va kotal rah andakhtan “putting banners on the way” was used to mean disturbing public order by street demonstrations. Many other expressions may be found in Persian literature and folklore (see Dehkhoda and other dictionaries).
Both military and ritual uses of ʿalam banners have given rise to sayings and proverbs. ʿAlam be khun charb kardan “to anoint the ʿalam with (the enemies’) blood” seems to be connected with old magical practices to obtain victory. ʿAlam va kotal rah andakhtan “putting banners on the way” was used to mean disturbing public order by street demonstrations. Many other expressions may be found in Persian literature and folklore.<ref>Dehkhoda and other dictionaries.<br /></ref>
==References==
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
* P. Ackerman, “Standards, Banners and Badges,” Survey of Persian Art VI, pp. 2766-82.


* Mrs. M. H. Ali, Observations on the Mussulmauns of India, repr. Oxford, 1978, pp. 17ff.
*P. Ackerman, “Standards, Banners and Badges,” Survey of Persian Art VI, pp. 2766-82.


* J. Calmard, Le culte de l’Imām Ḥusayn, Etude sur la commémoration du drame de Karbalā dans l’Iran pré-safavide, thesis, Paris, 1975.
*Mrs. M. H. Ali, Observations on the Mussulmauns of India, repr. Oxford, 1978, pp. 17ff.


* Idem, “Les étendards funéraires shiites et leurs désignations turco-mongoles,” in I. Melikoff, ed., Traditions religieuses et para-religieuses des peuples altaïques, Paris, 1972, pp. 27-40 (with reference to Chardin, Della Valle, De Bruijn/Le Brun, Kotoff, and Oléarius).
*J. Calmard, Le culte de l’Imām Ḥusayn, Etude sur la commémoration du drame de Karbalā dans l’Iran pré-safavide, thesis, Paris, 1975.


* J. David-Weill, “ʿAlam,” EI2 I, p. 349 (superficial).
*Idem, “Les étendards funéraires shiites et leurs désignations turco-mongoles,” in I. Melikoff, ed., Traditions religieuses et para-religieuses des peuples altaïques, Paris, 1972, pp. 27-40 (with reference to Chardin, Della Valle, De Bruijn/Le Brun, Kotoff, and Oléarius).


* B. D. Eerdmans, “Der Ursprung der Ceremonien der Hosein-Festes,” ZA 9, 1894, pp. 280-307 (considers ʿalams and finials as phallic symbols).
*J. David-Weill, “ʿAlam,” EI2 I, p. 349 (superficial).


* A. A. Faqīhī, Tārīḵ-emaḏhabī-e Qom I, 1350 Š./1971 (with photographs, pp. 274ff.).
*B. D. Eerdmans, “Der Ursprung der Ceremonien der Hosein-Festes,” ZA 9, 1894, pp. 280-307 (considers ʿalams and finials as phallic symbols).


* K. Greenfield, “Shi’a Standards of Hyderabad,” The Moslem World 27, 1937, pp. 269-72 (no illustrations).
*A. A. Faqīhī, Tārīḵ-emaḏhabī-e Qom I, 1350 Š./1971 (with photographs, pp. 274ff.).


* J. N. Hollister, The Shi’a of India, London, 1953, pp. 164ff.
*K. Greenfield, “Shi’a Standards of Hyderabad,” The Moslem World 27, 1937, pp. 269-72 (no illustrations).


* Ṣ. Homāyūnī, Farhang-e mardom-e Sarvestān, Tehran, 1349 Š./1970.
*J. N. Hollister, The Shi’a of India, London, 1953, pp. 164ff.


* M. ʿA. Jamālzāda, “Beyraqhā-ye Īrān dar ʿahd-e Ṣafawīya,” Honar va mardom, 1344 Š./1965, no. 39-40, pp. 10-13.
*Ṣ. Homāyūnī, Farhang-e mardom-e Sarvestān, Tehran, 1349 Š./1970.


* I. Lassy, The kaharram Mysteries among the Azerbeijan Turks of Caucasia, Helsinki, 1916.
*M. ʿA. Jamālzāda, “Beyraqhā-ye Īrān dar ʿahd-e Ṣafawīya,” Honar va mardom, 1344 Š./1965, no. 39-40, pp. 10-13.


* H. Moser, Armes et armures orientales, Leipzig, 1912 (illustrations from the author’s collection).
*I. Lassy, The kaharram Mysteries among the Azerbeijan Turks of Caucasia, Helsinki, 1916.


* D. ʿA. Moʿayyer-al-mamālek, Yāddāšthā-ī az zendegānī-e ḵoṣūṣī-e Nāṣer-al-dīn Šāh, Tehran, 1327 Š./1948.
*H. Moser, Armes et armures orientales, Leipzig, 1912 (illustrations from the author’s collection).


* ʿA. Mostawfī, Šarḥ-e zendegānī-e man, Tehran, 1343 Š./1964, I., pp. 274ff.
*D. ʿA. Moʿayyer-al-mamālek, Yāddāšthā-ī az zendegānī-e ḵoṣūṣī-e Nāṣer-al-dīn Šāh, Tehran, 1327 Š./1948.


* ʿA. Nayyer-e Nūrī, “Beyraq-e šīr o ḵūršīd,” Īrānšahr, Tehran, 1343 Š./1964, II, pp. 946-55.
*ʿA. Mostawfī, Šarḥ-e zendegānī-e man, Tehran, 1343 Š./1964, I., pp. 274ff.


* Ḥ. Nayyer-e Nūrī, “Ḏayl-ī bar selsela-ye maqālāt . . .,” Honar va mardom, 1347-48 Š./1968-69, no. 77-78, pp. 61-74.
*ʿA. Nayyer-e Nūrī, “Beyraq-e šīr o ḵūršīd,” Īrānšahr, Tehran, 1343 Š./1964, II, pp. 946-55.


* Jaʿfar Šarīf, Qānūn-e Eslām, tr. Herklots, Islam in India, Oxford, 1921 (with illustrations, pp. 151ff.).
*Ḥ. Nayyer-e Nūrī, “Ḏayl-ī bar selsela-ye maqālāt . . .,” Honar va mardom, 1347-48 Š./1968-69, no. 77-78, pp. 61-74.


* G. van Vloten, “Les drapeaux en usage à la fête de Hucein à Tehran,” Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie 5, 1892, pp. 105-11 (with plates).
*Jaʿfar Šarīf, Qānūn-e Eslām, tr. Herklots, Islam in India, Oxford, 1921 (with illustrations, pp. 151ff.).
 
*G. van Vloten, “Les drapeaux en usage à la fête de Hucein à Tehran,” Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie 5, 1892, pp. 105-11 (with plates).
 
*Y. Ḏokā, “Tārīḵča-ye taḡyīrāt va taḥawwolāt-e derafš va ʿalāmat-e dawlat-e Īrān . . .,” Honar va mardom, 1344 Š./1965, no. 31, pp. 13-24; no. 32-33, pp. 21-38. (J. Calmard).


* Y. Ḏokā, “Tārīḵča-ye taḡyīrāt va taḥawwolāt-e derafš va ʿalāmat-e dawlat-e Īrān . . .,” Honar va mardom, 1344 Š./1965, no. 31, pp. 13-24; no. 32-33, pp. 21-38. (J. Calmard).
==Source==
==Source==
* [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alam-va-alamat-ar Encyclopaedia Iranica]
 
*[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alam-va-alamat-ar Encyclopaedia Iranica]

Revision as of 17:42, 27 August 2019

ALAM is a banner; more particularly, the banners carried in religious processions. ʿAlam or tuq banners gradually lost their original military function to take on an exclusively religious one. Since Buyid era, ‘alam became one of the Symbolic objects using in Ashura mourning rituals. The prototype of Muharram standards is the ʿalam carried by Abbas b. ʿAli, Imam Hussain’s ʿalam-dar (standard bearer).

History and Terminology

In both Arabic and Persian, the word ʿalam (pl. aʿlām) conveys various senses connected with the general meaning of a distinctive sign or mark. In Persian, the word had early carried the meaning of ensign (neshan) and of standard or flag. [1] The same meanings may also be rendered by the word ʿalama (pl. ʿelām, ʿalāʾem, ʿalāmāt), which derives from the same root. Synonyms in the meaning of standard or flag include Arabic lewaʾ and raya, Turkish beyraq (Turkman beydaq) and sanjaq, [2] and Persian paṛcham. [3] For the Turks, ʿalam (pronounced alem) retains about the same meanings, while also designating their national and religious emblem, the crescent, [4] a symbol that was also used by some rulers of Persia. Timur employed it as an emblem and perhaps as a talisman; [5] his huge tents were held up by long poles topped by “an apple of burnished copper above which is a crescent”. [6] But the chronological evolution of the shape and function of finials is difficult to trace.

Any serious research into the historical development of banners is hindered by the scarcity and heterogeneity of sources (archeological, iconographical, literary, etc.). Problems arise from the identification of both finials and streamers or other pieces of cloth attached to the staffs. Shapes and functions of standards, banners, and badges from pre-Islamic Persia until now undoubtedly show signs of continuity, particularly in the use of astral symbols. [7] Contradictory views have been voiced about the appearance and shape of the Shir o khurshid (lion and sun) motif in iconography and on the cloth or finials of standards. [8] Although it became the Iranian national armorial bearings, it was not the most frequent emblem to appear on religious standards or Shiʿite ʿalam banners.

Alam in Muharram Rituals

Banners of some kind seem to have been used in Muharram ceremonies under the Buyids. [9] In the popular Persian and Turkish literature relating to the drama of Karbala drums and banners (tabl va ʿalam) are an attribute of all the historical or legendary avengers of Hussainn’s blood. [10] Drums, banners, and royal ensigns were also distinctive signs of dervish orders.[11] Tuq banners were used by religious story tellers.[12] Under the Āq Qoyunlū, ʿalam banners and drums from Imamzadas were carried by ʿolamaʾ and ʿalam banners and tuqs by dervishes in a civil and military review in Fars. [13] With the advent of the Safavids [14] and the establishment of Twelver Shiʿism as the state religion, banners came to be used extensively in Muharram ceremonies and other rituals. Only from the Safavid period onward is it possible to summarize the formal functional evolution of religious ʿalam banners; first, however, certain preliminary remarks need to be made. [15]

Carried in procession, ʿalams are hardly recognizable, since they are loaded with ex-votos (sing. nadhr, dakhil) similar to those attached to sacred trees, and ornaments; these include pieces of cloth (cashmere shawls, ribbons, etc.); precious or eye-catching objects such as mirrors, jewels, and watches; large feathers, vases with flowers and greenery, rose water bottles, lamps, lanterns, and candles burning in tulip shaped glasses (lala). The banners are called many names besides ʿalam. The word tuq, although said now to be confined to Qom[16], was used in Qajar times in Azerbaijan, [17] Tehran (Van Vloten, “Drapeaux;” Mostawfi, Sharh), and probably elsewhere. Beyraq seems still to be used to designate various kinds of religious banners. [18] The Mongol term kotal also applied to specific kinds of banners, [19] which may be known under other names. [20]

Various kinds of banners and pennants are used in Muharram ceremonies; each social group such as senf (guild), hayʾat-e madhabi (religious organization), and mahalla (town or village quarter), owns at least one, symbolizing its own identity. An ʿalam banner as wide as a street and provided with many staffs and spearheads was exhibited in Tehran at least until recently at the Abanbar qahwa-khana. Colors used in banners include black, the so-called color of the Prophet, but also that of the Mahdi and the ʿAbbasids: blue or purple, the traditional color of mourning; green, the ʿAlid color from Imam Riza’s time and the color of Islam; white (even though it was connected with the Umayyads and the Fatimids; [21] yellow[22]; and red, which is connected with Mahdist movements and the cult of martyrs and is the color of Imam Hussain’s banner. There was a progressive restriction in the use of red, since it is the color of the villain’s garments in the taʿziya and was used by the Kharijites on their banners; in India, Shiʿites avoid it because it is the Sunnis’ color. [23]

Tuq or ʿalam banners are taken out of their respective tekyehs only before noon on the day of Ashura. [24] Under Naser-al-din Shah the ornamentation and departure of the royal ʿalam from the andarun to the tekyeh was made with great ceremony. [25] Influential preachers (rawza-khan) had their emblematic ʿalam banners. [26] Heavy banners needed to be carried by strong bearers (ʿalam-kesh, tuqchi, beyraqdar), generally belonging to a local zur-khana or “house of strength,” who were surrounded by attendants (patuqi). In Qom, these patuqis protect the bearer from the pressure of the crowd eager to touch or kiss the spearhead of the tuq. Various kinds of banners were used in contests between young men in towns and villages. [27] Jugglers of banners (ʿalam-bazan, patuqi) exhibited their skills in Muharram ceremonies. [28]

Historical Developments

(1) In its traditional form, a standard is a lance (derafsh, neyza) to which is attached a piece (or pieces) of cloth (e.g. the tuq mentioned by Kashefi, loc. cit.). Religiously it has both a heavenly and a human value; its shape is anthropomorphic: a finial (head), a staff (body), and a pad (foot). Its symbolic function is akin to that of tree.

(2) From the Saljuq period onward messianic ideas were revived in Turco-Iranian circles. Gazi Turks came to be considered the military element able to bring forth the triumph of the Mahdi, [29] whose apocalyptic weapon is the celebrated Dhu’l-faqar, ʿAli’s double-edged or double-bladed sword, imitations of which were introduced as finials, sometimes combined with tuq devices, among the sacred emblems kept in tekyehs and carried in Shiʿite ceremonies. ʿAlam banners are often mentioned in the numerous historico-legendary accounts of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom and his avengers. [30]

(3) Each emblem carried in procession is linked to the events of Karbala. Thus, the prototype of Muharram standards is the ʿalam carried by ʿAbbas b. ʿAli, Hussain’s ʿalam-dar (standard bearer). Various shrines in Iran, India, and elsewhere claim to possess this relic or other standards connected to various events; the hagiography connected to each needs to be studied individually. Although it may have an older prototype, the spread hand emblem (pancha) representing the panch tan [31] is also linked with Hussain’s cult.

(4) Early prototypes of ʿalam banners may have been the standards (sometimes provided with staffs of extraordinary lengths) which are a familiar sight on shrines in oriental Iranian lands, including Afghanistan and Central Asia, and in northern India.

(5) It is difficult to know exactly when ʿalam or tuq banners lost their military function to take on an exclusively religious one. The politico-military connection of the term ʿalam was retained in such expressions as amir ʿalam/mir ʿalam, which became an honorific title. [32]

Alam under Safavid

The most striking feature of Safavid ʿalam banners is the “extraordinary length” of their staffs (Della Valle); their crests were relatively small and mostly made of metal. Besides the tuq device and its variants, the pancha was widely used [33] and eventually became the equivalent of the Turkish crescent; it figured on standards, religious and civil monuments, “national” flags, etc. Crests included “scissors” (probably a Dhu’l-faqar device), cross-like emblems, rings, lions, two cardboard dragons (variant of the tuq device; Oléarius, with drawing), a kind of tower with four scimitars[34], and a horseshoe which allegedly belonged to ʿAbbas (Muhammad’s uncle according to Oléarius, more probably ʿAbbas b. ʿAli). There was a tendency toward a shortening of the staff and a lengthening of the spearhead blades of the tuq device, which could reach considerable size. There was also a multiplication of the spearhead blades above the ʿalam banner’s cross-bar.

Components of ‘Alam

In its most common shape, an ʿalam banner used in modern Shiʿite rituals in Iran comprises essentially three parts: [35]

(1) a strong wooden staff generally provided with a horizontal metallic bar which gives to the assembly the appearance of a cross;

(2) a spearhead blade fixed on top of the central staff flanked by metal dragon heads on either side, while smaller spearhead blades fixed on the cross-bar usually flank the central one;

(3) various metal objects on the cross-bar; these include animal representations (goats, peacocks, doves, hybrids such as birds with human heads and fish tails, etc.), other metal objects such as models of mosques, and small bells hanging from the spear-heads.

Alam in Persian Folklore

Both military and ritual uses of ʿalam banners have given rise to sayings and proverbs. ʿAlam be khun charb kardan “to anoint the ʿalam with (the enemies’) blood” seems to be connected with old magical practices to obtain victory. ʿAlam va kotal rah andakhtan “putting banners on the way” was used to mean disturbing public order by street demonstrations. Many other expressions may be found in Persian literature and folklore.[36]

References

  1. ↑ drafsh/derafsh; see Zamakhshari, Pishrow-e adab ya moqaddamat al-adab, ed. M. K. Emam, Tehran, 1963, I, p. 406.
  2. ↑ Persian sanjaq; used mostly in Ottoman controlled areas, it seems to have early designated a standard larger than a beyraq, raya, or ʿalam; see J. Deny, “Sanjaq,” EI1 IV p. 148-50.
  3. ↑ introduced recently with this meaning; see ʿA. Nayyer-e Nuri, “Beyraq,” p. 953; Ḏoka, “Tarikhcha,” I, p. 14, n. 1.
  4. ↑ A. Sakisian, “Le croissant comme emblème national et religieux en Turquie,” Syria 13, 1941, pp. 66-80.
  5. ↑ Ackerman, “Standards,” p. 2778.
  6. ↑ D. N. Wilber, in Iran 17, 1979, pp. 131ff., fig. 1, b and c, quoting Le Strange, Clavijo, Embassy to Tamerlane, London, 1928, pp. 238ff.; see also Ackerman, loc. cit.
  7. ↑ Ackerman, “Standards,” pp. 2771ff.
  8. ↑ a few hints in Ackerman, “Standards,” pp. 2778ff.; ʿA. Nayyer-e Nuri, “Beyraq;” Ḏoka, “Tarikhcha;” H. Nayyer-e Nuri, “Ḏayl”.
  9. ↑ Calmard, Culte, pp. 103, 257, n. 257.
  10. ↑ ibid., pp. 230ff., and below.
  11. ↑ e.g., the Kazeruniya had their own neshana, ʿalam, va nawbat; ibid., p. 192.
  12. ↑ maddahan; see Kashefi, Fotuwat-nama-ye soltani, ed. M. J. Mahjub, Tehran, 1350 Sh./1971, pp. 288ff.
  13. ↑ Jalal-al-din Davani, ʿArz-nama, ed, Ī. Afshar, MDAT 3/3, 1335 Sh./1956, p. 47.
  14. ↑ 907-1145/1501-1732.
  15. ↑ FIGURES 22-24.
  16. ↑ Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 277.
  17. ↑ described in Lassy, Mysteries, p. 112.
  18. ↑ e.g. Lassy, loc. cit.; Homayuni, Farhang, pp. 400ff.; here, Figures 25-27.
  19. ↑ Calmard, “Etendards,” pp. 37ff.
  20. ↑ e.g. the ʿalam e rakhtpush formerly used in Qom, Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 275.
  21. ↑ Van Vloten, “Drapeaux,” pl. V.
  22. ↑ ibid.
  23. ↑ Ali, Observations, p. 37.
  24. ↑ Faqihi, Tarikh, p. 278.
  25. ↑ Moʿayyer-al-mamalek, Yaddashtha, p. 105.
  26. ↑ Mostawfi, Sharh, I, pp. 282ff.
  27. ↑ e.g., Calmard, “Etendards”, p. 36.
  28. ↑ e.g., Calmard, Monde iranien 2, 1974, pp. 80ff., 114ff.
  29. ↑ Calmard, Monde iranien 1, 1971, p. 67.
  30. ↑ Calmard, Culte, pp. 220ff.
  31. ↑ the “five persons;” see fig. 28.
  32. ↑ cf. the territorial connotation of sanjaq in Turkish; see also H. Bowen, “Bayraqdar,” EI2 I, pp. 1134-35.
  33. ↑ e.g., Chardin, De Bruijn.
  34. ↑ ibid.
  35. ↑ Figure 24.
  36. ↑ Dehkhoda and other dictionaries.

Bibliography

  • P. Ackerman, “Standards, Banners and Badges,” Survey of Persian Art VI, pp. 2766-82.
  • Mrs. M. H. Ali, Observations on the Mussulmauns of India, repr. Oxford, 1978, pp. 17ff.
  • J. Calmard, Le culte de l’Imām Ḥusayn, Etude sur la commémoration du drame de Karbalā dans l’Iran pré-safavide, thesis, Paris, 1975.
  • Idem, “Les étendards funéraires shiites et leurs désignations turco-mongoles,” in I. Melikoff, ed., Traditions religieuses et para-religieuses des peuples altaïques, Paris, 1972, pp. 27-40 (with reference to Chardin, Della Valle, De Bruijn/Le Brun, Kotoff, and Oléarius).
  • J. David-Weill, “ʿAlam,” EI2 I, p. 349 (superficial).
  • B. D. Eerdmans, “Der Ursprung der Ceremonien der Hosein-Festes,” ZA 9, 1894, pp. 280-307 (considers ʿalams and finials as phallic symbols).
  • A. A. Faqīhī, Tārīḵ-emaḏhabī-e Qom I, 1350 Š./1971 (with photographs, pp. 274ff.).
  • K. Greenfield, “Shi’a Standards of Hyderabad,” The Moslem World 27, 1937, pp. 269-72 (no illustrations).
  • J. N. Hollister, The Shi’a of India, London, 1953, pp. 164ff.
  • Ṣ. Homāyūnī, Farhang-e mardom-e Sarvestān, Tehran, 1349 Š./1970.
  • M. ʿA. Jamālzāda, “Beyraqhā-ye Īrān dar ʿahd-e Ṣafawīya,” Honar va mardom, 1344 Š./1965, no. 39-40, pp. 10-13.
  • I. Lassy, The kaharram Mysteries among the Azerbeijan Turks of Caucasia, Helsinki, 1916.
  • H. Moser, Armes et armures orientales, Leipzig, 1912 (illustrations from the author’s collection).
  • D. ʿA. Moʿayyer-al-mamālek, Yāddāšthā-ī az zendegānī-e ḵoṣūṣī-e Nāṣer-al-dīn Šāh, Tehran, 1327 Š./1948.
  • ʿA. Mostawfī, Šarḥ-e zendegānī-e man, Tehran, 1343 Š./1964, I., pp. 274ff.
  • ʿA. Nayyer-e Nūrī, “Beyraq-e šīr o ḵūršīd,” Īrānšahr, Tehran, 1343 Š./1964, II, pp. 946-55.
  • Ḥ. Nayyer-e Nūrī, “Ḏayl-ī bar selsela-ye maqālāt . . .,” Honar va mardom, 1347-48 Š./1968-69, no. 77-78, pp. 61-74.
  • Jaʿfar Šarīf, Qānūn-e Eslām, tr. Herklots, Islam in India, Oxford, 1921 (with illustrations, pp. 151ff.).
  • G. van Vloten, “Les drapeaux en usage à la fête de Hucein à Tehran,” Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie 5, 1892, pp. 105-11 (with plates).
  • Y. Ḏokā, “Tārīḵča-ye taḡyīrāt va taḥawwolāt-e derafš va ʿalāmat-e dawlat-e Īrān . . .,” Honar va mardom, 1344 Š./1965, no. 31, pp. 13-24; no. 32-33, pp. 21-38. (J. Calmard).

Source

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