DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29463#0093
CHAPTER 2
Horsetail Standards
Tughs (Tug)
One of the most characteristic features of the Ottoman Empire was
its liveliness, its incessant activity, its self-realization in ceremonies,
parades, and pageantry. Even war was for the orthodox Turks not a
cruel necessity but a joyful ritual whose effects must always be posi-
tive, bringing victory, triumph, and booty on earth, or the delights
of heaven so expressively described in the Koran:
They . . . shall be brought near to their Lord in the gardens of delight. . . .
They shall recline on jewelled couches face to face, and there shall wait on
them immortal youths with bowls and ewers and a cup of purest wine (that
will neither pain their heads nor take away their reason); with fruits of
their own choice and flesh of fowl that they relish. And theirs shall be the
dark-eyed houris, chaste as hidden pearls; a guerdon for their deeds.'
Each war expedition was prepared as a festival, providing an oc-
casion for the display of military power and splendor. The luxury of
costume, arms, and equipment stood in contradiction to the tough
requirements of war. Strangely enough, the Turks succeeded for a
considerable time in combining this luxury with strict military disci-
pline.
69
Horsetail Standards
Tughs (Tug)
One of the most characteristic features of the Ottoman Empire was
its liveliness, its incessant activity, its self-realization in ceremonies,
parades, and pageantry. Even war was for the orthodox Turks not a
cruel necessity but a joyful ritual whose effects must always be posi-
tive, bringing victory, triumph, and booty on earth, or the delights
of heaven so expressively described in the Koran:
They . . . shall be brought near to their Lord in the gardens of delight. . . .
They shall recline on jewelled couches face to face, and there shall wait on
them immortal youths with bowls and ewers and a cup of purest wine (that
will neither pain their heads nor take away their reason); with fruits of
their own choice and flesh of fowl that they relish. And theirs shall be the
dark-eyed houris, chaste as hidden pearls; a guerdon for their deeds.'
Each war expedition was prepared as a festival, providing an oc-
casion for the display of military power and splendor. The luxury of
costume, arms, and equipment stood in contradiction to the tough
requirements of war. Strangely enough, the Turks succeeded for a
considerable time in combining this luxury with strict military disci-
pline.
69