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{{short description|Calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of a sultan}}
{{Refimprove|date=February 2024}}
[[File:Tughra Orhan I.jpg|The first Ottoman tughra, [[Orhan]] (1326).|thumb|right]]
A '''tughra''' ({{langx|ota|طغرا|ṭuġrā}}; {{langx|tr|tuğra}}) is a [[calligraphy|calligraphic]] [[monogram]], [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] or [[signature]] of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the [[Tamga|tamgha]], it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign. Very elaborate decorated versions were created for important documents that were also works of art in the tradition of [[Ottoman illumination]], such as the example of [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] in the gallery below.

The tughra was designed at the beginning of the sultan's reign and drawn by the court [[calligrapher]] or ''[[nisanci|nişancı]]'' on written documents. The first tughra examples are from the 14th century.<ref name=bm>{{cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/tughra_of_suleiman.aspx |title=Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent |publisher=The British Museum |date=2010-05-14 |access-date=2010-06-05 |id=1949,0409,0.86 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918022316/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/tughra_of_suleiman.aspx |archive-date=2010-09-18 }}</ref>

Tughras served a purpose similar to the [[cartouche]] in ancient Egypt or the [[Royal Cypher]] of British monarchs. Every Ottoman sultan had his own individual tughra.

==Etymology==
There are two main schools of thought on the origins of the word tughra. The first sees it derived from a [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] secretarial emblem called ''tughragh'', and the second as an effort by Persian scribes to shape the name of the ruler into a bow-like element called ''turgha''/''turghay'', subsequently mispronounced as tughra.<ref name=l>{{cite book|title=Beyond The Legacy Of Genghis Khan|author=Abolala Soudavar|page=418|year=2012}}</ref>

The primary argument for the first school is a remark by [[Mahmud al-Kashgari]] in his ''[[Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk]]'':<ref name=l></ref>
{{blockquote|The ''tughragh'' is the seal and signature of the king [in] Oghuz dialect and not known to [Western] Turks; I do not know its origin.}}

==Visual elements of a tughra==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Tugra Mahmuds II.gif|right|frame|The tughra of [[Sultan]] [[Mahmud II]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. It reads in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] 
"<span style="color:#990000;">Mahmud</span> <span style="color:#000099;">Khan</span> <span style="color:#009900;">son of</span> <span style="color:#999900;">Abdülhamid</span>, <span style="color:#990099;">forever</span> <span style="color:#009999;">victorious</span>". 
Written out: 
{{nowrap|{{lang|ota|{{color|#990000|محمود}} {{color|#000099|خان}} {{color|#009900|بن}} {{color|#999900|عبد الحميد}} {{color|#009999|مظفر}} {{color|#990099|دائماً}}}}}}
(''{{color|#990000|Mahmūd}} {{color|#000099|Ḫān}} {{color|#009900|bin}} {{color|#999900|Abdulhamīd}} {{color|#009999|muẓaffer}} {{color|#990099|dāʾimā}}'').]]

The tughra has a characteristic form, two loops on the left side, three vertical lines in the middle,  stacked writing on the bottom and two extensions to the right. Each of these elements has a specific meaning, and together they make up the form that is easily recognizable as a tughra. [[Image:tugra decomposed.png|thumb|Visual Elements of a Tughra]]

The name of the sultan is written out in the bottom section, called a ''sere''. Depending on the period, this name can be as simple as [[Orhan]], son of [[Osman I|Osman]], in the first tughra in 1326. In later periods honorifics and prayers are also added to the name of the tughra holder and his father.

The loops to the left of the tughra are called ''beyze'', from Arabic meaning ''egg''. Some interpretations of tughra design claim that the beyzes are supposed to symbolize the two seas the sultans held sway over: the outer larger loop signifying the Mediterranean and the inner, smaller loop signifying the Black Sea.

The vertical lines on the top of the tughra are called ''tuğ'', or flagstaff. The three tugs signify independence. The S-shaped lines crossing the tugs are called ''zülfe'' and they, together with the tops of the tugs that also look to the right, signify that the winds blow from the east to the west, the traditional movement of the Ottomans.

The lines to the right of the tughra are called ''hançer'' and signify a sword, symbol of power and might.

==Tughras of the Ottoman sultans==
[[File:Süleyman Çelebi coin 1404.png|thumb|right|1404 AD dated ''[[akçe]]'' minted by [[Süleyman Çelebi]]. The first Ottoman coin bearing a tughra (on the obverse reading as follows: "Emir Süleyman son of Bayezid")]]

<gallery>
File:THES-Heptapyrgion inscription.jpg|Tughra of [[Murad II]] at the [[Heptapyrgion (Thessaloniki)|Heptapyrgion]] in [[Thessaloniki]] (1431)
File:Estambul20100627P1090259.JPG|The Tughra at [[Dolmabahçe Palace]].
File:Eyüp_Sultan_Mosque_-_Door_-_Ottoman_language.jpg
File:İstanbul-Topkapı_palace._-_panoramio.jpg
File:20131204_Istanbul_224.jpg
File:20131204_Istanbul_029.jpg
File:Tughra Suleiman.jpg|Decorated tughra of [[Süleyman the Magnificent]] (1520)
File:Tughra of Selim III.JPG|Tughra of [[Selim III]] (1789)
File:Berat_za_imam_vo_Sultan_Mehmed_dzamija_vo_Ohrid.jpg
File:Цакафнаме_за_Охризаде_1491.jpg
File:5_Piastres_1327_Mehmed_V_(obv)-8475.jpg
File:Gate of Felicity Topkapi Istanbul 2007 detail 003.jpg|Tughra on the Gate of Felicity at [[Topkapı Palace]]
File:EmirganMosque_(3).jpg
File:Port Gate tughra.jpg|Tughra above [[Gates of Belgrade#Port gates|Port Gate]] in [[Belgrade]]
</gallery>

== Other tughras ==
Although the tughra is largely identified with the Ottoman Sultans, they have also sometimes been used in other states, such as the [[Qajar dynasty]], [[Safavid Empire]], the [[Crimean Khanate|Crimean khanate]], the [[Khanate of Kazan]]. Later, tughras were used among the [[Imperial Russia]] of [[Tartary]].{{Cn|date=July 2021}}
The [[Mughal Emperor]]s are also known to have used calligraphic symbols, alongside the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]], the Mughal "Tughra" was circular in shape with three points at its tip, beside the calligraphic signature of the emperor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianmuslims.in/quiz-a-mughal-firman/l|title=Quiz: A Mughal firman - Indian Muslims|date=13 June 2011|work=indianmuslims.in|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502141629/http://indianmuslims.in/quiz-a-mughal-firman/|archive-date=2016-05-02|first=Kashif|last=ul-huda|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=November 2011}}

Afghan currency notes from 1919 to 1936 had the tughra present as well. Pakistan had the tughra on its coins from 1947 till 1974; both of these are present in the State Bank Museum in Karachi. The nawab of Bahawalpur and the Nizam of Hyderabad had tugras on their coinage as well.

<gallery>
File:Uzun hasan tughra.png|Tughra of [[Uzun Hasan]]
File:Tughra (signature) of Sahib Giray.png|Tughra of [[Sahib I Giray]]
File:Naser al-Din Shah stamp.jpg|Tughra of [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar]]
File:Mogultughra.jpg|The official imperial "tughra" of the [[Mughal Empire]] in red ink, and in the lower right, there is the tughra of [[Shah Alam II]].
File:YNK1033485 Pakistan-1-pice-1957.jpg|Tughra of [[Government of Pakistan]] on a 1 pice coin, 1957
File:Bahawalpur pattren coin.jpg|Tughra of Nawab of Bahawalpur on a [[Bahawalpur (princely state)]] coin
File:Tughra of Şahin Giray (khan).png|Tughra of [[Şahin Giray]]
File:Signature of Khass Murad.png|Tughra of [[Hass Murad Pasha]]
File:Tughra Abbas II.jpg|Tughra of [[Abbas II of Persia|Abbas II]]
File:Delhi tughra.jpg|The tughra of  [[Muhammad bin Tughluq]]
File:Tughra Khan Murad Giray.jpg|Tughra of [[Murad Giray|Khan Murad Giray]]
File:Tughra of Mohammad Zahir Shah.svg|Tughra of [[Mohammad Zahir Shah]] of [[Afghanistan]]
</gallery>

==Post-imperial interpretations==
There are modern [[calligraphy]] artists that use the characteristic tughra form today. Examples are the tughras of Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]]<ref>{{cite web |date=2001 |title=Tughra of Vladimir Putin by V. Popov |url=http://vlademir.ru/kaligrafia/tugry/dsc01887 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220033239/http://vlademir.ru/kaligrafia/tugry/dsc01887 |archive-date=2016-02-20 |access-date=2014-04-18 |language=ru}}</ref> and [[Emperor of Japan]], [[Akihito]],<ref>{{cite web |date=2002 |title=Tughra of Japanese Emperor Akihito by V. Popov |url=http://vlademir.ru/kaligrafia/tugry/dsc01977 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220033658/http://vlademir.ru/kaligrafia/tugry/dsc01977 |archive-date=2016-02-20 |access-date=2014-04-18 |language=ru}}</ref> created by artist Vladimir Popov.<ref>{{cite web |date=2014-03-20 |title=Тугра Владимира Путина – рулевое колесо, а Барак Обама – «хоровод» из звездочек |trans-title=Tugra of Vladimir Putin - the steering wheel, and Barack Obama - "dance" of the Stars |url=http://www.business-gazeta.ru/article/99924/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119110934/https://www.business-gazeta.ru/article/99924 |archive-date=2023-11-19 |access-date=2014-04-18 |language=ru}}</ref>

==See also==<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
*[[Huaya]], stylised calligraphic signatures used in East Asia
*[[Khelrtva]], stylised calligraphic signatures used in Georgia
*[[Rota (papal signature)]]
*[[Totem]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.tugra.org Ottoman Sultan Tughras]
*[http://www.zehracobanli.com/zehra-cobanli-mavi-blue-eserler-works.html Modern Ceramics with Tughra]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111130140141/http://www.stampsociety.com/article5.html Andreas Birken, "The Tughra of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861–1876)", ''Peshawar Stamp Society''] (archived)
{{Islamic calligraphy}}
{{Islamic art}}
{{Personal names}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Islamic calligraphy]]
[[Category:Culture of the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Monograms]]
[[Category:Signature]]
[[Category:Turkish words and phrases]]
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