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Tunisian Historical Ensigns

Last modified: 2015-07-28 by rob raeside
Keywords: tunisia | crescent | zulfikar | sword | dargouth pacha |
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Franciae Vexilla (#15/61, September 1999) has a colour plate showing flags displayed as real flags or drawings in the Museum of Tunis. Tunisia was nominally under Ottoman rule from 1574 to 1881 (French military intervention).

The captions are by Jean Renault. I suppose he copied them in the museum, therefore some look weird (especially those including "Ottoman period", knowing that all of these ensigns were used during Ottoman period.)


Admiral Ensigns

by Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999

Admiral ensign [not Admiral's ensign, but the ensign hoisted by the admiral-ship?]. Red swallow-tailed field with a white disk at hoist and, side by side, another larger white disk including three yellow crescents facing the hoist, side by side but of decreasing size from hoist to fly. About 4:9.

by Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999

Armada admiral's ensign. Red field with three yellow crescents in upper hoist, one pointing upward, placed above two, themselves side by side, facing the hoist and the fly respectively. 1:2.


Commander of the Fleet Ensigns

by Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999

Commander of the fleet (Ottoman period). Trapezoidal swallow-tailed blue field with two yellow disks side by side, the second one bearing three white crescents side by side of size decreasing from hoist to fly. 1:2.

by Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999

Ensign of an element of the fleet. "Tongue-like" red field with a white "zulfikar". 2:3. [The companion text of Franciae Vexilla, speaking about the bey's personal standard, mentions "Mahomet's double-pointed sword", and later "Ali's zulfikar". We know, thanks to Baris, that both are supposed to be identical.]


Dargouth Pacha's ensign

by Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999

Horizontal white-red with a blue crescent facing the fly and shifted to the hoist. About 2:3.

Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999


Ensign for Payment of Navigation Taxes

by Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999

Horizontal white-red. 2:3.

Ivan Sache, 06 October 1999