Thefez (Turkish:fes,Ottoman Turkish:فس,romanized: fes), also calledtarboosh/tarboush (Arabic:طربوش,romanized: ṭarbūš), is afelt headdress in the shape of a short, cylindrical, peakless hat, usually red, typically with a blacktassel attached to the top. The name "fez" may refer to the Moroccan city ofFez, where thedye to color the hat was extracted fromcrimson berries. However, its origins are disputed.
The modern fez owes much of its popularity to the Ottoman era. It became a symbol of theOttoman Empire in the early 19th century. In 1827,Mahmud II mandated its use as a modern headdress for his new army, theAsakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye. The decision was inspired by the Ottoman naval command, who had previously returned from theMaghreb having embraced the style. In 1829, Mahmud issued new regulations mandating the use of the fez by all civil and religious officials. The intention was to replace theturban, which acted as a marker of identity and so divided rather than unified the population. A century later, in 1925, the fez wasoutlawed inTurkey as part ofAtatürk's reforms. Since then, it has not been a part of Turkish men's clothing.
The fez (Turkish:fes,Ottoman Turkish:فس,romanized: fes)[1] is also known as a tarboosh (Arabic:طربوش,romanized: ṭarbūš[2]), also spelt tarboush.[3] The wordtarboosh is a variant of شَرْبُوش (šarbūš),borrowed fromPersian:Sarpūš,[4][5][6] a compound of sar, “head” and puš, “cover” (meaning "headgear").[7] Thedissimilation is speculated to have been motivated byKipchak تر (tär, “sweat”), as the headpiece is fit to conceal (pôš) perspiration. Some sources suggest that tarboosh is a Turkish word composed of two elements, ter ("sweat") and pošu ("a light turban cloth").[8] via theTurkish language, from Ottoman Turkish تيرپوس (terpos),[9][8] and is used mainly in the countries of theLevant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan).[7]
The fez takes its name from the Moroccan city ofFez, due to it being the source of the crimson berry once used to dye the felt.[10][11][12][13]
Initially, the fez was a brimless red, white, or blackbonnet over which a turban was wrapped (similar to a wrappedkeffiyeh). Later, the turban was eliminated, the bonnet shortened, and the color fixed to red. Praying while wearing a fez—instead of a headdress with a brim—was easier becauseMuslims put their heads to the ground duringSalah (daily prayers).[25]
The tarboosh was depicted as an element of Turkish clothing as early as around 1460.[26]Mehmed the Conqueror wore a jeweled tarboosh wrapped in a whitesarık to signify his right of the conquest of Constantinople.[27] In 1826, SultanMahmud II of the Ottoman Empiresuppressed the Janissaries and began sweeping reforms of the military. Themodernised military adopted Western-style uniforms and, as headdresses, the fez with a cloth wrapped around it. In 1827, 50,000 fezzes were ordered fromTunis for the sultan's troops.[28] In 1829, the Sultan ordered his civil officials to wear the plain fez and banned the wearing ofturbans.[29][30][31] The intention was to coerce the populace at large to update to the fez, and the plan was successful. This was a radically egalitarian measure, which replaced the elaboratesumptuary laws that signaled rank,religion, and occupation, foreshadowing theTanzimat reforms. Although tradesmen and artisans generally rejected the fez,[32] it became a symbol of modernity throughout the Near East, inspiring similar decrees in other nations (such asIran in 1873).[29]
An Arab "protest gathering" against British policy in Palestine, 1929
The original centre of production appears to have been inTunis.[15] To meet escalating demand, skilled fez makers were induced to immigrate from Tunisia toIstanbul, where factories were established in the neighborhood ofEyüp.[28] Styles soon multiplied, with nuances of shape, height, material, and hue competing in the market. The striking scarlet and merlot colors of the fez were initially achieved through an extract ofcornel. However, the invention of low-cost synthetic dyes soon shifted production of the hat to the factories ofStrakonice,Czech Republic (then in the Austrian Empire).[citation needed]
The 1908Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina resulted in aboycott of Austrian goods, which became known as the "Fez Boycott" due to the near-monopoly the Austrians then held on the production of the hat. Although the headdress survived, the year-long boycott brought the end of its universality in the Ottoman Empire as other styles became socially acceptable.[citation needed]
The societal position of the fez as a symbol of tradition led to its ban inTurkey in 1925 byMustafa Kemal Atatürk in theHat Revolution, part ofhis modernizing reforms.[33] It was banned for similar reasons in 1958 in Egypt byGamal Abdel Nasser government, with Cairo having been one of the most important centers of production of the fez up until then.[14] Fez production has subsequently resumed in Egypt, but its sale is largely aimed at tourists.[14]
The fez was a symbol not only of Ottoman affiliation but also of religious adherence to Islam.[34] It was also the main headdress for Christians and Jews during theOttoman Empire.[35][36] Jewish men wore the fez and referred to it by theArabic name "Tarboush", especially if they spoke Arabic (Egyptian,Syrian andPalestinian Jews).[37][38] In southern Asia, the fez had been adopted due to its links with theOttoman Empire.
Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, the fez was the preferred headwear for Christians and Muslims in theBalkans, which at the time was still mostly under Ottoman suzerainty. There were variations on the fez in the Balkan states, mainly involving the addition of religious symbols on the front. In semi-independentMontenegro, a client state of the Ottoman Empire that enjoyed complete autonomy, itsOrthodox citizens wore their fezzes with aGreek cross on the front. Supporters of theIllyrian movement among South Slavs, especially inCroatia, wore their fezzes with astar and crescent on the front irrespective of religion, believing that the symbol predated the introduction of Islam in the Balkans. In 1850, regulations in the newly autonomousPrincipality of Serbia concerning uniforms of ministerial officers specified the wear of red fezzes displaying theSerbian coat of arms.[36] The fez was a symbol of Arab nationalist resistance against the Zionism during theArab revolt in Palestine between 1936 and 1939 in theBritish Mandate.[39]
Over time, the fez came to be seen as part of anOriental cultural identity. On the one hand this led to its banning as part of modernising reforms in Turkey (1925) and later in Egypt (1958).[33] On the other hand, the westernorientalist perception of it during the 20th century west as exotic and romantic lead to its vogue as part of men's luxury smoking outfit in the United States and the United Kingdom. It had also become associated with Ottoman domination across much of the former Ottoman empire andArab world, though an exception isMorocco, where it became a symbol againstFrench colonisation.[34] Morocco remains one of the last places where the fez is occasionally worn, and remains a favoured part ofroyal court dress.[34]
A version of the fez was used as anarming cap for the 1400–1700s version of the mail armor head protector (a round metal plate or skull-cap, around which hung a curtain of mail to protect the neck and upper shoulder). The red fez with blue tassel was the standard headdress of theTurkish Army from the 1840s until the introduction of akhaki service dress and peaklesssun helmet in 1910. The only significant exceptions were cavalry and some artillery units who wore alambskin hat with colored cloth tops.[40]Albanian levies wore a white version of the fez, resembling their traditionalqeleshe. DuringWorld War I, the fez was still worn by some naval reserve units and occasionally by soldiers when off duty.[41] TheEvzones (light infantry) regiments of theGreek Army wore their own distinctive version of the fez from 1837 untilWorld War II. It now survives in the parade uniform of the Presidential Guard in Athens.
From the mid-19th century on, the fez was widely adopted as the headdress of locally recruited "native" soldiers among the variouscolonial troops of the world. The French North African regiments (Zouaves,Tirailleurs, andSpahis) wore wide, red fezzes with detachable tassels of various colors. It was an off-duty affectation of the Zouaves to wear their fezzes at different angles according to the regiment; French officers of North African units during the 1930s often wore the same fez as their men, with rank insignia attached. (Many volunteer Zouave regiments wore the French North African version of the fez during theAmerican Civil War.) The Libyan battalions and squadrons of the Italian colonial forces wore lower, red fezzes over white skull caps.Somali andEritrean regiments in Italian service wore high red fezzes with colored tassels that varied according to the unit. Germanaskaris in East Africa wore their fezzes with khaki covers on nearly all occasions.
The BelgianForce Publique in the Congo wore large and floppy red fezzes similar to those of the French Tirailleurs Senegalais and the Portuguese Companhias Indigenas. The BritishKing's African Rifles (recruited in East Africa) wore high straight-sided fezzes in either red or black, while theWest African Frontier Force wore a low red version.[42] TheEgyptian Army wore the classic Turkish model until 1950. TheWest India Regiment of the British Army wore a fez as part of its Zouave-style full dress until this unit was disbanded in 1928.[43] The tradition is continued in the full dress of the band of theBarbados Regiment, with a white turban wrapped around the base.
While the fez was a colorful and picturesque item of uniform, it was in several ways an impractical headdress. If worn without a drab cover, it made the head a target for enemy fire, and it provided little protection from the sun. As a result, it was increasingly relegated to parade or off-duty wear during World War II. However, France's West Africantirailleurs continued to wear a khaki-covered version in the field until about 1943. During the final period of colonial rule in Africa (approximately 1945 to 1962), the fez was seen only as a full-dress item in French, British, Belgian, Spanish, and Portuguese African units, being replaced by wide-brimmed hats orforage caps on other occasions. Colonial police forces, however, usually retained the fez as normal duty wear for indigenous personnel.
Post-independence armies in Africa quickly discarded the fez as a colonial relic. It is, however, still worn by the ceremonialGarde Rouge in Senegal as part of theirSpahi-style uniform, and by the ItalianBersaglieri in certain orders of dress. The Bersaglieri adopted the fez as an informal headdress through the influence of the French Zouaves, with whom they served in theCrimean War. The ItalianArditi in the First World War wore a black fez that later became a uniform item of the MussoliniFascist regime.[44] The SpanishRegulares (formerly Moorish) Tabors stationed in the Spanishexclaves ofCeuta andMelilla, in North Africa, retain a parade uniform that includes the fez and white cloaks. Filipino units organised in the early days of U.S. rule briefly wore black fezzes, and officers serving with Muslim personnel of the Philippines Constabulary were authorised to wear this headdress from 1909.[45]The Liberian Frontier Force, although not a colonial force, wore fezzes until the 1940s.
Bosnian infantry regiments in the formerAustro-Hungarian Empire had been distinguished by wearing the fez, from their creation in 1885[46] until the end ofWorld War I.[47] They wore distinctive light blue or field grey uniforms,[48] with a buckle showing an arm with a scimitar inside a shield as the symbol of Bosniak ethnicity. The primarilyBosniak Muslim13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar, which was recruited from Bosnia, used a red or field grey fez with Waffen SS cap insignia during the latter half ofWorld War II. Their fezzes were decorated on the front withHoheitszeichen (eagle and Swastika) and theSSTotenkopf (skull and crossbones).[49]
Two regiments of theIndian Army recruited from Muslim areas wore fezzes underBritish rule (although the turban was the nearly-universal headdress among Hindu and Muslimsepoys andsowars). A green fez was worn by theBahawalpur Lancers of Pakistan as late as the 1960s.[50]
InArab countries, tarboush-making is a profession passed down from parents to children through generations. Producing the hat is tricky and requires a high degree of precision, with many stages in its production cycle. Fewer and fewer people have inherited and continue the profession.[7] InIraq, theIraqi Sidara replaced the Fez after the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire.[51]
In theLevant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan), the tarboush is still worn, but it is becoming rarer in recent times, and mostly worn byminstrels, or people who work in the tourist industry in historical places.[7] It is still regarded as traditional Syrian headwear.[3]
However, in Morocco, the tarboush is still worn as part of everyday attire.[7] This is also the case amongst Samaritans, for whom the tarboush is an ethnoreligiously intangible article of clothing.
InHyderabad, the fez is known as theRumi Topi, which means "Roman Cap" (by virtue of theOttoman Empire being seen as thesuccessor state of theEastern Roman Empire). The fez was popularised by Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan ofprincely Hyderabad after he visited Rome.[52] As per Himayat Ali Mirza, the great-grandson of the Nizam,Mir Osman Ali Khan never wore expensive clothes but used to wear Rumi Topi to camouflage his short physical stature — he was only five feet tall[52] — and advised his sonMoazzam Jah to also wear the Rumi Topi.[53]
InSri Lanka, the fez was frequently worn by the local MuslimSri Lankan Moor population. Despite its decline in popularity, the fez is still used in traditional marriage ceremonies. It continues to be worn by "Qadiriyathun Nabaviyyah"Sufi path followers. Thesongkok, a variation of the fez, is worn by the localSri Lankan Malays.[citation needed]
The name "songkok" is also used in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, while in Java, it is called "kopiah"; this headwear is also known widely in Indonesia as "peci", although peci is somewhat different. This hat has been commonly worn inMaritime Southeast Asia since the 19th century, when it was introduced by Muslims fromSouth Asia.[54][55]
The Turkish-style fez was introduced toCape Malays inCape Town, South Africa, by SheikhAbu Bakr Effendi, when he moved there from Turkey in 1863 to teach them about their religion. Before this, theDutch East India Company had compelled Muslims in theCape of Good Hope, mainly brought as slaves from what is nowIndonesia, to hide their religious practice, with death as the punishment for practising their faith in public or for attempting to convert anyone.[56]
Muslim men have continued to wear the fez there,[57][58] where it is also referred to as akofia (also spelt kofija).[59][60] especially at prayer times in mosques, at weddings, and at home as a sign of respect when in the company of elderly people. It is also popular with children atmadrassas (Islamic schools). However, the last traditional fez-maker in Cape Town retired in March 2022.[61]
The "Silver Fez" is a competition of all-male choirs from the Cape Malay community in Cape Town,[62] involving thousands of musicians and a wide variety of tunes. A documentary film,The Silver Fez, was made about the competition and released in 2009.[63][64]
The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to the lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The group takes its name from a fictional lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 filmSons of the Desert. A special fez is worn occasionally by some members.
British comedianTommy Cooper adopted the fez as part of his comic act while serving in Egypt during theSecond World War. The hat went on to become Cooper's hallmark and an icon of 20th-century comedy.[67]
Fans of Englishrugby teamSaracens often wear fezzes to matches, and the club itself describes the fez as "one of the most recognisable club symbols".[68]
In the movieAli Baba Bujang Lapok, some characters, includingAli Baba, can be seen using a fez. They are also wearing the hat wrongly, as they put the tassel in front instead of at the back.
^Amphlett, Hilda (2003).Hats: a history of fashion in headwear. Mineola,New York: Courier Dover.
^Kaya, Ibrahim (2004).Social theory and later modernities: the Turkish experience. Liverpool, England: Liverpool University Press. p. 119.
^Ann LoLordo (1997), "That brimless hat signified style Fez: In such countries as Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Egypt, the tarbush has had a colorful political past, favored by king and commoner and then banned by governments. Only two makers remain in Cairo.",The Baltimore Sun,The origin of the fez is disputed. One historian, Jeremy Seal, says the hat originated in Turkey where the Sultan Mahmoud II sought to replace the cloth turban with a modern headpiece. The fez bore no brim to enable good Muslims to press their heads to the ground in prayer, according to Seal's "A Fez of the Heart," a history of the hat. Others say the hat got its name from the city in Morocco from which the red-berry dye originates.
^Quataert, Donald (August 1997). "Clothing Laws, State, and Society in the Ottoman Empire, 1720–1829".International Journal of Middle East Studies.29 (3):403–25.doi:10.1017/s0020743800064837.JSTOR164587.S2CID54626714.
^abDeringil, Selim (January 1993). "The Invention of Tradition as Public Image in the Late Ottoman Empire, 1808 to 1908".Comparative Studies in Society and History.35 (1): 9.doi:10.1017/S0010417500018247.S2CID145056061.
^Knotel, Richard (January 1980).Uniforms of the World. A Compendium of Army, Navy and Air Force Uniforms 1700-1937. Scribner's. pp. 430–433.ISBN0-684-16304-7.
^Nicolle, David (28 March 1994).The Ottoman Army 1914-18. Bloomsbury USA. pp. 44 & 47.ISBN1-85532-412-1.
^Rinaldo D'Ami, pages 53 & 59 "World Uniforms in Colour", Volume 2, Casa Editrice AMZ Milqn 1966 SBN 85059 X.
^Carman, W.Y. (1977).A Dictionary of Military Uniform. Scribner. p. 56.ISBN0-684-15130-8.
^Elioe Vittorio, tavola XLVI "Atlante dell Uniformi: military italians dal 1934 ad oggi", Ermanno Albertelli 1984.
^Elting, Col John R. (1988).Military Uniforms in America. The Modern Era from 1868. Presidio Press. p. 40.ISBN0-89141-292-1.
^Neumayer, Christoph (2008).The Emperor's Bosniaks. Militaria. p. 50.ISBN978-3-902526-17-5.
^Neumayer, Christoph (2008).The Emperor's Bosniaks. Militaria. p. 230.ISBN978-3-902526-17-5.
^Neumayer, Christoh (2008).The Emperor's Bosniaks. Militaria. p. 199.ISBN978-3-902526-17-5.
^"Kofia".A Dictionary of South African English. 20 February 2023. Retrieved20 February 2023.1951 L.G. Green,Grow Lovely, 189: Cape Malays call the fez a kofija.
Wilson Chacko Jacob, "Working Out Egypt: Masculinity and Subject Formation Between Colonial Modernity and Nationalism, 1870–1940" (PhD thesis,New York University, 2005), chapter 6 (326–84).
