Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-10-04

TIE Holy BANSEs OF raI TURKS.
The relics preserved in the holy cham
Der consist. firstly, ofthe sanjiak shereef.
This standard, according to The assef-
aoas Of some Arabian writers, original.
u served ~ curtain for the tent en-
trance Of .kyesha, the most beloved Of
the Prophets wives. Uthets affirm
that the ssnjiak shsreef wss originally
the taEban-sstnd Of one Of Mahomet's
eonvsrtsd enemies and most ardent dis
eiples. This rhsn, in lieu Of attacking
the Prophet a. The, head Of a body Of
horse, q directed BY The chiefs Of Nee
90. thrsu- hinself Upon his knees, uri-
w1Enaz4hGEfp1A3nQm his head ,od. af-
txing il 70. his in4ee point. devSaed Il
and himself to the Prophets service and
glory. This disciple was named Sehh-
my; the great private standards of the
caliphs and sultans were thence called
by The name of this proselyte.
After passing through the hands Of
the Ommiad and Abasside Gynasties the
holy banner, which has been removed
from Bagdad to Cairo by the latter, fell
into the possession Of Selim when that
monarch conquered Egypt in 1917. BY
his orders it was deposited in the great
mosque at Damascus aud carried every
year at the head of the pilgrims to Mec-
ca. Thinking that this verierated relic
might be converted to useful political
purposes, either by restraining the fac
tious or by exciting the lukewarm.
Murad III ordered It to be transported
10 the army then combating in Hun.
gary. whence, after the campaign OF
1895, 1t was conveyed to Constantine
pie.
Here II arrived towards the close of
the year, under the care of the celebra-
ted Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha. attended
by several thousand emirs aud ianissa-
ries. From that time the holy standard
was never exhibited, unless the Sultan
or Grand Vizier joined the field army IN
person, as was repeatedly the case be-
tween 1896 and 1929. or unless the
State was declared in danger, as occur
red in 1896, and may possibly occur du-
ring the present struggle. The bravest
and most athletic chamterla,ns Of the
palace, with special guard Of 500
emirs, were entrusted to carry the ban.
ner when taken forth to battle, and were
thence designated sanjiakder:
At the present n5ment this relic is
detached from its pole and enclosed in
a rosewood Golfer, inlaid with tortoise
shell, mother-ot-pearl and precious
stones. 1t is sewed within another
standard, said to have been that Of Ca
liph Omer, and this again is inclosed in
forty different sacks or coverings Of rich
stuffs, the innermost being OF green silk
embroidered with golden inscriptions,
among which are the often repcate d
"Mashallah! va fIafz, Bismallah
AL Rahman, il Rehin." (As God wills
it. q Preservcr In the name OF God,
the merciful and element, Ike giver of
victory.) The keys Of this Golfer. as
we'll as Of all others containing relics,
ere placed under the care OF the agha
Of the virgins, in virtue of his office as
Inspector and administrator Of the holy
cities. The pole or staff is surmounted
by hollow globe of silver gilt. In this
Is inclosed copy ct the Koran. said to
have been transcribed by Omer. An
other copy Of "the book is likewise
folded in the second standard, and is
supposed to have been copied by Os-
man.