The Imperial Order of the Crescent ( Turkish: Hilal Nişanı ) is a knightly order established in 1799 by the Ottoman Sultan Selim III , when he decided to award Admiral Nelson , a Christian Englishman, for his victory over the French at the Battle of Abukir .
| Order of the Crescent | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hilâl Nişanı | ||
| ||
| A country |  Ottoman Empire | |
| Type of | Order | |
| Status | not awarded | |
| Statistics | ||
| Established | 1799 | |
The Ottoman orders that existed at that time could not be awarded to non-Muslims, and therefore Selim III specifically established the Order of the Crescent, making Nelson his first cavalier (as well as passing him a piece ). Signs of the order were sent to Nelson in August 1799. Later, this order was awarded to the British, who fought against the Napoleonic troops and navy in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in 1801.
Nelson was proud of this award, and mentioned it after his name when he signed the Act of Denmark's surrender after the Battle of Copenhagen on April 9, 1801 (news of this pleased the Sultan so much that he added a ribbon and a gold medal to the Nelson Order). However, the British Heraldry Commission allowed Nelson to wear this order only on March 20, 1802.
Description
The recipients of the order were awarded a silver star, in the center of which a crescent moon and a star, and a red ribbon were placed. The order had to be worn so that the crescent was to the left of the star.
There were two degrees of the order: knights of the first class wore the order around the neck (with a ribbon under the collar); knights of the second class wore the order on a ribbon running from shoulder to belt on the opposite side of the body.
Cavaliers
- Nelson , Knight, 1799 (awarded Selim III ).
- Charles Marsh Schomberg , Knight, 1801 (awarded by Selim III ).
- Lord Hutchinson , Class 1 Knight, (awarded Selim III ).
- Major General Sir Eyre Kut , a knight of the 1st class, (awarded Selim III ).
- Lord Kate , Class 1 Knight, (awarded Selim III ).
- Sir Richard Bickerton, Class 1 Knight, (awarded Selim III ).
- Sir Sebastiani de La Porta , knight of the 1st class, (awarded Mustafa IV ).
- Wing Adjutant Paskevich Ivan Fedorovich [1] , 1807.
Notes
- ↑ Adjutant Generals // List of generals, headquarters and officers of the entire Russian army with an indication of ranks, surnames and insignia. - SPb. : Military Printing House of the General Staff of His Imperial Majesty, 1829. - P. 8.