A ''tug'' ( , tr, tuğ, ota, طوغ or , otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰍, tuğ) or sulde ( mn, сүлд, script=Cyrl), () is a pole with circularly arranged horse or yak tail hairs of varying colors arranged at the top. It was historically flown by

Turkic tribes The Turkic term ''oğuz'' or ''oğur'' (in z- and r-Turkic, respectively) is a historical term for "military division, clan, or tribe" among the Turkic peoples. With the Mongol invasions of 1206–21, the Turkic khaganates were replaced by M ...

such as Tuğluğ Confederation and also during the period of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

, and later used in derived

Turco-Mongol The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventuall ...

khanates. It was also used by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, a state which was founded by Turkic Oghuz tribes. In the 17th century, it was also adopted by Slavic cavalry (

cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

, haidamaka), under the name ''bunchuk'' ( uk, Бунчук, pl, Buńczuk) which is the reflection of the original Turkic word ''

boncuk A nazar (from Arabic , word deriving from Arabic, meaning ''sight'', ''surveillance'', ''attention'', and other related concepts) is an eye-shaped amulet believed to protect against the evil eye. The term is also used in Azerbaijani, Bengali ...

''. It is still used by some units of the Polish military.

History

Early history

The Turkic word ''tu:ğ'', for traditional Turkic standards made from horse-tails or bunches of horse-hair, was borrowed from

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

*''dok'' 纛 "banner, standard" (whence also

standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...

''dú''). Chinese observers stated that

Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...

displayed a tuğ decorated with a wolf's head at their camp's gate in order not to forget their origin from a she-wolf ancestress. A Western Turkic tribal confederation, the

Duolu Duolu (Wade–Giles: To-lu; c. 603-651 as a minimum) was a tribal confederation in the Western Turkic Khaganate (c. 581-659). The Turgesh Khaganate (699-766) may have been founded by Duolu remnants. There existed several Chinese transcriptions ...

, was possibly named after tuğ, if Old Turkic ''Tuğluğ'' (𐱃𐰆𐰍𐰞𐰍), which means "have flags (banners), have standards", indeed underlay various Chinese transcriptions. It was also used by Mongolic tribes too. The white-haired banner is used as a peacetime symbol, while the black banner was for wartime. Usage of the horse tail is symbolic because horses were central to the Mongols' livelihood. This is similar to the use of horse tail hairs for the morin khuur. The original white banner disappeared early in history, but the black one survived as the repository of Genghis Khan's soul. The Mongols continued to honor the banner, and

Zanabazar Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, , , "High Saint Zanabazar"; 1635–1723 (born Eshidorji) was the sixteenth '' Jebtsundamba Khutuktu'' and the first ''Bogd Gegeen'' or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism ...

(1635–1723) built a monastery with the special mission of flying and protecting the black banner in the 17th century. Around 1937, the black banner disappeared amidst the great purges of the nationalists, monks and intellectuals, and the destruction of monasteries. Image:Genghis Khan's enthronement in 1206.jpg, Genghis Khan proclaimed Khagan of all Mongols. White banners can be seen on the right. 15th-century ms. of Rashid al-Din's "History of the World" (BNF Supplément persan 1113, fol. 44v) File:MongolsBesiegingACityInTheMiddleEast13thCentury.jpg, The Mongols besieging a city in the Middle East. The black banner can be seen behind the

trebuchet A trebuchet (french: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weight ...

, early 14th-century miniature from a ms. of Rashid al-Din's "History of the World" (Edinburgh University Library)

Modern era

The Nine White banners

The Nine White banners came into renewed significance in Mongolia after democracy was adopted in the early 1990s as a symbol of the traditional Mongolian state, replacing the previous

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

red flags. The state banner flown by the Mongols, the mn, Есөн хөлт цагаан туг, links=no, label=none, translit=(Yesön Khölt tsagaan tug, lit=Nine Base White Banners), script=Cyrl, is composed of nine flag poles decorated with white horse tail hairs hanging from a round surface with a flame or

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...

-like shape on the top. The Nine White Banners was a peacetime emblem used exclusively by the Khans in front of their yurt. The central banner is larger in size than the rest and is placed in the center of the other eight. The modern Mongolian nine white banners are kept in the Government Palace in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

. On National Pride Day, a traditional ceremony for the Nine White Banners is held.

Black banners

The () or the was used in wartime. It is made of black horse tail hairs and flown in the same fashion. According to the illustrated Japanese chronicle ''

Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba is a set of two Japanese illustrated handscrolls (''emaki'') commissioned by the samurai Takezaki Suenaga (1246–1314) as a record of his wartime deeds and valor during the Mongol invasions of Japan. The first scroll describes Suenaga's actio ...

'', the banner of the Mongolian Yuan fleet that invaded Japan was black. The modern Mongolian black banners are kept in the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

Tugs in the Mongolian military

Within the

Mongolian Armed Forces The Mongolian Armed Forces ( mn, Монгол Улсын Зэвсэгт Хүчин; '' Mongol: ulsyn zevsegt hüchin'') is the collective name for the Mongolian military and the joint forces that comprise it. It is tasked with protecting the ind ...

, the black tug is used as the

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, towe ...

in military colours' flagpoles, while the white tug is used by the Mongolian State Honor Guard and is the finial in the colours of the civil security services.

References

* Boeheim, Wendelin (1890). ''Handbuch der Waffenkunde: Das Waffenwesen in seiner historischen Entwickelung vom Beginn des Mittelalters bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts.'' E. A. Seemann, Leipzig

* William Erskine. ''A history of India under the two first sovereigns of the house of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun''. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1854. Pg 265

*Zdzislaw Zygulski, ''Ottoman Art in the Service of Empire'', Hagop Kevorkian Series on Near Eastern Art & Civilization, New York University Press (1992).

External links

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*

*

* Jack Weatherford

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120328125050/http://www.infomongolia.com/index.php?songolt=content&task=content_item&id=1810 Photo reportage, a tribute ceremony to the Great Black Banners, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia] {{Mongol Empire National symbols of Mongolia Mongolian culture Mongol Empire Crimean Khanate Military of Mongolia