Most of us in this era are the grandchildren of enlightenment. We believe in reason and trust in science. It is not fully possible for us to understand our ancestors who believed in supernatural powers that ruled the world and how they did the best to influence these higher powers. Talismanic Shirts in the Ottoman Empire were one of the ways in which our ancestors wanted to protect themselves against the evil energies of the universe and to bring the divine power on their side.
These shirts were made for the Sultans who went unto expeditions to foreign lands for conquest with a huge army and they were worn underneath clothes. These shirts were made of valuable fabrics and decorated fully with verses from the Quran, talismans and numbers. The reason these shirts were painted with different colours was to distinguish prayers, talisman and numbers on them which all had protective powers. It is thought that 55 of the Quranic verses are written on these Talismanic Shirts, each with a different protective power.
The chief astrologist of the Ottoman court was also involved in the making of these shirts by determining the right time to start and to finish the writing on these shirts. Some of these shirts took up to three years to make.
There is a huge section dedicated to Talismanic Shirts in the Imperial Clothing Gallery in the Topkapı Palace Museum. Make sure to visit it when you are at Topkapı Palace.
Here are few examples from the collection of these Talismanic Shirts.
There is also a book on these fascinating Talismanic Shirts by professor Hülya Tezcan who worked in Topkapı Palace Museum for years and was the first person to discover these shirts after centuries of being forgotten within the cellars of the Palace.
