Alam (finial)
An
This type of flagpole is often used by Shi'a Muslims in religious processions or ceremonial functions, as well as by groups and states in Iran and the Indian subcontinent. In Ottoman Turkish, the corresponding word alem means a military banner consisting of a tall pole with a silk flag or banner topped by a metal finial. In modern Turkish, sancak can apply to the whole standard and not simply the fabric of the banner. The word alem came to be applied to the decoration at the top of the flagpole.
The word also came to be applied to the architectural device which caps a minaret, dome of a mosque or minber. It may incorporate an Islamic emblem of the crescent, a tulip or other shape. The central Asian tugh with yak or horse hair can also be topped by an alem. Miniatures from the Seljuk era show gilded finials on top of tentpoles.
One or more metal protective cases or boxes - often octagonal - containing a diminutive copy of the Qur'an were attached below the alem by a cord or chain.
One of the symbols used in the mourning processions of Imam Hussein is a device called a sign. According to some, this sign is derived from the cross that is carried by Christians in the processions of Holy Thursday and Good Friday, and this adaptation was made during the Safavid era for political purposes. This hypothesis has been widely accepted without verification and simply due to the apparent similarity between the sign and the cross among many religious people and even experts. The purpose of this article is to show to what extent this hypothesis corresponds to historical and cultural reality. Contrary to the aforementioned claim, the sign-carving originated from the togh-carving in mourning ceremonies, which was an ancient tradition among the eastern peoples, namely the Chinese, Mongols and Gog-Turks, and over time, this tradition, along with the immigrants of these peoples, found its way to Islamic lands and entered the mourning ceremonies of Imam Hussein. Then, during the Qajar period, the Togh was transformed into the form of the present symbol with some changes, and the symbol did not exist in the Safavid