German Askaris (colonial troops) wore a similar form of fez and cover, while French Tiralleurs, Spahis, and Zouaves, along with Belgian Force Publique troops in the Congo, wore floppy versions. By World War I, the fez was covered with a khaki cover and neck curtain. These included the West India Regiment, the King’s Africa Rifles from East Africa, and the West African Frontier Force. Additionally, some African armies, including those in Egypt and Ethiopia, wore the fez much the way that the beret today has become a universal and cheap form of headdress.īritish colonial forces, including those with Muslim units, were issued the fez, usually red and sometimes taller than the traditional Turkish versions. ![]() The fez was also utilized by the armies of Great Britain, Portuguese Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Belgium, which generally issued it to colonial troops. The Greeks were not the only European nation to adopt the conical headdress. A fez worn by the Tarbuch de Regulares, Muslim troops serving in North Africa under Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. The Greek Army wore a soft version of the fez from its founding in 1837 until World War II, and today the Evzones (light infantry) still wear a variation on the classic fez as part of the presidential guard in Athens. Ironically, Ataturk wanted to ban the headdress because in the post-World War I era it was considered a Greek head covering. With the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the founding of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk actually banned the fez in 1925, but it continues to be sold as a tourist item to this day. “The fez stopped being used in Turkey around 1920.” “It was used in Gallipoli and many examples of captured Turkish fezzes can be found in Australian collections,” said fez collector Sean O’Mara. The fez also remained in service throughout the war with the small Ottoman navy. Surviving examples suggest that the Turks continued wearing the cap, as large numbers were worn on the various World War I fronts by the Turkish forces. By the outbreak of World War I, the fez was officially relegated to the status of an off-duty cap. The last major conflict where the fez was worn by Ottoman armies on the battlefield was the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878). Just as Mahmud II had looked to modernize the outdated Ottoman Empire’s military in the early 19th-century by introducing the fez, it was removed from active service for similar reasons when the army was updated in the years prior to World War I. Italian Bersaglieri dress uniform fez, worn by colonial forces during World War II. “In Turkey, where there was no set pattern for the fez as this was a civilian item of dress, it was made the national headdress in 1832, and since the Army and Navy had no designated headgear, soldiers and officers wore the fez,” noted Christopher Flaherty, a collector of Ottoman Empire militaria. Today it is difficult for collectors to determine what might have been a military version. The standard headdress of the Turkish Army from the 1840s was a red fez with a blue tassel, and this remained in use until around 1900. The turban was largely banned, and civil officials were ordered to wear a plain fez, which was seen as a symbol of modernity throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Turkey’s move to a Western model of dress began in 1826 when Sultan Mahmud II suppressed the Janissaries, the traditional elite of the Ottoman military, and modernized the military. And while today it might seem like an archaic style of cap, it was actually introduced in the 1840s as a new and seemingly Western style of headdress, likely because it was a middle ground between the Eastern-looking turban-like ketche hats and the shakos used by European armies. A fez worn by the South Nigeria Protective Services.Īlmost as soon as it spread to the Ottoman Empire, the fez became used as a military headdress, where it initially was worn with a curtain of mail around the cap. Because the hat had no brim, it could be worn by Muslims during their daily prayers. The fez was worn by wealthy Arab traders as a sign of status, likely because the red dyes needed to produce the vivid colors were somewhat expensive and stood out. The most accepted history is that it was worn by Andalusian Arabs in the city of Fes, Morocco, which is where the circular hat got its name. The fez originated in Morocco and spread across North Africa to the Ottoman Empire, where it became a popular form of headdress. ![]() ![]() As with many forms of military headdress, the history and origins of the fez are largely forgotten and filled with misinformation. It has also become a form of ceremonial headgear for lodges and fraternal organizations in the United States. Thanks to movies and tV, the fez is usually associated with the Middle East, notably Turkey.
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