Parading (Tashhir) in the Medieval Islamic World

Abstract

This study focuses on the subject of parading (tashhir) and for what purposes, under which conditions and how it is applied in the medieval Islamic world from the perspective of a historian. In this regard, following a conceptual evaluation related to the exposure/parading (tashhir) and punishment, a general analysis will be made in line with the examples determined from sources under the headings of exposure as a legal punishment, parading in crimes against the state and public security, political parading, parading ceremony and elements of parading. Throughout history, punishment has been the most effective tool for power rulers (caliph, sultan, emir etc.) to protect their power and to ensure the safety and peace of their subjects. In this sense, the parading penalty (tashhir) that is the subject of our study is one of them. Parading/exposure, as a word means to introduce, to declare, to reveal the evil of a person or a community, to announce in order to defame someone's name, disgrace. In the general law and Islamic legal literature, it means to move the criminal among people and explain the crime they committed, to make them embarrassed and discourage them from committing a crime and to keep people from them. Given its definition and examples of the subject, it is possible to say that the parading/ exposure is a public punishment or sanction. In this respect, in practice, it was aimed to declare the guilty of the prisoner, to introduce the criminal and to guide people away from them and to deter the criminal. With these features, it is well known that it was widely used as a punishment and sanction from ancient societies to modern times. In the Islamic criminal law, it was evaluated within the scope of the punishment of the ta`zir, and in the medieval Islamic world, it had been a frequent application in both political and judicial fields. In the medieval Islamic world, it has been observed that the parading/exposure, whose examples had been coincided since the time of the Prophet Muhammed, was applied as a punishment and sanction for some criminal elements against the individual, the public and the state. In this context, in the medieval Islamic states, it is observed that the political and criminal authorities perform the parading/exposure following crimes against the individual, the state and public security: Perjury, abuses in hadith narration, slander, breaking the fast, men and women drinking together, incorrect genealogy notification, mistreatment of mother, not knowing the fard of prayer, betrayal of a trust, eating human flesh, behaving unethically, rebellions of dynasty members, revolts of statesmen, some religious-religious formations, officers or orders abuse, terrorist crimes, organized crime and theft against the public. As Romanos Diogenes says to Sultan Alp Arslan, ``you can display me in Islamic countries{''}, it was also common for statesmen to eliminate their competitors or enemies by exposing them due to either political or personal ambitions. It should also be noted that the parading/exposure, which is a popular punishment in the field of judiciary and politics, is carried out depending on a number of principles and issues different from other types of punishment. Accordingly, the display should be done in a central/crowded place and publicly. It was usually exhibited on a saddle beast or a high platform and this was accompanied by a ceremony. An officer had slapped and whipped to torment and humiliate the prisoner. Some special accessories and clothes were also prepared to insult and despise the person. For example, headdresses of wool, felt or silk called tartur, kalansuva and bornos were put on their heads, decorated with beads or rags. Necklaces made of beads, leather and bones were hung around their necks. As for clothes, silk or woolen tunic with foxtails on their skirts or pointed, were dressed. Likewise, the declaration of the crime, written or verbal by a staff member, was also part of the parading/exposure. With all these forms of application, it can be said that the exhibition was often applied beyond the limits determined as a penalty for punishment. Finally, since crime and criminal are shared with the public and socialized in a sense, it is also possible to say that the display is the most effective punishment method for obtaining results in terms of political authority or authority holders. On the other hand, we believe that this study will contribute to the studies on public order and crimes in the medieval Islamic world in the context of parading/exhibition (tashhir).