War Medals and Their HistorySteward, William Augustus
History
War Medals and Their History
Steward, William Augustus
Great Britain. Army -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.
=Order of Dooranée.=--To reward the British officers who had been
instrumental in restoring him to his throne, Shah Shooja instituted
the Order of the Dooranée Empire, the first installation taking place
at Cabul on September 13th, 1839, when Sir John Keane, the commander
of the British army, received the First-Class Order from the Shah.
There are three classes of the Order, which is not unlike the Guelphic
Order of Hanover. Three of the first class, nineteen of the second, and
thirty-six of the third were to be presented. The badge consists of a
gold Maltese cross, the borders of which are raised, with eight points
terminating in gold beads, resting upon two crossed swords. On a blue
and green enamelled ground, which forms the centre, are two sentences
in Persian characters; above "Authority is from God alone," and below
"Every brave man recognises his sway." This translation, as Dr. Payne
states, is very different from the usual one of Duri-i-Dauran, "Pearl
of the Age." The enamelled centre is surrounded by a circle of pearls.
The star is of cut silver shaped like a Maltese cross, overlaid with
a smaller one of gold, in the centre of which is the same decoration
as on the badge, except that a diamond is set in each arm of the gold
cross, and the enamelled circle is surrounded by seventeen pearls. The
star of the second class has rays between the arms, and the small gold
cross which rests upon it has crossed swords between the arms; the
centre is enamelled with a green flower on a blue ground, surrounded by
eighteen pearls set in a gold band. The badge of the second class has
twenty pearls set round the centre, and on the reverse a red enamelled
centre circled by a green enamelled border decorated with gold tracery.
The third-class badge has only fourteen pearls. The badges of each
class were suspended from a half red and green ribbon, like that used
for the Ghuznee medal.
[Illustration: MEDAL FOR KELAT-I-GHILZI, 1842.
Awarded to Major Robert Leech, C.B., who had also the medal for
Candahar, Ghuznee, and Cabul, 1842, and the Order of the Dooranée
Empire (3rd Class).]
[Illustration: FIRST JELLALABAD MEDAL, 1842.
Awarded to Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Peter R. Jennings, 13th
Foot.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account