Hitit Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi / Journal of Divinity Faculty of Hitit University

Ortaçağ İslâm Dünyasında Teşhir
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 pub-
licly. 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, deco-
rated 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 punis-
hment 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 con-
text of parading/exhibition (tashhir).