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).