Fez (hat)

The fez (Turkish: fes, Ottoman Turkish: فس, romanized: fes), also called tarboosh/tarboush (Arabic: طربوش, romanized: ṭarbūš), is a felt headdress in the shape of a short, cylindrical, peakless hat, usually red, typically with a black tassel attached to the top. The name "fez" may refer to the Moroccan city of Fez, where the dye to color the hat was extracted from crimson berries. However, its origins are disputed.

The modern fez owes much of its popularity to the Ottoman era. It became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. In 1827, Mahmud II mandated its use as a modern headdress for his new army, the Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye. The decision was inspired by the Ottoman naval command, who had previously returned from the Maghreb having embraced the style. In 1829, Mahmud issued new regulations mandating the use of the fez by all civil and religious officials. The intention was to replace the turban, which acted as a marker of identity and so divided rather than unified the population. A century later, in 1925, the fez was outlawed in Turkey as part of Atatürk's reforms. Since then, it has not been a part of Turkish men's clothing.

The fez has been used as part of soldiers' uniforms in many armies and wars for centuries, including the Bahawalpur Regiment in Pakistan as late as the 1960s. It is still worn in parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and in Cape Town, South Africa. It has also been adopted by various fraternal orders in the English-speaking world.

The fez (Turkish: fes, Ottoman Turkish: فس, romanized: fes) is also known as a tarboosh (Arabic: طربوش, romanized: ṭarbūš), also spelt tarboush. The word tarboosh is a variant of شَرْبُوش (šarbūš), borrowed from Persian: Sarpūš, a compound of sar, “head” and puš, “cover” (meaning "headgear"). The dissimilation is speculated to have been motivated by Kipchak تر (tär, “sweat”), as the headpiece is fit to conceal (pôš) perspiration. Some sources suggest that tarboosh is a Turkish word composed of two elements, ter ("sweat") and pošu ("a light turban cloth"). via the Turkish language, from Ottoman Turkish تيرپوس (terpos), and is used mainly in the countries of the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan).

The fez takes its name from the Moroccan city of Fez, due to it being the source of the crimson berry once used to dye the felt.

The origins of the hat are obscure. It is either of ancient Greek, Tunisian, Moroccan, or Turkish origin. and much of its popularity derives from this era. It was popular especially during the later period of the Ottoman Empire and its use spread throughout the empire,

Initially, the fez was a brimless red, white, or black bonnet over which a turban was wrapped (similar to a wrapped keffiyeh). Later, the turban was eliminated, the bonnet shortened, and the color fixed to red. Praying while wearing a fez—instead of a headdress with a brim—was easier because Muslims put their heads to the ground during Salah (daily prayers).

The tarboosh was depicted as an element of Turkish clothing as early as around 1460. Mehmed the Conqueror wore a jeweled tarboosh wrapped in a white sarık to signify his right of the conquest of Constantinople. In 1826, Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire suppressed the Janissaries and began sweeping reforms of the military. The modernised military adopted Western-style uniforms and, as headdresses, the fez with a cloth wrapped around it. In 1827, 50,000 fezzes were ordered from Tunis for the sultan's troops. In 1829, the Sultan ordered his civil officials to wear the plain fez and banned the wearing of turbans. The intention was to coerce the populace at large to update to the fez, and the plan was successful. This was a radically egalitarian measure, which replaced the elaborate sumptuary laws that signaled rank, religion, and occupation, foreshadowing the Tanzimat reforms. Although tradesmen and artisans generally rejected the fez, it became a symbol of modernity throughout the Near East, inspiring similar decrees in other nations (such as Iran in 1873).