Tughra

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The tughra of Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire. It reads Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious. Written out:
- محمد خان بن عبدالحميد مظفر دائماً

A tughra (طغراء; Tuğra) is a calligraphic seal or signature of an Ottoman Sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. It was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign.

The tughra was designed at the beginning of the Sultan's reign and drawn by the court calligrapher or nişancı on written documents. The first tughra belonged to Orhan I (1284-1359), the second ruler of the Ottoman Empire and it evolved until it reached the classical form in the tughra of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1596).

Tughras served a purpose similar to the cartouche in ancient Egypt. Every Ottoman sultan had his own individual tughra. Tughras have also been used in other Turkic states, such as the Khanate of Kazan. Later, tughras were used among the Tatars of Imperial Russia.

The tughra artform continues today. Examples are the tughras of Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Emperor of Japan Akihito.