Fez (hat)

{{Short description|Cylinder-shaped cap with a flat crown}} {{About| | |Fez (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}} thumb|A fez The '''fez''' ({{Langx|tr|fes}}, {{Langx|ota|فس|translit=fes}}), also called '''tarboosh'''/'''tarboush''' ({{langx|ar|طربوش|translit=ṭarbūsh}}), 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.

==Etymology== The fez ({{Langx|tr|fes}}, {{Langx|ota|فس|translit=fes}})<ref>Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680), "[https://bibliotecadigital.aecid.es/bibliodig/i18n/consulta/registro.cmd?id=1989 فس]", in [https://bibliotecadigital.aecid.es/bibliodig/i18n/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1003637&presentacion=pagina&registrardownload=0&posicion=81 ''Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum'', Vienna, column 3519]</ref> is also known as a tarboosh ({{langx|ar|طربوش|translit=ṭarbūš}}<ref>Hans Wehr, ''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'', 4th ed., page 649.</ref>), also spelt tarboush.<ref name=wya>{{cite web | title=The Truth Behind the Tarboush | website=World Youth Alliance | date=16 December 2017 | url=https://wya.net/the-truth-behind-the-tarboush/ | access-date=22 February 2023 | archive-date=29 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829151502/https://wya.net/the-truth-behind-the-tarboush/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> The word ''tarboosh is a'' variant of شَرْبُوش (''šarbūš''), borrowed from {{langx|fa|Sarpūš}},<ref>{{Cite book |last=Çağbayır |first=Yaşar |author-link=Yaşar Çağbayır |url=https://archive.org/details/OtukenTurkceSozluk/page/n4645/mode/1up |title=Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük |year=2007 |volume=1 |location=Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat |publication-place=Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat |page=4614 |language=Turkish}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kélékian |first=Diran |author-link=Diran Kelekian |url=https://menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/ssg/content/pageview/821605 |title="طرپوش", in Dictionnaire turc-français |year=1911 |location=Constantinople: Mihran |publication-place=Constantinople: Mihran |page=802}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Redhouse |first=James W |author-link=James Redhouse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mms7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1236 |title=A Turkish and English Lexicon |year=1890 |location=Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian |publication-place=Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian |page=1236}}</ref> a compound of sar, “head” and puš, “cover” (meaning "headgear").<ref name=allallawi/> 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").<ref name="Pennacchietti" /> via the Turkish language, from Ottoman Turkish تيرپوس ( ,<ref>Balteiro, Isabel. [http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/45880/1/Balteiro%20-%202010%20-%20Foreign%20Words%20in%20the%20English%20of%20Textiles.pdf "Foreign words in the English of textiles."] (2010).</ref><ref name=Pennacchietti>Pennacchietti, Fabrizio A. [http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/kervan/article/download/3626/pdf "Sull'etimologia del termine tarbusc "fez"."]</ref> and is used mainly in the countries of the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan).<ref name=allallawi>{{cite web | last=Alallawi | first=Bashar | title=The fez throughout history. | website=edSeed | date=29 August 2021 | url=https://www.edseed.me/2021/08/29/the-fez-throughout-history-171/ | access-date=22 February 2023}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hatsandcaps.co.uk/history-of-the-fez-athe_fez/|title=History of the Fez | Iconic Hats | Village Hats}}</ref><ref name="Rugh1986">{{cite book|author=Andrea B. Rugh|title=Reveal and Conceal: Dress in Contemporary Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AaE0FLQsRqwC&pg=PA13|year=1986|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-2368-7|page=13}}</ref><ref name="Wilcox2013">{{cite book |author=R. Turner Wilcox |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXHCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 |title=The Mode in Hats and Headdress: A Historical Survey with 198 Plates |publisher=Courier Corporation |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-486-31830-1 |page=33}}</ref><ref name="origin"/>

==History== [[File:MahmutII.jpg|thumb|Portrait of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II after his clothing reforms]]The origins of the hat are obscure.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Chico |first=Beverly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdbYAQAAQBAJ&dq=fez+hat+history&pg=PA175 |title=Hats and Headwear around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia: A Cultural Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-61069-063-8 |pages=175–176 |language=en}}</ref> It is either of ancient Greek,<ref name="Rugh1986" /><ref name="Wilcox2013" /><ref name=":0" /> Tunisian,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jirousek |first=Charlotte A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4h5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA159 |title=Ottoman Dress and Design in the West: A Visual History of Cultural Exchange |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-253-04219-4 |pages=159 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiEvBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 |title=Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7591-2150-8 |editor-last=Lynch |editor-first=Annette |pages=121 |language=en |editor-last2=Strauss |editor-first2=Mitchell D.}}</ref> Moroccan,<ref name=daily>{{citation|title=Fez: A time-honored Ottoman hat from the Mediterranean|author=EKREM BUĞRA EKINCI|year=2016|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2016/05/16/fez-a-time-honored-ottoman-hat-from-the-mediterranean|publisher=Daily Sabah|quote=The fez used to be common headwear in Mediterranean countries and originated from Morocco.|access-date=16 September 2020|archive-date=12 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512122116/https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2016/05/16/fez-a-time-honored-ottoman-hat-from-the-mediterranean|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=fez {{!}} hat {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/fez |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> or Turkish origin.<ref>{{cite web | title=That brimless hat signified style Fez: In such countries as Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Egypt, the tarbush has had a colorful political past, favored by king and commoner and then banned by governments. Only two makers remain in Cairo. | website=The Baltimore Sun | date=22 October 2018 | url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/05/21/that-brimless-hat-signified-style-fez-in-such-countries-as-morocco-turkey-syria-and-egypt-the-tarbush-has-had-a-colorful-political-past-favored-by-king-and-commoner-and-then-banned-by-governments-only/ | access-date=23 September 2025}}</ref> It was popular especially during the later period of the Ottoman Empire. Its use spread throughout the empire, and much of its popularity derives from this era.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/22/world/fez-journal-last-refuge-of-the-tall-tasseled-ottoman-hat.html|title=Fez Journal; Last Refuge of the Tall Tasseled Ottoman Hat|work=The New York Times|date=22 March 1995|access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="origin">{{cite book|author=Hilda Amphlett|title=Hats: A History of Fashion in Headwear|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gx7CAgAAQBAJ&q=history+of+hats+fez&pg=PA1990|publisher=Courier Corporation|year=2012|page=12|quote=FEZ. (From Fez in Morocco). Of Turkish origin.|isbn=978-0486136585}}</ref><ref name=mode>{{cite book|author=Ruth Turner Wilcox|title=The Mode in Hats and Headdress: A Historical Survey with 198 Plates|publisher=Courier Corporation|year=2013|page=33|isbn=978-0486318301|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXHCAgAAQBAJ&q=Fez|quote=The Turkish fez}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = Hilda | last = Amphlett | title = Hats: a history of fashion in headwear | location = Mineola, New York | publisher = Courier Dover | year = 2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = Ibrahim | last = Kaya | title = Social theory and later modernities: the Turkish experience | location = Liverpool, England | publisher = Liverpool University Press | year = 2004 | page = 119}}</ref><ref name=history>{{citation|author=Ann LoLordo|work=The Baltimore Sun|year=1997|title=That brimless hat signified style Fez: In such countries as Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Egypt, the tarbush has had a colorful political past, favored by king and commoner and then banned by governments. Only two makers remain in Cairo.|quote=The origin of the fez is disputed. One historian, Jeremy Seal, says the hat originated in Turkey where the Sultan Mahmoud II sought to replace the cloth turban with a modern headpiece. The fez bore no brim to enable good Muslims to press their heads to the ground in prayer, according to Seal's "A Fez of the Heart," a history of the hat. Others say the hat got its name from the city in Morocco from which the red-berry dye originates.}}</ref>

In the Ottoman Empire, the fez began to be used as an official headdress during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II. Over time, the form and manner of wearing the fez changed; these changes were associated with the reigns of different sultans, Westernization policies, and the aesthetic sensibilities of each period. Accordingly, variations can be observed in elements such as the height, rigidity, color, and tassel of the fez across different periods.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Talay |first=Seda |date= |title=Fesin Tarihi - TARİH VAKTİ |url=https://tarihvakti.com/fesin-tarihi/ |access-date= |language=tr}}</ref>

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).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kinross |first1=Lord |title=The Ottoman Centuries |date=1979 |publisher=Perennial |isbn=978-0-688-08093-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ottomancenturies00kinr/page/466 466] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ottomancenturies00kinr/page/466}}</ref>

The tarboosh was depicted as an element of Turkish clothing as early as around 1460.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xFIJhGcq5dYC&pg=PA158 Postcolonial Approaches to the European Middle Ages: Translating Cultures.] Cambridge University Press, 2005.</ref> Mehmed the Conqueror wore a jeweled tarboosh wrapped in a white ''sarık'' to signify his right of the conquest of Constantinople.<ref>Dunham, Dilmeran Akgöze. [https://books.google.com/books?id=JtRPAAAAYAAJ&q=Tarboosh+mehmet+the+conqueror The Hat as Symbol of Westernization in Turkey.] Cornell University, June, 1985. p.22.</ref> 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.<ref name="Mansel2011">{{cite book|author=Philip Mansel|title=Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LrnvC98bNSoC&pg=PT251|date=10 November 2011|publisher=John Murray Press|isbn=978-1-84854-647-9|page=251}}</ref> In 1829, the Sultan ordered his civil officials to wear the plain fez and banned the wearing of turbans.<ref name = "Jirousek, Charlotte 2005">{{Cite encyclopedia | last = Jirousek | first = Charlotte | title = Islamic Clothing | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Islam | location = New York | publisher = Macmillan | year = 2005}}</ref><ref>Quataert, D. (1997). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/164587 Clothing Laws, State, and Society in the Ottoman Empire, 1720-1829]. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 29(3), page 412</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shx164|doi=10.1093/jsh/shx164|title=The Tarbush Transformation: Oriental Jewish Men and the Significance of Headgear in Ottoman and British Mandate Palestine| year=2019| last1=Kahlenberg| first1=Caroline R.|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=52|issue=4|pages=1212–1249|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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,<ref name = "quataert">{{Cite journal | first = Donald | last = Quataert | title = Clothing Laws, State, and Society in the Ottoman Empire, 1720–1829 | journal = International Journal of Middle East Studies | volume = 29 | issue = 3 | pages = 403–25 |date=August 1997 | jstor = 164587 | doi=10.1017/s0020743800064837| s2cid = 54626714 }}</ref> it became a symbol of modernity throughout the Near East, inspiring similar decrees in other nations (such as Iran in 1873).<ref name="Jirousek, Charlotte 2005" /> thumb|An Arab "protest gathering" against British policy in Palestine, 1929 The original centre of production appears to have been in Tunis.<ref name=":0" /> To meet escalating demand, skilled fez makers were induced to immigrate from Tunisia to Istanbul, where factories were established in the neighborhood of Eyüp.<ref name="Mansel2011" /> Styles soon multiplied, with nuances of shape, height, material, and hue competing in the market. The striking scarlet and merlot colors of the fez were initially achieved through an extract of cornel. However, the invention of low-cost synthetic dyes soon shifted production of the hat to the factories of Strakonice, Czech Republic (then in the Austrian Empire).{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} [[File:Hassan_al-Banna.jpg|thumb|Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood]] The 1908 Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina resulted in a boycott of Austrian goods, which became known as the "Fez Boycott" due to the near-monopoly the Austrians then held on the production of the hat. Although the headdress survived, the year-long boycott brought the end of its universality in the Ottoman Empire as other styles became socially acceptable.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

The societal position of the fez as a symbol of tradition led to its ban in Turkey in 1925 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the Hat Revolution, part of his modernizing reforms.<ref name=":2" /> It was banned for similar reasons in 1958 in Egypt by Gamal Abdel Nasser government, with Cairo having been one of the most important centers of production of the fez up until then.<ref name=":1" /> Fez production has subsequently resumed in Egypt, but its sale is largely aimed at tourists.<ref name=":1" />

=== Symbolism === [[File:David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben Zvi as law students in Turkey D683-118.jpg|thumb|David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi as law students in Istanbul c. 1914]] The fez was a symbol not only of Ottoman affiliation but also of religious adherence to Islam.<ref name="JuergensmeyerRoof2012">{{cite book|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer|author2=Wade Clark Roof|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B105DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA402|year=2012|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-0-7619-2729-7|page=402}}</ref> It was also the main headdress for Christians and Jews during the Ottoman Empire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jewish Community in Ottoman Empire |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2017/10/13/jewish-community-in-ottoman-empire |website=Daily Sabah |date=13 October 2017 |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326054219/https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2017/10/13/jewish-community-in-ottoman-empire |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Maxwell2014"/> Jewish men wore the fez and referred to it by the Arabic name "Tarboush", especially if they spoke Arabic (Egyptian, Syrian and Jews from the Levant).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bywater |first1=Maria |title=The Fabric of Jewish History: Ottoman Jews |url=https://sewjewish.com/2014/07/30/the-fabric-of-jewish-history-ottoman-jews/ |website=Sew Jewish |language=en |date=30 July 2014}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/JLzs2iJkGok Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20181007113510/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLzs2iJkGok Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |title=April 1897 - Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem (speed corrected w/ added sound) | website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLzs2iJkGok |date=6 October 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In southern Asia, the fez had been adopted due to its links with the Ottoman Empire.

Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, the fez was the preferred headwear for Christians and Muslims in the Balkans, which at the time was still mostly under Ottoman suzerainty. There were variations on the fez in the Balkan states, mainly involving the addition of religious symbols on the front. In semi-independent Montenegro, a client state of the Ottoman Empire that enjoyed complete autonomy, its Orthodox citizens wore their fezzes with a Greek cross on the front. Supporters of the Illyrian movement among South Slavs, especially in Croatia, wore their fezzes with a star and crescent on the front irrespective of religion, believing that the symbol predated the introduction of Islam in the Balkans. In 1850, regulations in the newly autonomous Principality of Serbia concerning uniforms of ministerial officers specified the wear of red fezzes displaying the Serbian coat of arms.<ref name="Maxwell2014">{{cite book|author=A. Maxwell|title=Patriots Against Fashion: Clothing and Nationalism in Europe's Age of Revolutions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLpCBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-27714-5}}</ref> The fez was a symbol of Arab nationalist resistance against the Zionism during the Arab revolt in Palestine between 1936 and 1939 in the British Mandate.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Philipp O. Amour|title=Yusif Sayigh: Personal Account of the Palestinian National Movement|doi=10.3366/hlps.2018.0184|journal=Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies|year=2018|volume=17|issue=1|page=143}}</ref>

Over time, the fez came to be seen as part of an Oriental cultural identity. On the one hand this led to its banning as part of modernising reforms in Turkey (1925) and later in Egypt (1958).<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal | first = Selim | last = Deringil | title = The Invention of Tradition as Public Image in the Late Ottoman Empire, 1808 to 1908 | journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History | volume = 35 | issue = 1 |date=January 1993 | page = 9| doi = 10.1017/S0010417500018247 | s2cid = 145056061 }}</ref> On the other hand, the western orientalist perception of it during the 20th century west as exotic and romantic lead to its vogue as part of men's luxury smoking outfit in the United States and the United Kingdom. It had also become associated with Ottoman domination across much of the former Ottoman Empire and Arab world, though an exception is Morocco, where it became a symbol against French colonisation.<ref name="JuergensmeyerRoof2012" /> Morocco remains one of the last places where the fez is occasionally worn, and remains a favoured part of royal court dress.<ref name="JuergensmeyerRoof2012" />

==Military use== [[File:RaczynskiAleksander.ZuawiWWalce.1858.jpg|French Zouave during the Crimean War (1853–1856)|thumb]] [[File:Dömeke Harbi Zonaro.jpg|thumb|Ottoman soldiers during the Greco-Turkish War (1897)]]A version of the fez was used as an arming cap for the 1400–1700s version of the mail armor head protector (a round metal plate or skull-cap, around which hung a curtain of mail to protect the neck and upper shoulder). The red fez with blue tassel was the standard headdress of the Turkish Army from the 1840s until the introduction of a khaki service dress and peakless sun helmet in 1910. The only significant exceptions were cavalry and some artillery units who wore a lambskin hat with colored cloth tops.<ref>{{cite book| first=Richard| last=Knotel| pages=430–433|title=Uniforms of the World. A Compendium of Army, Navy and Air Force Uniforms 1700-1937| isbn=0-684-16304-7| date=January 1980| publisher=Scribner's}}</ref> Albanian levies wore a white version of the fez, resembling their traditional qeleshe. During World War I, the fez was still worn by some naval reserve units and occasionally by soldiers when off duty.<ref>{{cite book|first=David|last=Nicolle|pages=44 & 47|title=The Ottoman Army 1914-18|isbn=1-85532-412-1|date=28 March 1994|publisher=Bloomsbury USA }}</ref> The Evzones (light infantry) regiments of the Greek Army wore their own distinctive version of the fez from 1837 until World War II. It now survives in the parade uniform of the Presidential Guard in Athens.

From the mid-19th century on, the fez was widely adopted as the headdress of locally recruited "native" soldiers among the various colonial troops of the world. The French North African regiments (Zouaves, Tirailleurs, and Spahis) wore wide, red fezzes with detachable tassels of various colors. It was an off-duty affectation of the Zouaves to wear their fezzes at different angles according to the regiment; French officers of North African units during the 1930s often wore the same fez as their men, with rank insignia attached. (Many volunteer Zouave regiments wore the French North African version of the fez during the American Civil War.) The Libyan battalions and squadrons of the Italian colonial forces wore lower, red fezzes over white skull caps. Somali and Eritrean regiments in Italian service wore high red fezzes with colored tassels that varied according to the unit. German askaris in East Africa wore their fezzes with khaki covers on nearly all occasions.

The Belgian Force Publique in the Congo wore large and floppy red fezzes similar to those of the French Tirailleurs Senegalais and the Portuguese Companhias Indigenas. The British King's African Rifles (recruited in East Africa) wore high straight-sided fezzes in either red or black, while the West African Frontier Force wore a low red version.<ref>Rinaldo D'Ami, pages 53 & 59 "World Uniforms in Colour", Volume 2, Casa Editrice AMZ Milqn 1966 SBN 85059 X.</ref> The Egyptian Army wore the classic Turkish model until 1950. The West India Regiment of the British Army wore a fez as part of its Zouave-style full dress until this unit was disbanded in 1928.<ref>{{cite book|first=W.Y.|last=Carman|page=56|title=A Dictionary of Military Uniform|date=1977 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=0-684-15130-8}}</ref> The tradition is continued in the full dress of the band of the Barbados Regiment, with a white turban wrapped around the base.

While the fez was a colorful and picturesque item of uniform, it was in several ways an impractical headdress. If worn without a drab cover, it made the head a target for enemy fire, and it provided little protection from the sun. As a result, it was increasingly relegated to parade or off-duty wear during World War II. However, France's West African ''tirailleurs'' continued to wear a khaki-covered version in the field until about 1943. During the final period of colonial rule in Africa (approximately 1945 to 1962), the fez was seen only as a full-dress item in French, British, Belgian, Spanish, and Portuguese African units, being replaced by wide-brimmed hats or forage caps on other occasions. Colonial police forces, however, usually retained the fez as normal duty wear for indigenous personnel. [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Mielke-036-23, Waffen-SS, 13. Gebirgs-Div. "Handschar".jpg|Bosniak Soldiers of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1943)|thumb]] Post-independence armies in Africa quickly discarded the fez as a colonial relic. It is, however, still worn by the ceremonial ''Garde Rouge'' in Senegal as part of their Spahi-style uniform, and by the Italian Bersaglieri in certain orders of dress. The Bersaglieri adopted the fez as an informal headdress through the influence of the French Zouaves, with whom they served in the Crimean War. The Italian Arditi in the First World War wore a black fez that later became a uniform item of the Mussolini Fascist regime.<ref>Elioe Vittorio, tavola XLVI "Atlante dell Uniformi: military italians dal 1934 ad oggi", Ermanno Albertelli 1984.</ref> The Spanish Regulares (formerly Moorish) Tabors stationed in the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, in North Africa, retain a parade uniform that includes the fez and white cloaks. Filipino units organised in the early days of U.S. rule briefly wore black fezzes, and officers serving with Muslim personnel of the Philippines Constabulary were authorised to wear this headdress from 1909.<ref>{{cite book|first=Col John R.|last=Elting|page=40|title=Military Uniforms in America. The Modern Era from 1868|isbn=0-89141-292-1|year=1988|publisher=Presidio Press }}</ref> The Liberian Frontier Force, although not a colonial force, wore fezzes until the 1940s.

Bosnian infantry regiments in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire had been distinguished by wearing the fez, from their creation in 1885<ref>{{cite book|first=Christoph|last=Neumayer|page=50|title=The Emperor's Bosniaks|date=2008 |publisher=Militaria |isbn=978-3-902526-17-5}}</ref> until the end of World War I.<ref>{{cite book|first=Christoph|last=Neumayer|page=230|title=The Emperor's Bosniaks|date=2008 |publisher=Militaria |isbn=978-3-902526-17-5}}</ref> They wore distinctive light blue or field grey uniforms,<ref>{{cite book |first=Christoh |last=Neumayer |page=199 |title=The Emperor's Bosniaks|year=2008 |publisher=Militaria |isbn=978-3-902526-17-5}}</ref> with a buckle showing an arm with a scimitar inside a shield as the symbol of Bosniak ethnicity. The primarily Bosniak Muslim 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar, which was recruited from Bosnia, used a red or field grey fez with Waffen SS cap insignia during the latter half of World War II. Their fezzes were decorated on the front with {{lang|de|Hoheitszeichen|cat=no}} (eagle and Swastika) and the SS {{lang|de|Totenkopf}} (skull and crossbones).<ref name="Stein1984">{{cite book|author=George H. Stein|title=The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-KEtPlNQJNgC&pg=PA182|year=1984|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=0-8014-9275-0|page=182}}</ref>

Two regiments of the Indian Army recruited from Muslim areas wore fezzes under British rule (although the turban was the nearly-universal headdress among Hindu and Muslim sepoys and sowars). A green fez was worn by the Bahawalpur Lancers of Pakistan as late as the 1960s.<ref>Rinaldo D'Ami, ''World Uniforms in Colour'', Volume 2, Casa Editrice AMZ Milqn, 1966 {{SBN|85059 040 X}}. p. 72.</ref> <gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:King Otto of Greece.jpg|Otto of Greece in an Evzones uniform File:Stevan Knićanin, Uroš Knežević.jpg|Serbian voivode Stevan Knićanin, 1849 </gallery>

==Modern use== [[File:Mohammed VI meets John Kerry and Dwight Bush.jpg|thumb|King Mohammed VI of Morocco meets John Kerry and Dwight Bush while wearing a fez]] [[File:MohammadAliTelangana.png|Mahmood Ali, Indian politician and Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana state wearing a fez|thumb]]

===In Arab countries=== In Arab countries, tarboush-making is a profession passed down from parents to children through generations. Producing the hat is tricky and requires a high degree of precision, with many stages in its production cycle. Fewer and fewer people have inherited and continue the profession.<ref name=allallawi/> In Iraq, the Iraqi Sidara replaced the Fez after the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire.<ref>{{Cite web |last=بابان |first=صلاح حسن |title=أدخلها الملك فيصل الأول وتميز بها البغداديون.. ماذا تعرف عن السدارة العراقية؟ |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/lifestyle/2022/1/26/%d8%a3%d8%af%d8%ae%d9%84%d9%87%d8%a7-%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%b5%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%88%d9%84-%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%aa%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%b2-%d8%a8%d9%87%d8%a7 |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=www.aljazeera.net |language=ar}}</ref>

In the Levant, the tarboush is still worn, but it is becoming rarer in recent times, and mostly worn by minstrels, or people who work in the tourist industry in historical places.<ref name=allallawi/> It is still regarded as traditional Syrian headwear.<ref name=wya/>

However, in Morocco, the tarboush is still worn as part of everyday attire.<ref name=allallawi/> This is also the case amongst Samaritans, for whom the tarboush is an ethnoreligiously intangible article of clothing.

=== In South Asia === [[File:Maulana Zafar Ali Khan.jpg|thumb|Zafar Ali Khan, a Pakistani writer, poet, translator, and journalist who played an important role in the Pakistan Movement against British rule, used to wear a fez.]] In Hyderabad, the fez is known as the ''Rumi Topi'', which means "Roman Cap" (by virtue of the Ottoman Empire being seen as the successor state of the Eastern Roman Empire). The fez was popularised by Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan of princely Hyderabad after he visited Rome.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |author=Moulika KV|date=Jan 28, 2018 |title=Nizam's Rumi topi now makes style statement {{!}} Hyderabad News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/nizams-rumi-topi-now-makes-style-statement/articleshow/62678157.cms |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> As per Himayat Ali Mirza, the great-grandson of the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan never wore expensive clothes but used to wear Rumi Topi to camouflage his short physical stature — he was only five feet tall<ref name=":3" /> — and advised his son Moazzam Jah to also wear the Rumi Topi.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Syed Akbar |date=Nov 1, 2021 |title=Hyderabad: Rumi topi defies time, still popular {{!}} Hyderabad News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/rumi-topi-defies-time-still-popular/articleshow/87442380.cms |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref>

The fez was also a symbol of support for the Ottoman Caliphate against the British Indian Empire during the Khilafat Movement. Later, it became associated with some leaders of the Muslim League, the political party that eventually created the country of Pakistan. The veteran Pakistani politician Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was one of the few people in Pakistan who wore the fez until he died in 2003.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In Sri Lanka, the fez was frequently worn by the local Muslim Sri Lankan Moor population. Despite its decline in popularity, the fez is still used in traditional marriage ceremonies. It continues to be worn by "{{Lang|ar-Latn|italics=no|Qadiriyathun Nabaviyyah}}" Sufi path followers. The songkok, a variation of the fez, is worn by the local Sri Lankan Malays.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

=== In Southeast Asia === [[File:Malay Regiment at bayonet practice.jpg|thumb|Malay Soldiers of the Royal Malay Regiment wearing songkok at bayonet practice (1941)]] The name "songkok" is also used in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, while in Java, it is called "kopiah"; this headwear is also known widely in Indonesia as "peci", although peci is somewhat different. This hat has been commonly worn in Maritime Southeast Asia since the 19th century, when it was introduced by Muslims from South Asia.<ref name="songkok origin">{{cite web|url=http://www.bt.com.bn/features/2007/09/23/the_origin_of_the_songkok_or_kopiah|title=The origin of the songkok or 'kopiah'|author=Rozan Yunos|publisher=The Brunei Times|date=23 September 2007|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205140605/http://www.bt.com.bn/en/features/2007/09/23/the_origin_of_the_songkok_or_kopiah|archive-date=5 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://m.inilah.com/news/detail/2275754/pdip-kopiah-bagian-dari-identitas-nasional|title=PDIP: Kopiah Bagian Dari identitas Nasional|author=Abdullah Mubarok|language=id|publisher=Inilah.com|date=21 February 2016|access-date=13 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413074741/http://m.inilah.com/news/detail/2275754/pdip-kopiah-bagian-dari-identitas-nasional|archive-date=13 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===In South Africa=== The Turkish-style fez was introduced to Cape Malays in Cape Town, South Africa, by Sheikh Abu Bakr Effendi, when he moved there from Turkey in 1863 to teach them about their religion. Before this, the Dutch East India Company had compelled Muslims in the Cape of Good Hope, mainly brought as slaves from what is now Indonesia, to hide their religious practice, with death as the punishment for practising their faith in public or for attempting to convert anyone.<ref name=argun2000>{{cite web|author=Argun, Selim| date=2000| url=http://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za:8080/dspace/bitstream/10210/1246/1/ARTICLE.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831200806/http://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za:8080/dspace/bitstream/10210/1246/1/ARTICLE.pdf| archive-date=31 August 2011|title= Life and Contribution of Osmanli Scholar, Abu bakr Effendi, towards Islamic thought and Culture in South Africa| pages=7–8}}</ref>

Muslim men have continued to wear the fez there,<ref>{{cite book | last=Green | first=L.G. | title=Grow Lovely, Growing Old: The Story of Cape Town's Three Centuries-the Streets, the Houses, the Characters, the Legends, Traditions and Folklore, the Laughter and Tears | publisher=H. Timmins | year=1951 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kLQ5AQAAIAAJ | access-date=20 February 2023 | page=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title= Malay Pilgrims from Cape Town on their way to Mecca | website=Royal Collection Trust | url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/2907421/malay-pilgrims-from-cape-town-on-their-way-to-mecca| format=photo | access-date=20 February 2023}}</ref> where it is also referred to as a kofia (also spelt kofija).<ref>{{cite web | title=Kofia | website= A Dictionary of South African English | date=20 February 2023 | url=https://dsae.co.za/entry/kofia/e03971 | access-date=20 February 2023| quote=1951 L.G. Green, ''Grow Lovely'', 189: Cape Malays call the fez a kofija.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Muslim man wins fez court battle | website=IOL | date=24 February 2006 | url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/muslim-man-wins-fez-court-battle-267454 | access-date=20 February 2023}}</ref> especially at prayer times in mosques, at weddings, and at home as a sign of respect when in the company of elderly people. It is also popular with children at madrassas (Islamic schools). However, the last traditional fez-maker in Cape Town retired in March 2022.<ref>{{cite web | last=Landsberg | first=Ian | title=Last of his kind: Traditional fez maker in Kensington hangs up his hat | website=IOL | date=14 March 2022 | url=https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/last-of-his-kind-traditional-fez-maker-in-kensington-hangs-up-his-hat-95e5366a-4ae8-4332-a44a-d58248859eba | access-date=20 February 2023}}</ref>

The "Silver Fez" is a competition of all-male choirs from the Cape Malay community in Cape Town,<ref name=mg2009>{{cite web | title=The Song remains the same | website=The Mail & Guardian| first=Shaun |last=De Waal | date=16 September 2009 | url=https://mg.co.za/article/2009-09-16-the-song-remains-same/ | access-date=14 February 2023}}</ref> involving thousands of musicians and a wide variety of tunes. A documentary film, ''The Silver Fez'', was made about the competition and released in 2009.<ref name=witness>{{cite news|title=The Silver Fez| url= http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2007/05/2008525185914952223.html|accessdate=23 March 2012|newspaper= Al Jazeera| series=Witness|date=15 June 2009| format= text and video}}</ref><ref name=fcat2010>{{cite book| url=https://fcat.es/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/catalog_fcat_2010.pdf| pages=86–87|title=7ª Edición|publisher= Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa / Tarifa African Film Festival (FCAT)|date= May 2010|language=fr, es, en }}</ref>

===Use by fraternal orders=== [[File:Shriners, 1925.jpg|thumb|Los Angeles' Shriners Arab Patrol in costume in the midst dance with people looking on, circa 1925]] Many fraternal orders are known for wearing fezzes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fezmuseum.com|title=The Fez Museum - Dedicated to Fraternal Fez Hats|website=www.fezmuseum.com}}</ref> *Shriners are often depicted wearing a red fez. The headgear became official for the Shriners in 1872. Similarly, the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine also wore fezzes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Shriners International: History: The Fez|url=http://www.shrinersinternational.org/Shriners/History/Fez|website=Shriners International|access-date=23 April 2015|archive-date=15 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515020410/http://www.shrinersinternational.org/Shriners/History/Fez|url-status=dead}}</ref> *Members of the International Order of Alhambra wear a white fez.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} *Members of the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm wear a black fez.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} *The Knights of Peter Claver wear a blue fez.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} *Members of the Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans wear fezzes of various colors, based upon rank.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} *The Knights of Khorassan wear a navy blue fez.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} *Members of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World wear fezzes of various colors, based upon rank.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} *The Loyal Order of Moose's second-degree body, the Moose Legion, wears a purple fez.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} *The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to the lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The group takes its name from a fictional lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 film ''Sons of the Desert''. A special fez is worn occasionally by some members. * Senior members of the Fraternal Order of Moai wear a navy blue fez. *Many active members of the Church of the SubGenius wear a red fez.

==In popular culture== British comedian Tommy Cooper adopted the fez as part of his comic act while serving in Egypt during the Second World War. The hat went on to become Cooper's hallmark and an icon of 20th-century comedy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Logan |first1=Brian |title=Just like hat! Why Tommy Cooper's fez was much more than a prop |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/shortcuts/2016/dec/05/tommy-cooper-fez-much-more-than-prop |website=The Guardian |access-date=6 November 2020 |date=5 December 2016}}</ref>

Fans of English rugby team Saracens often wear fezzes to matches, and the club itself describes the fez as "one of the most recognisable club symbols".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Fez Club |url=https://saracens.com/tickets-hospitality/hospitality/the-fez-club/ |website=Saracens |access-date=17 July 2024}}</ref>

The pop group Madness have often worn fezzes, as seen in the music video to their 1979 song "Night Boat to Cairo".<ref>{{cite web |title=Madness - Night Boat to Cairo (Official HD Video) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLLL1KxpYMA|website=youtube|access-date=21 August 2024}}</ref>

In the Disney animated series Gravity Falls, Grunkle Stan, a main character who has a persona "Mr. Mystery", wears a fez which sometimes features a Shriners symbol.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nolan |first=Liam |date=2020-01-07 |title=Gravity Falls: Alex Hirsch Reveals Why Grunkle Stan's Hat Changed |url=https://www.cbr.com/gravity-falls-alex-hirsch-why-grunkle-stan-hat-changed/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=CBR |language=en}}</ref>

The Eleventh Doctor (portrayed by Matt Smith) has a fascination with the fez, and wears it in some episodes of the British sci-fi television series ''Doctor Who''. A fez also features in one Thirteenth Doctor episode, it's also worn by the Tenth Doctor briefly in the episode “Day of the Doctor”.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-17 |title=Doctor Who proves fezzes are still cool in epic throwback to Matt Smith era |url=https://metro.co.uk/2018/11/17/doctor-who-episode-seven-kerblam-matt-smith-jodie-whittaker-fez-8148950/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Metro |language=en}}</ref>

==See also== * Kalpak, a similar Turkic head cap * Kopiah * Kufi, brimless, rounded cap * List of hat styles * List of headgear * Moorish Science Temple of America, where male members wore fezzes * Qeleshe, a white, rounded cap worn by Albanians * Sidara, an Iraqi cap that can be folded * Songkok, a truncated conical felt hat in Southeast Asia * Taqiyah, a brimless, rounded cap

==Footnotes==

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading== * Patricia Baker, "The Fez in Turkey: A Symbol of Modernization?". ''Costume'' 20 (1986): 72–85 * Donald Quataert, "Clothing Laws, State, and Society in the Ottoman Empire, 1720–1829". ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' 29, no. 3 (1997): 403–425 * Wilson Chacko Jacob, "Working Out Egypt: Masculinity and Subject Formation Between Colonial Modernity and Nationalism, 1870–1940" (PhD thesis, New York University, 2005), chapter 6 (326–84).

==External links== * {{commons category-inline}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fez (Hat)}} Category:Hats Category:Military hats Category:Arabic clothing Category:Islamic male clothing Category:Algerian clothing Category:Tunisian clothing Category:Clothing of the Ottoman Empire Category:Moroccan clothing Category:Turkish clothing Category:History of Asian clothing