The Mecıdı Order

from ınspıratıon to sparkle, from the occıdent to the orıent Proof of Trust: The Mecidi Order 049 Proof of Trust: This important but previously unrevealed information, as the mecıdı order many others in this book, was obtained from the documents of the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry. The relevant From Abdühamid II to document is recorded with the code 165/17 and mentioned Arnold and Wilhelm von Siemens: among Honorary Decrees (İrade Taltifat). This edict, dated 11 “Loyal, virtuous, diligent.” Cemaziyelahir 1316 (27 October 1898), shows that Werner’s son Arnold, to whom the father had left the management Carrying on his business in his home country Prussia, Werner of the Company,19 and his younger brother Wilhelm were Siemens was ennobled by Kaiser Friedrich III in 1888 and awarded the second-degree Mecidi Order (Nişan-ı Mecidi) given the name Werner “von” Siemens. On the other hand, by Abdülhamid II. This decoration was the first Western style his engineer-inventor brother Carl Wilhelm whom he had Ottoman medal and only 150 of such medals were minted. We now know that two of them were awarded to the Siemens family. This award proves that Siemens’ relations with the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed Reşad Cuma Selamlığı – II. Meşrutiyet'in ilk yılı: 23 Temmuz 1908-23 State were based upon trust. Certainly, medals and decorations Temmuz 1909, Yapı Kredi Yayınları are concrete expressions of appreciation and trust. However, Sultan Mehmed Reşad Friday Divine Service Parade – II. Meşrutiyet'in ilk yılı: 23 Temmuz 1908-23 when we look into the specificities of this second-degree Mecidi Temmuz 1909, Yapı Kredi Yayınları Order awarded to the Siemens brothers more closely, we see clearly that this relationship was indeed based on trust, because on the medal are written the words “sadakat, hamiyet, gayret” (loyalty, virtue, diligence). There can hardly be a nobler way for the State to tell the addressees that they have the quality of “sadakat”, meaning loyalty and trustworthiness. The word “hamiyet” which has passed into Ottoman Turkish from the Arabic, means virtue. The word “gayret” (diligence) indicates the useful work performed by the person receiving the medal. In other words, the decoration was given to virtuous people who have shown their loyalty and proved themselves useful to the land of the Ottomans. Werner von Siemens, eşi ve çocukları, 1876. (soldan sağa) Arnold, Kathe, Wilhelm, Werner ve Hertha, Anna, Antonie ve Carl Friedrich – Siemens Şirket Arşivi It should also be noted that in Decree No 154/17, the official Werner von Siemens, his wife and children, 1876. (from left to rıght) Arnold, Kathe, Wilhelm, document accompanying the conferred medal, Arnold and Werner and Hertha, Anna, Antonie and Carl Friedrich – Siemens Corporate Archives Wilhelm von Siemens are mentioned as “hayırhâhân-ı Saltanat-ı Seniyye’den”, in other words, as “benefactors for the Sultanate.” sent to Great Britain obtained a title of nobility from Queen Thus, the Sultan himself perceived and appraised Siemens Victoria, becoming “Sir” Charles William Siemens in 1883. brothers as being well-intentioned towards the Ottoman Empire. As for Carl Heinrich, the brother who had settled in Russia, Another quality of the second-degree Mecidi medal is that it was he was also honored with a nobility title by Tsar Nicholas II conferred by the Sultan in person. Probably Arnold and Wilhelm in 1895.18 As we shall see in the following chapters, Siemens’ von Siemens were introduced to Sultan Abdülhamid II and had a activities in the service of the Sublime State too were to be face to face meeting with him. found praiseworthy. Indeed, together with the high demand their successful products met in Turkey, The gratification document also 18 the Siemens family’s work was also to be Wilfried Feldenkirchen, Werner von Siemens - Inventor and declares that, besides those given International Entrepreneur (Columbus: 1994). crowned with the bestowal of honorific to Arnold and Wilhelm von Siemens, 19 medals, one of them being given by Sultan After Werner von Siemens retired, his brother Carl von Siemens other medals, albeit of lesser degree, assumed the responsibility of managing the Company. Werner’s sons Abdülhamid II. Arnold and Wilhelm also shared the responsibility with their uncle. were bestowed to the German Consul hıstory of sıemens – from empıre to republıc.

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