ChrisW

Hi UKR, Thanks for posting that, it’s an extremely interesting insignia! I agree with oamotme about the translation. The skull and crossbones is very reminiscent of Egypt’s paramilitary groups of the time such as the National Guard and the student paramilitary Futuwwa Organization, suggesting this badge could be associated with a military/paramilitary training unit at Cairo University.

That’s a good question and one I’ve pondered about Arab orders/medals in general. One partial reason may be that orders are more likely to be awarded to foreigners than medals, and therefore more of them end up In Western countries and more likely to end up on the auction block? Whereas medals in Arab countries generally stay in those countries and perhaps wind up in a local bazaar but otherwise are not as widely available to international collectors. Just a theory.

That is a very nice example of an early Medal of Merit — and also an amusing story of how you came to acquire it! Thanks for sharing, Von Thronstahl!

This photo from an Egyptian magazine shows the North Korean Order of the National Flag, First Class. The award document (in Arabic) indicates it was awarded to Egyptian General Saad el-Din el-Shazly, in accordance with Republican Decree 83 of 11 April 1973, and approved by Kim Il Sung on 12 April 1973.

Fantastic photos, thanks as always Owain! Haftar served in the Libyan contingent fighting alongside Egypt in the 1973 war, so it's possible a few of the ribbons relate to that conflict. That last uniform is quite something, partly Russian or North Korean influence, partly President Sadat of Egypt's...?

Thanks for posting! Ironic, given the LNA's recent setbacks.... Have we seen the rival GNA issue its own awards? Or either side continue awarding any Qaddafi-era awards?

Martin, This shoulder slide is for a Syrian Air Force general (four star general). I think that most recent commanders of the Syrian Air Force have been major generals (two star), so this may be a reproduction or sample of a hypothetical rank slide, rather than being linked to a specific individual. Best, Chris

Last photo... youngest HSU ever? ?

UKR, Top photo: 1945-1984 In memory of the 39th [anniversary] of the establishment of the Syrian Arab Army Bottom photo: Martyrdom or victory

Thanks for posting, MConrad! There are some nice uniform details in this photo -- this Egyptian policeman is wearing the white cotton summer uniform (worn from April-September, approximately). Besides the cuff marking (which I think denotes a traffic policeman, but am not certain), note the white fez-cover, individual serial number on the collar, corporal's stripes on the right sleeve, and the sloppily-fastened belt.

My copy arrived yesterday, and it's very impressive. 350 pages, hard cover, with color photographs and drawings. As Owain said, it's entirely in Arabic, but the names of the medals are also given in English which is a big help for quick identification. The coverage is impressively thorough: Historical overview, glossary, and nice extras such as the medals awarded by the French Mandate, the UAR period (which includes many Egyptian medals), Russian and UN medals related to Syria, unit insignia of the French Mandate period, some photos of award certificates, and indexes and bibliography. Some random pages from the book... The book also comes with a four-page brochure describing the contents of the book and the author.

Correct email for the author: adnan.djaroueh@gmail.com Paul, would very much love to know your thoughts (and/or some pictures) whenever you have the chance! Many thanks!

Apologies, the email address is incorrect. I will attempt to follow up. Chris

Clyde Tinklepaugh posted this on OMSA.org a few days ago, and I hope he doesn't mind my reposting it here. (I don't have any additional details on this book yet, but if anyone else does please share!) An encyclopedia of Syrian medals has been released by OMSA member Adnan Georges Jaroua. This is a massive hard cover book, 9.5″ x 13″ and weighs 5.5 pounds. All illustrations are in color. In the encyclopedia there are: 241 orders, medals, decorations and insignia, arranged with their information and pictures, divided according to the countries participating with Syria in their issuance. they are divided as follows: 126 orders, 59 medals, 13 decorations, and 43 insignia. 105 Syrian orders, 26 United Arab Republic orders, 16 Syrian Arab orders, 59 orders during the French mandate period, 25 Syrian-Russian medals, and 10 Syrian international medals. 4 Sashes, 15 medallions, 70 badges, 32 award certificates, one administrative order and one purchase authorization. For additional information, contact the author; Adnan Georges Jaroua at adan.djaroueh@gmail.com

Vince, I can't help you with the one on the left but the one on the right has the flag of Suriname (in South America), and says (in Dutch), "Courage, Conduct, Faith" Best, Chris

Thanks for posting these, Rusty! Those are some beautiful details on the cases! As always, you've done an exemplary job on the in-depth research for this posting.

I was perusing the program of this year's Middle East Studies Association (North America) conference and was surprised and intrigued to see this paper among the otherwise highly arcane and specialized topics: Doga Ozturk, Ohio State U–Ottoman Orders and Medals in Egypt: Symbols of Ottoman Consciousness, 1841-1909 https://mesana.org/pdf/19_preliminary_program-8-20-19.pdf (this is on p. 48 of the program) I'm not planning to attend, but wonder if anyone is aware of the author or his work? (cross-posted to Turkey forum)

I was perusing the program of this year's Middle East Studies Association (North America) conference and was surprised and intrigued to see this paper among the otherwise highly arcane and specialized topics: Doga Ozturk, Ohio State U–Ottoman Orders and Medals in Egypt: Symbols of Ottoman Consciousness, 1841-1909 https://mesana.org/pdf/19_preliminary_program-8-20-19.pdf (this is on p. 48 of the program) I'm not planning to attend, but wonder if anyone is aware of the author or his work? (cross-posted to Middle East forum)

Pardon a bit of levity, but I saw this photo (on a well-known auction site) of what is probably the son of a very proud Egyptian judge, and couldn't help but think of this topic...

As always, some excellent research and great photos here. Thanks Rusty!

Further to Owain's comment, this appears to be a bouillon version of the Kuwait University logo (image taken from Google) Chris

Thanks for pointing out the two King Fuad II in exile orders! I skimmed through the catalog photos but missed that in the text. So the only difference is in the presentation boxes, not the orders themselves?

Paul, Egypt only issued campaign medals for the 1948 war and the 1973 war. The Victory Medal was issued to commemorate the first anniversary of the UK/French withdrawal from Suez in Dec. 1956 war, but there wasn't an actual medal for that war itself. And the 1967 war, Egypt didn't have much to celebrate about that. Best, Chris

The first one says "Public Security, Abu Dhabi."

This probably will be little more than the existing Navy Day medal with a brass disk on the ribbon with the Arabic number "50." http://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/130766?lang=en-us 29 May 2018: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi decreed issuing a commemorative Golden Jubilee medal for the Egyptian naval forces on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the sinking of Israeli Eilat destroyer. The medal will be awarded to all members of the naval forces in service on October 21, 2017.