Ismaili Taj Souvenir

"The word taj is a Persian loanword in Arabic, which is derived from the old Persian tag, meaning crown. It is said that Dahhak was the first to wear the crown in the world. According to the hadith, "The turbans are the crowns of the Arabs" (al-ama'im tijan al-arab).

The term taj is not used in the early descriptions of the Fatimid ceremonies. Musabbih (d. 420/1029) invariably used the term imama. The Fatimid taj was a turban (imama) wound in a distinctive fashion. It was called a noble crown (al-taj al-sharif) and the winding of majesty (shaddat al-waqar). It was surmounted by a solitaire (al-yatima). The servant who wound this turban was called the winder of the crown (shaddal taj). Mostly, the turban was ornamented with sapphires, emeralds and the jewels that adorned the top of the turban. The turban was made of a length of cloth wound around the head with one end or tail left hanging down.

The Fatimid Imams wore the taj on ceremonial occasions (mawakib) on the great fest-days. They did not wear a proper crown but a turban richly studded with gems, including a particularly large one called al-yatima, weighing seven dhirams, of colour, for the elaborate winding of which a special official (shadd a-taj al-sharif) was appointed.

During the annual majalis in Poona in 1920, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah told to the Volunteers of Bombay, who were on duty, to come to his bungalow in Bombay and he would bestow them coat-of-arms (taj) to be worn on the volunteers' caps. After the majalis in Poona, the officers of the Volunteer Corps went to the bungalow in Bombay, where they were presented two gifts by the Imam: one was the coat-of-arms (taj) and the second was the rare photograph of the Imam. Since then, the taj began to be affixed on the caps of the volunteers and also in all community affairs.