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Medal for the Defence of Kars: CM.1457-2009

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Ruler: ‘Abd al-Majid (1823-61) (Struck in the rule of)
State: Ottoman Empire

Entities

Categories

Description

The city of Kars, in north-eastern Turkey, was a possession of the Ottoman Empire between 1378 and 1877, but over the course of the nineteenth century an exposed and strategic position made it a frequent target of Russian attacks. Defended successfully in 1821, it fell in 1828, but was recovered in time to be a target anew in the Crimean War.
The Russians, who were in a dangerous position at the siege of Sebastopol, decided as almost the last gasp of the war to open a new front directly attacking the Ottoman Empire. Kars stood in their path, and withstood a five-month siege. Turkish reinforcements were sent but were used to skirmish with the Russian forces; facing winter without resupply, and with snowfall preventing their relief, the garrison surrendered on 26 November 1855. In the negotiations that ended the Crimean War Kars was transferred to Russia, although it would be recovered for good in 1918.
No dishonour was attached to the 1855 surrender by Sultan Abdúlmecid, and those who had assisted in the city's defence were awarded this commemorative medal. As the garrison had been under British command, and had numbered a few British troops, not all the recipients were Ottoman soldiers, but the great majority were; nearly twenty thousand were issued to Turkish forces and the issues to Turks and non-Turks are not distinct in any way.
It cannot therefore be told to whom this example of the medal was awarded and in what force he served. Although this medal has become part of the Watson Collection, moreover, it is not in Lester Watson's own lists and there is no information about how he may have acquired it.

Notes

History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; no provenance.

Legal notes

Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 36.7 mm
Weight: 24.6 g

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester

Dating

Production date: AD 1855

Materials used in production

Silver

Techniques used in production

Struck

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.1457-2009
Primary reference Number: 141551
Ordering: M-0340
Previous object number: LW.0340
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Saturday 22 January 2022 Last processed: Tuesday 13 June 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Medal for the Defence of Kars" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141551 Accessed: 2024-10-08 01:50:21

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141551 |title=Medal for the Defence of Kars |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-10-08 01:50:21|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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