The Order of Charity (), sometimes referred to as the Order of the Chefakat, was an order of the Ottoman Empire founded in 1878 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
It was bestowed on selected women for distinguished humanitarian or charitable works, or as a token of the Sultan's esteem. Recipients included non-Ottoman citizens, including the English painter Margaret Murray Cookesley for her portrait of the Sultan's son, Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1883), wife of the Earl of Dufferin who was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and to American social reformer Ellen Martin Henrotin (1893).
The badge consists of a five pointed star in gold and crimson enamel, with a central gold medallion bearing the Sultan's cypher, surrounded by a green enamelled band with the words "Humanity, Assistance, Patriotism" in Ottoman Turkish. The star rests upon a circular wreath enamelled green with crimson berries, the whole mounted on another star with radiant points. The decoration is hung from a star and crescent suspension, enamelled red. The order had three classes, with the highest class mounted with diamonds and other precious stones.
Recipients
Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra Feodorovna
Margaret Murray Cookesley
Princess Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Helen Morgenthau Fox
Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava
Ellen Martin Henrotin
Maria Christina of Austria
Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Milena of Montenegro
References
External links
The Order of Chefakat, presented to the Countess of Jersey (National Trust)
Charity
1878 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Orders of chivalry awarded to heads of state, consorts and sovereign family members