This medal was instituted in 1882 and it came in two classes, gold and silver. The gold medal was the highest ranking military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. On the front side of the medal was a Turkish coat of arms with the Sultan's "tugra" and an inscription "Relying on Divine Guidance and Assistance, Abdulhamit Khan, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire". The back side had another inscription and a curved rectangular area where the name of the recipient could be engraved, and at the bottom was the date 1300 (1882). Awards given during the World War had a ribbon device consisting of a bar with the year 1333 (1915) above a pair of crossed sabers.