A chelengk (; , ) was a military decoration of the Ottoman Empire.
Originally a çelenk was "a bird's feather which one attaches to the turban as a sign of bravery" but by the end of the 18th century, the ' had become institutionalized in Ottoman military practice and continued to be awarded for military merit up to the 1820s. It was a jewelled aigrette consisting of a central flower with leaves and buds, and upward-facing rays.
In modern Turkish, a ' is a wreath or garland, a circular decoration made from flowers and leaves, usually arranged as an ornament.
A specially-made chelengk was awarded to Horatio Nelson by Sultan Selim III in honour of the Battle of the Nile in 1798. This was the first time that a chelengk was conferred on a non-Ottoman. The usual seven rays were augmented to thirteen, as described in a contemporary letter:
Nelson's chelengk was bought by the Society for Nautical Research in 1929 following a national appeal and placed in the National Maritime Museum. It was stolen in 1951 by Taters Chatham and never recovered.
Selim III also gave a chelengk to Russian Admiral Fyodor Ushakov after the capture of Corfu from the French in 1799.