Global InformationKurbash information
Kurbash, also known as Kourbash or Kurbaj (Arabic: كُرْبَاجْ, romanized: kurbāj, from Turkish: kırbaç, "a whip" [1]), is a whip or strap about a yard (91 cm) in length, made of the hide of the hippopotamus or rhinoceros. It is an instrument of punishment and torture that was used in the Ottoman Empire, most especially in Egypt. It was a tool widely employed by officials for various purposes of the state, including the obtaining of confessions from criminals, the collection of taxes, and the enforcement upon the population of the form of servitude known as corvée labor.[2]
- ^ "kurbash." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 10 May. 2009.
- ^ Harold Tollefson, "Policing Islam: The British Occupation of Egypt and the Anglo-Egyptian Struggle Over Control of the Police, 1882-1914." November 1999.