Explain Indian Shi'a terms like alam, sartouq

edit

I found this: " 'alam' - a lavishly gilded ceremonial sword. Alams were originally battle standards, designed to be carried like flags into the fight, but in seventeenth-century Iran they were used in great religious processions, and rallied not warriors, but the faithful." So what is it here, a battle standard, or a ceremonial sword?

Sartouq: there is not a single Google hit in a context other than "Alawa e-Sartouq" (in various spellings). What is it? It doesn't show up in searches re. Ali ibn Husayn, Karbala, Yazid, whatever.

Wikipedia should be intelligible to everyone. Thanks, Arminden (talk) 14:39, 18 March 2020 (UTC)Reply