The Order Nichan el-Anouar (fr. Ordre du Nichan el-Anouar) was founded in October 1887 by the Sultan of Tadjoura Hamed ben Mohamed as a military and civil merit order. By decrees of the French President Félix Faure on May 10th and 23rd, 1896, the order was incorporated into the French order system as the so-called Colonial Order.