Divan-khane ( fa, دیوانخانه) is a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
phrase from (''
divan
A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan'').
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...
'' = court) + (''
khane'' = house) to describe a
guest house
A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...
or room. It is akin to the
great hall of medieval Europe.
In tribal Middle Eastern, Arab, Persian, and Kurdish societies, a guest house of the
tribal chief
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...
tain is used mostly for discussing tribal affairs. This served as an institution dedicated to the political and social affairs of the tribe. A ''diwan'' or ''diwan-khane'' was a special room, or house, dedicated to the ''
agha'' and his male guests, for sitting and drinking tea, discussing the political and social affairs of the tribe and other mundane subjects.
The ''agha'' and his guests would also listen to singers and story tellers (usually Jewish merchants or peddlers), who would entertain them. The common ''agha'' was in charge of several major tasks of the tribal society under his jurisdiction: He was the head of the political unit, the
judge and
arbitrator, the military leader and the finance minister responsible mainly for receiving dues/taxes from his subjects for their harvest and commercial transactions under his jurisdiction.
See also
*
Divan
A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan'').
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...
*
Dewaniya
The dewaniya or diwaniya was the reception area where a Middle Eastern man received his business colleagues and male guests. Today the term refers both to a reception hall and the gathering held in it, and visiting or hosting a dewaniya is an impor ...
, a room which serves a similar function in
Eastern Arabia
Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Unite ...
*
Divan (Mughal architecture) - the diwan-khane as used in
Mughal architecture
References
Persian words and phrases
Rooms
Ottoman Empire
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