''Enderûn'' ( ota, اندرون, from
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 ...
''andarûn'', "inside") was the term used in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
to designate the "Interior Service" of the Imperial Court, concerned with the private service of the
Ottoman Sultans
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...
, as opposed to the state-administrative "Exterior Service" (''
Birûn ''Birûn'' is the Persian word for "outside".
Suburb of Central Asian city
According to Doğan Kuban and V. Barthold, in the Turco-Iranian world, cities were usually made up of three sections: the city proper (''Shahristan''), the citadel (''Kuha ...
''). Its name derives from the location of the Sultan's apartments in the inner courts of the
Topkapi Palace; its head was the
Kapi Agha
The Kapi Agha ( tr, Kapı ağası, " Agha of the Gate"), formally called the Agha of the Gate of Felicity (''Bâbüssaâde ağası''), was the head of the eunuch servants of the Ottoman Seraglio until the late 16th century, when this post was taken ...
.
The Inner Service was divided into four departments. In descending order of importance, these were the Privy Chamber (''Hass Oda''), the Treasury (''Hazine''), the Privy Larder (''Kilar-ı Hass''), and the Great and Little Chambers (''Büyük ve Küçük Odalar''). Among the responsibilities of the Inner Service was also the running of the
palace school, where Princes along with selected young Christian boys, gathered through the ''
devşirme
Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...
'' system (from the 17th century, however, Muslim boys were also admitted) were trained for the highest state offices. These boys served then as pages in the Inner Service, and were known as ''
içoğlanı'' ("lads of the interior").
The Inner Service was also notable for its employment of
deaf-mute
Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...
s (''dilsiz''), at least from the time of
Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
, to the end of the empire. They acted as guards and attendants, and due to their particular nature were often entrusted with highly confidential assignments, including executions. Their number varied but they were never numerous; they had their own uniforms, their own superiors (''başdilsiz''), and although many were literate, they also communicated in their own special
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Enderun
Ottoman court
Topkapı Palace