Nişancı was a high post in
Ottoman bureaucracy. The Turkish word ''nişancı'' literally means "court calligrapher" or "sealer," as the original duty of the nişancı was to seal royal precepts.
History
Although the post of the court calligrapher was established during the reign of
Orhan (1324–1361), the name nişancı came into use during the reign of
Murat II (1421–1451). According to the law of
Mehmet 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 ...
(1451–1481), the nişancı was a member of the
divan (Ottoman government). Beginning in the mid-18th century, the post lost its former importance, and in 1836, it was abolished.
Duties of the nişancı
The nişancı was responsible for sealing the
precept
A precept (from the la, præcipere, to teach) is a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action.
Religious law
In religion, precepts are usually commands respecting moral conduct.
Christianity
The term is en ...
s of the
sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
and the
grand vizier
Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
. The nişancı was also responsible in supervising the divan's archives and keeping the records of the
timar
A timar was a land grant by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted as compensation for military service ...
system (lands granted and taxation authority by the Ottoman sultans to bureaucrats and
sipahi soldiers in return for their services). Up until the 17th century, the post of nişancı was also the equivalent of foreign minister. However, during the reign of
Mehmet IV (1648–1687),
reisülküttap (literally "the chief of clerks"), a post previously subordinate to that of the nişancı, replaced nişancı as 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 ...
's foreign ministry.
[Gabor Agoston-Bruce Masters: ''Encyclopaedia of the Ottoman Empire'', , pp.50–51]
Grand viziers of Nisancı origin
*
Karamanlı Mehmet Pasha (1477–1481)
*
Ayaşlı İsmail Pasha (1688–1688)
*
Elmas Mehmet Pasha (1695–1697)
*
Nişancı Süleyman Pasha (1709-1712)
*
Nişancı Ahmet Pasha (1740–1742)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nisanci
Government of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman titles
Turkish words and phrases