The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy; it is a figure of speech that uses a term for a part of something to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term is derived . Common English synecdoches include '' ...

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

used to refer collectively to the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. It is particularly referred to the building which housed the office of the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

, and the

Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances The Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances (or the Grand Council of Justice, Turkish: ''Meclis-i Vâlâ-yı Ahkâm-ı Adliye'', also known as ''Meclis-i Vâlâ'') was a legislative and judicial body of the Ottoman Empire the Tanzimat period, ser ...

. Today it houses the office of the Istanbul governerate.

History

The name has its origins in the old practice in which the ruler announced his official decisions and judgements at the gate of his palace. This was the practice in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and it was also adopted by Ottoman Turk sultans since

Orhan I Orhan Ghazi (; , also spelled Orkhan; died 1362) was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering most ...

. The palace of the sultan, or the gate leading to it, therefore became known as the "High Gate". This name referred first to a palace in

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

, Turkey. After the Ottomans had conquered

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, now

, the gate now known as the Imperial Gate (), leading to the outermost courtyard of the

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...

, first became known as the "High Gate", or the "Sublime Porte". When Sultan

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

sealed an alliance with King

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

in 1536, the French diplomats walked through the monumental gate then known as ''Bâb-ı Âlî'' (now ''Bâb-ı Hümâyûn'') in order to reach the Vizierate of Constantinople, seat of the Sultan's government. French being the language of diplomacy, the French translation ''Sublime Porte'' was soon adopted in most other European languages, including English, to refer not only to the actual gate but as a metonymy for the Ottoman Empire. In the 18th century, a new great Italian-styled office building was built just west of

area, on the other side of Alemdar Caddesi (Alemdar street). This became the location of the

and many ministries. Thereafter, this building, and the monumental gate leading to its courtyards, became known as the Sublime Porte (''Bâb-ı Âlî''); colloquially it was also known as the Gate of the

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

(''paşa kapusu''). The building was rebuilt following a fire in 1839, and badly damaged by another fire in 1911. Today, the buildings house the

Istanbul Governor's Office Buildings and structures of the Ottoman Empire Government buildings completed in 1756 1756 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Official residences in Turkey Buildings and structures in Istanbul Fatih Istanbul Governor's Office ...

Diplomacy

"Sublime Porte" was used in the context of

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

states, as their diplomats were received at the ''porte'' (meaning "gate"). During the

Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...

of the Empire after 1908 (see

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

), the functions of the classical

Divan-ı Hümayun The Imperial Council or Imperial Divan (), was the '' de facto'' cabinet of the Ottoman Empire for most of its history. Initially an informal gathering of the senior ministers presided over by the Sultan in person, in the mid-15th century the Cou ...

were replaced by the reformed

Imperial Government The name imperial government () denotes two organs, created in 1500 and 1521, in the Holy Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation to enable a unified political leadership, with input from the Princes. Both were composed of the empero ...

, and "porte" came to refer to the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

. During this period, the office of the

came to refer to the equivalent to that of a

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, and viziers became members of the Grand Vizier's

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

government ministers A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

References

{{coord, 41, 0, 40, N, 28, 58, 41, E, type:landmark_region:TR, display=title Gates Government of the Ottoman Empire 1910s fires in Europe 1911 fires History of Istanbul

History

Diplomacy

See also

References