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The Imperial Council or Imperial
Divan A divan or diwan (, ''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, meaning "Oriental cou ...
(), was the '' de facto'' cabinet 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 ...
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 Council's composition and function became firmly regulated. 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 ...
, who became the Sultan's deputy as the head of government, assumed the role of chairing the Council, which comprised also the other
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
s, charged with military and political affairs, the two '' kadi'askers'' or military judges, the '' defterdars'' in charge of finances, the '' nişancı'' in charge of the palace scribal service, and later the
Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha (, modern Turkish: ), also known as the (, modern: , "Captain of the Sea") was the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Typically, he was based at Galata and Gallipoli during the winter and charged with annual sailings durin ...
, the head of the
Ottoman Navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...
, and occasionally the ''
beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...
'' of
Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...
and the
Agha of the Janissaries The Agha of the Janissaries or Janissary Agha (; ) was a top Ottoman Empire, Ottoman military official and courtier, and the commander of the Janissary corps. Apart from the commander-general of the entire corps, the title of "Agha of the Janissar ...
. The Council met in a dedicated building in the Second Courtyard of the Topkapi Palace, initially daily, then for four days a week by the 16th century. Its remit encompassed all matters of governance of the Empire, although the exact proceedings are no longer known. It was assisted by an extensive secretarial bureaucracy under the ''
reis ül-küttab The ''Reis ül-Küttab'' (), or ''Reis Efendi'' (), was a senior post in the administration of the Ottoman Empire. Translated as "chief of the katib, scribes" or "head clerk", the holder of the post was originally the head of the chancery of the I ...
'' for the drafting of appropriate documents and the keeping of records. The Imperial Council remained the main executive organ of the Ottoman state until the mid-17th century, after which it lost most of its power to the office of the Grand Vizier. With the
Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...
reforms of the 19th century, it was eventually succeeded by a Western-style cabinet government, the
Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
.


History and function

Originally, the Imperial Council was probably an informal advisory body of senior statesmen, but also functioned as a court of law. In the 14th century and until the mid-15th century, it seems to have been headed by the
Sultan Sultan (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...
in person, "suggesting that relations between sultan and
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
s were still informal, with the sultan’s advisors in the role of allies as much as subordinates" according to the Ottomanist Colin Imber. Meetings were often public or semi-public affairs in which the Sultan would appear surrounded by his senior advisors and hear grievances of his subjects, dispense justice and make appointments to public office. In the case of an interregnum between the death of a Sultan and the arrival of his successor from the provinces, the Council was held by the senior councillors on their own. Later Ottoman tradition held that it was
Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...
() who abandoned the practice of presiding over the council in person, instead relegating this responsibility to 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 ...
, ''ipso facto'' defining the latter as a distinct office from the other viziers. Mehmed II's law-code states that the Sultan would observe Council sessions behind a screen, a practice which lasted until the reign of
Süleyman 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 Ottoman sultan between 1520 and his death in 1566. Under his adminis ...
(), who ceased to attend Council meetings altogether. Nevertheless Mehmed II's successor,
Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...
() is still recorded as openly chairing sessions of the Council in person, although by this time, these occasions were involved in elaborate ceremonial, in stark contrast to the informality of such audiences before Mehmed II. After
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
became the Ottoman capital in the late 14th century, the Council met at the palace there or anywhere the Sultan currently resided. Following the
Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...
in 1453, the Council met initially at the
Eski Saray Eski Saray ( Turkish for "Old Palace"), also known as Sarây-ı Atîk-i Âmire, was a palatial building in Constantinople under the Ottoman Empire in the Beyazıt neighborhood of the Fatih district, between the Süleymaniye Mosque and the Bayezid ...
(Old Palace), moving to the Topkapi Palace after its construction in the 1470s. There the Council had a dedicated building (''divanhane'') in the Second Courtyard. The present building was built in the early reign of Süleyman the Magnificent by Grand Vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, and renovated in 1792 and 1819. The council chamber proper was known as ''kubbealtı'' ("under the dome"). During campaigns, the Council met at the Grand Vizier's tent, which was always pitched near the Sultan's own. The law-code of Mehmed II stipulates that the Council had to meet daily, of which four times in the Council Chamber (''Arz Odası'') in the Topkapi Palace, where they were received by the chief usher (''
çavuş Çavuş, also anglicized Chaush and Chiaus (from / ; ; from Old Turkic ''Çabuş'' or ''Çawuş'', "person who gives order or yells") was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman title used for two separate soldier professions, both acting as messengers altho ...
başı'') and the intendant of the doorkeepers (''kapıcılar kethudası''). By the 16th century, however, the full Council met regularly on four days of the week, on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, and sessions lasted from seven to eight hours, beginning at dawn and ending at mid-day in summer and mid-afternoon in winter. The members ate three times during each council session, breakfasting after their arrival, then after the main discussion had been concluded and finally after hearing petitions. In earlier times, the Sultan often dined with the viziers after the Council, but Mehmed II ended this practice. In addition, there were extraordinary sessions of the Council: the ''ulufe divani'' or ''galebe divani'', convened each quarter to distribute the quarterly salary (''ulue'') to the members of the ''
kapıkulu ''Kapıkulu'' (, ''Kapıkulu Ocağı'', "Slaves of the Sublime Porte") was the collective name for the household division of the Ottoman Sultans. They included the Janissary infantry corps as well as the Six Divisions of Cavalry. Unlike provincia ...
'' ("slaves of the Porte") corps, including the
Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...
, as well as for the formal reception of foreign ambassadors, and the ''ayak divani'' or "foot council", as everyone remained standing, an emergency session chaired by the Sultan or the army commander when on campaign. Although many decisions were taken outside the formal context of the Imperial Council, it was the main executive body of the Empire, conducting all kinds of tasks of government such as the conduct of foreign relations, including the reception of foreign ambassadors, the preparation of campaigns, the construction of fortifications and public buildings, the reception of reports from the provincial governors and the appointments to state office, as well as continuing to function as a court of law, particularly for members of the military class. The inner workings of the Council are obscure, since no minutes were kept during the sessions, but the wording of Council decrees indicates that most decisions were prompted by petitions addressing a specific problem. Later foreign observers reporting on Ottoman affairs also stressed that the council was "purely consultative, the final responsibility resting with the Grand Vizier" (
Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British-American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near ...
). It is impossible to determine what role the Sultan played in the Council's workings. On the one hand, all decisions were made in his name and on his authority, and Ottoman law codes foresaw that the Sultan could make his wishes known to the Council through the Kapi Agha. In Ottoman legal theory, however, as codified in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Grand Vizier was the Sultan's "absolute deputy" and the sole intermediary between the sovereign and the administration. Therefore after each meeting, the Grand Vizier—according to some 16th-century accounts, however, this was done by the entire Council—would go to report on proceedings to the Sultan in the Inner Palace. These interviews between the Grand Vizier and the Sultan were probably the main conduit of communication between the ruler and his government. At the same time, the Sultan could, if he wished, secretly listen in on the Council in session behind a grille-covered window (''kasr-ı adil'') overlooking the Council chamber and connected directly with the Sultan's private quarters in the ''
harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...
'', added either in the early reign of Süleyman the Magnificent or, according to another tradition, already by Mehmed II. It is clear, however, that each Sultan favoured a different style of government, and their roles changed even within the same reign: thus
Ahmed I Ahmed I ( '; ; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth, Ottoman rulers would no ...
() is recorded as refusing an audience with his Grand Vizier, demanding written reports instead, while
Murad III Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...
() at first once more presided over Council meetings in person, but increasingly withdrew from active participation as his reign proceeded. By the mid-17th century, on the other hand, the former elaborate protocol at Council sessions had once more been relaxed, and it is reported by the Ottoman renegade Bobovi that the Sultan (possibly
Murad IV Murad IV (, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; , 27 July 1612 – 8  February 1640) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad I ...
, ) once more presided over Council meetings in person. In addition, the courtiers and servants of the Inner Palace, or the members of the Imperial Harem such as the
Valide Sultan Valide Sultan (, lit. "Sultana mother") was the title held by the mother of a ruling sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans first formally used the title in the 16th century as an epithet of Hafsa Sultan (died 1534), mother of Sultan Suleima ...
(Sultana mother) or the
Haseki Sultan Haseki Sultan (, ''Ḫāṣekī Sulṭān'' ) was the title used for the chief consort of an Ottoman sultan. In later years, the meaning of the title changed to "imperial consort". Hurrem Sultan, principal consort and legal wife of Suleiman the ...
(Sultana consort), who had direct and intimate access to the Sultan's person, often influenced government decisions bypassing the Imperial Council and the Grand Vizier altogether. Over time, as the importance of the Grand Vizier within the Ottoman system rose at the expense of the palace, it became common to hold an afternoon meeting (''ikindi divani'') to wrap up leftover issues, after the afternoon prayer (''ikindi''), at the Grand Vizier's residence. Eventually, the ''ikindi divani'' came to meet five times a week and took over a large part of the Council's actual business. The Grand Vizier's pre-eminence was formalized in 1654, when a dedicated building (''bab-i ali'', the "
Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...
", or ''pasha kapısı'') was constructed to serve the Grand Vizier both as a residence and as an office. The bureaucracy serving the Imperial Council was gradually transferred to this new location, and by the 18th century, the Imperial Council itself had, according to Bernard Lewis, "dwindled into insignificance". The reformist sultans of the late 18th/early 19th century replaced the Imperial Council by a new institution, as well as forming special councils to apply their reforms. This system gradually evolved into a Western-style cabinet government, the
Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
.


Membership

The principal members of the Council had become fixed by the time of Mehmed II at least. They comprised: * the viziers, responsible for political and military affairs, and also liable to be sent on campaign, either under the Sultan or the Grand Vizier, or as commanders themselves. Their number was originally three, but this was raised to four in the mid-16th century, five in 1566, and seven in 1570/1. Their number reached as many as eleven in 1642, but by this time the title of vizier was also held by senior provincial governors (''
beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...
s''), who did not attend the council. The viziers with the right to attend the Council were designated "viziers of the dome" (''kubbe vezirleri'') from the dome surmounting the council chamber in the ''divanhane''. * the military judges ('' kadi'askers''), responsible for legal matters. Probably founded under
Murad I Murad I (; ), nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'' (from – meaning "Head of state, sovereign" in this context; 29 June 1326 – 15 June 1389) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1362 to 1389. He was the son of Orhan Gazi and Nilüfer Hatun. Mura ...
, there was only one holder of the post until the late reign of Mehmed II, when a second was instituted, leading to a division of responsibility between them: one was responsible for Rumelia (the European provinces) and one for
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
(the Asian provinces). For brief periods, the existence of a third ''kadi'asker'' is attested as well. * the treasurers ('' defterdars''), originally a single office-holder, increased to two (likewise one for Rumelia and one for Anatolia) by 1526, and four from 1578 (Rumelia, Anatolia, Istanbul and the "Danube", i.e. the northern coasts of the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
). Further ''defterdars'' served in the provinces. With the decline of state finances from the late 16th century on, their importance increased greatly. * the chancellor ('' nişancı''), possibly one of the most ancient offices, was originally the person who drew the Sultan's seal on documents to make them official. He became the head of an ever-expanding the government secretariat, overseeing the production of official documents. The members of the Imperial Council represented the pinnacles of their respective specialized careers: the viziers the military-political; the ''kadi'askers'' the legal; the ''defterdars'' the financial service; and the ''nişancı'' the palace scribal service. This was all the more the case after the 16th century, when these careers became—as a general rule—mutually exclusive. While the latter groups were from the outset recruited mostly from the Muslim Turkish population (although the ''kadi'askers'' tended to come from a very limited circle of legal families), the viziers were, after 1453, mostly drawn from Christian converts. These were partly voluntary (including, until the early 16th century, members of Byzantine and other Balkan aristocratic families) but over time the products of the ''
devshirme Devshirme (, usually translated as "child levy" or "blood tax", , .) was the Ottoman practice of forcibly recruiting soldiers and bureaucrats from among the children of their Balkan Christian subjects and raising them in the religion of Islam ...
'' system, which inducted humble-born youths into the Palace School, came to predominate. An appointment to the ranks of the Imperial Council was an avenue to great power, influence and enormous wealth, which was matched by equally ostentatious expenditure for, as Colin Imber writes, "the sign of a man's status in Ottoman society was the size of his household and the size of his retinue when he appeared in public", meaning that the members of the Council often kept hundreds, if not thousands, of slaves. Over time, the Council's membership was extended to include additional officials: * the ''beylerbey'' of the Rumelia Eyalet, who was the only provincial governor entitled to a seat in the Council, but only when a matter fell within his jurisdiction. * after the post's creation in 1535, the
Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha (, modern Turkish: ), also known as the (, modern: , "Captain of the Sea") was the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Typically, he was based at Galata and Gallipoli during the winter and charged with annual sailings durin ...
, the commander-in-chief of the
Ottoman navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...
, was also admitted as a member. * the
Agha of the Janissaries The Agha of the Janissaries or Janissary Agha (; ) was a top Ottoman Empire, Ottoman military official and courtier, and the commander of the Janissary corps. Apart from the commander-general of the entire corps, the title of "Agha of the Janissar ...
was admitted to the Council if he held the rank of vizier. In addition, a number of officials attended Council meetings but did not have seats in the chamber and did not take part in the discussions, such as the head of the scribes (''
reis ül-küttab The ''Reis ül-Küttab'' (), or ''Reis Efendi'' (), was a senior post in the administration of the Ottoman Empire. Translated as "chief of the katib, scribes" or "head clerk", the holder of the post was originally the head of the chancery of the I ...
''), the ''çavuş başı'', the ''kapıcılar kethudası'', various financial secretaries and palace officials, interpreters (''tercüman'', whence "
dragoman A dragoman was an Interpreter (communication), interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish language, Turkish-, Arabic language, Arabic-, and Persian language, Persian-speaking countries and polity, polities of the Middle East and ...
") and police chiefs, each in turn with his own retinue of clerks and assistants.


Council bureaucracy

An ever-expanding scribal service, under the supervision of the ''reis ül-küttab'', assisted the members of the Council, preparing the material for its sessions, keeping records of its decisions and creating the necessary documents. As their duties included drafting the state correspondence with other powers, initially they were probably drawn from various milieus, since until the early 16th century the Sultans corresponded with foreign rulers in their own language. After documents were only drawn up in Turkish, Arabic or Persian, and the service seems to have consisted solely of Muslims. The main branches of this secretarial service were: * the main chancery (''divan kalemi'' or ''beylik/beylikçi kalemi'') under the ''beylikçi'', the senior subordinate of the ''reis ül-küttab''. This was the office responsible for drafting and publishing all imperial decrees (''
firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...
'') or ordinances on all issues except for financial ones, and for keeping an archive of the originals of all laws and regulations ('' kanun'') as well as treaties or other documents concerning relations with other states. * the ''tahvil kalemi'', also ''nişan'' or ''kese kalemi'', which issued the documents of appointment for the posts of vizier, ''beylerbey'', ''
sanjakbey ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak'', in Arabic '' liwa’' ...
'' and provincial '' kadi'', and kept the relevant records. In addition, it dealt with the grant and transfer of ''
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. A ...
s'' and ''
ziamet Ziamet was a form of land tenure in the Ottoman Empire, consisting in grant of lands or revenues by the Ottoman Sultan to an individual in compensation for their services, especially military services. The ziamet system was introduced by Osman I, ...
s''. * the ''ruus kalemi'', which was responsible for the appointments of all other civil, military or religious officials beyond those dealt with by the ''tahvil kalemi''. * the offices of the master of ceremonies (''tesrifatçı'') and official court chronicler (''vakanüvis'') who kept records on ceremonies and history. * a later addition, the ''amedi'' or ''amedci'', the chief of staff to the ''reis ül-küttab'', headed a department responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, as well as for the liaison between the various government departments and the palace.


See also

* Privy council


References


Sources

* * {{Ottoman Empire topics Executive branches of government
Imperial Council (Ottoman Empire) 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 ...
Advisory councils for heads of state Monarchy Royal and noble courts