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

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 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. 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. 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, 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, 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 Topkapı Palace 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 (''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.

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 ...

by Western states, as their diplomats were received at the ''porte'' (meaning "gate"). During the Second Constitutional Era of the Empire after 1908 (see Young Turk Revolution), the functions of the classical Divan-ı Hümayun were replaced by the reformed Imperial Government, and "porte" came to refer to the Foreign Ministry. 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 as government ministers.

References

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History

Diplomacy

See also

References