Porte

Synonym of the government of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman Porte, Sublime Porte, and High Porte are similar terms.

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The Sublime Porte was the open court of the sultan, lead by the Grand Vizier. It got its name after the gate to the headquarters to the Grand Vizier, where the sultan held the greeting ceremony for foreign ambassadors. It was an ancient Oriental practice to make the gates of cities and kings' palaces places of assembly. The term is French for "lofty gate." French was the language of European diplomacy.

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Later it became the Foreign Ministry and in contemporary times the office of the governor (Vali) of Istanbul Province. This name has also been interpreted as referring to the Empire's position as gateway between Europe and Asia.

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The High Porte, in contrast, was the private court of the sultan. When translated into English, the Turkish term Babi Ali means, literally, "High Gate." Porte is French for "Gate," therefore, the term High Porte is a bilingual combination of English High and French Porte that is equivalent to Babi Ali.

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See: Macaronic.

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Sultan: A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings....

Grand Vizier: Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-? Azam(Sadrazam) or Serdar-? Ekrem (in Ottoman Turkish: ??? ???? or ???? ????), deriving from the Persian word vizier (????), was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himse...

Oriental: REDIRECT Orient...

Porte related Images and Photos (experimental)

Porte de Printemps	Porte De Justice Alhambra Granada	La Porte St. Denis Paris 1880	Le Grandi Porte
The Porte Saint-Martin 1898	Pullip Dollte Porte Henri Doll	The Porte de La Grosse Cloche in Bordeaux c.1851	Pullip Byul Dollte Porte Leroy Doll
Pullip Isul Dollte Porte Vesselle Doll	Pullip Taeyang Dollte Porte Alfred Doll	Pullip Dal Dollte Porte Charlemagne Doll	View of the Porte St. Denis from "Promenades Dans Paris Et Ses Environs " circa 1840