Sublime Porte

The Imperial Gate (Bâb-ı Hümâyûn), leading to the outermost courtyard ofTopkapi Palace,was known as the Sublime Porte until the 18th century.

The later Sublime Porte proper in 2006

Crowd gathering in front of the Porte's buildings shortly after hearing about the1913 Ottoman coup d'état(also known as the Raid on the Sublime Porte) inside.

TheSublime Porte,also known as theOttoman PorteorHigh Porte(Ottoman Turkish:باب عالی,romanized:Bāb-ı ĀlīorBabıali,fromArabic:باب,romanized:bāb,lit. 'gate' andعالي,alī,lit. 'high'), was asynecdocheormetaphorused to refer collectively to thecentral governmentof theOttoman EmpireinIstanbul.

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 theByzantine Empireand it was also adopted byOttomanTurk sultans sinceOrhan 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 inBursa,Turkey. After the Ottomans had conqueredConstantinople,nowIstanbul,the gate now known as the Imperial Gate (Turkish:Bâb-ı Hümâyûn), leading to the outermost courtyard of theTopkapı Palace,first became known as the "High Gate", or the "Sublime Porte".

When SultanSuleiman the Magnificentsealedan alliancewith KingFrancis I of Francein 1536, the French diplomats walked through the monumental gate then known asBab-ı Ali(nowBâb-ı Hümâyûn) in order to reach the Vizierate of Constantinople, seat of the Sultan's government.French being the language of diplomacy, the French translationSublime Portewas 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 Topkapi Palace area, on the other side of Alemdar Caddesi (Alemdar street). This became the location of theGrand Vizierand many ministries. Thereafter, this building, and the monumental gate leading to its courtyards, became known as the Sublime Porte (Bab-ı Ali);colloquially it was also known as the Gate of thePasha(paşa kapusu).The building was badly damaged by fire in 1911.Today, the buildings house theIstanbul Governor's Office.

Diplomacy

"Sublime Porte" was used in the context ofdiplomacybyWesternstates, as their diplomats were received at theporte(meaning "gate" ). During theSecond Constitutional Eraof the Empire after 1908 (seeYoung Turk Revolution), the functions of the classicalDivan-ı Hümayunwere replaced by the reformedImperial Government,and "porte" came to refer to theForeign Ministry.During this period, the office of theGrand Viziercame to refer to the equivalent to that of aprime minister,and viziers became members of the Grand Vizier'scabinetasgovernment ministers.

See also

• Bab (disambiguation)
• Raid on the Sublime Porte
• Court of St James's,another synecdochic term, for the United Kingdom in diplomatic relations
• Kremlin,synecdochic term for the Russian government