Porte 226898 225369801 2008-07-13T09:32:31Z 92.112.62.135 {{For|the Italian comune|Porte, Italy}} {{unreferenced|date=January 2008}} [[Image:Bab-i Ali.jpg|thumb|400px|right|The Sublime Porte in Ottoman times.]] '''Ottoman Porte''' (also '''Sublime Porte''', '''High Porte''', or, in [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]], '''Bab-ı Ali''') used to refer to the [[Divan]] (court) of the [[Ottoman Empire]] where government policies were established. == Terminology == The particular term was used in the context of [[diplomacy]] by the western states, as their diplomats were received at "porte" (meaning gate). During the [[Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)|constitution period]] (see [[Young Turk Revolution]]) the functions of the Divan were replaced by the [[Imperial Government of the Ottoman Empire|imperial government]], and "porte" came to refer to the [[Foreign Ministry]]. During this period [[Grand vizier]] came to refer to the position of a [[president]] and viziers became the [[Ottoman Senate]]. [[Image:DSC04009 Istanbul - La Sublime Porta - Foto G. Dall'Orto 25-5-2006.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The Sublime Porte in 2006]] The '''Sublime Porte''' was the name of the open court of the [[sultan]], led by the [[Grand Vizier]]. It got its name from the gate to the headquarters of the [[Grand Vizier]] in [[Topkapı Palace]] in Istanbul, where the sultan held the greeting ceremony for foreign [[ambassador]]s. It was an ancient [[Oriental]] practice to make the gates of cities and kings' palaces places of assembly. Later the name came to refer to 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]]. The '''High Porte''', in contrast, referred to the private court of the [[sultan]]. '''Porte''' is French for "gate"; therefore, the term ''High Porte'' is a [[Macaronic language|bilingual combination]] of English ''High'' and French ''Porte'' that is equivalent to ''Bab-ı Ali''. {{Organisation of the Ottoman Empire}} [[Category:Government of the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Governors of Istanbul]] [[Category:Gates]] [[bs:Visoka porta]] [[bg:Висока порта]] [[de:Hohe Pforte]] [[el:Υψηλή Πύλη]] [[es:Sublime Puerta]] [[fr:Sublime Porte]] [[hr:Visoka Porta]] [[it:Sublime porta]] [[he:השער הנשגב]] [[lv:Lielā porta]] [[hu:Török Porta]] [[nl:Verheven Porte]] [[pl:Wysoka Porta]] [[pt:Sublime Porta]] [[ro:Poarta Otomană]] [[ru:Порта]] [[sk:Vysoká Porta]] [[sl:Visoka porta]] [[sv:Höga porten]] [[tr:Bâb-ı Âli]] [[uk:Порта]]