Grand Viziers of The Ottoman Empire
During the nascent phases of the Ottoman state, "Vizier" was the only title used. The first of these Ottoman Viziers who was titled "Grand Vizier" was Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha. The purpose in instituting the title "Grand Vizier" was to distinguish the holder of the Sultan's seal from other viziers. The initially more frequently used title of vezir-i âzam was gradually replaced by sadrazam, both meaning "grand vizier" in practice. Throughout Ottoman history, the grand viziers have also been termed sadr-ı âlî (high vizier), vekil-i mutlak (absolute attorney), sâhib-i devlet (holder of the State), serdar-ı ekrem, serdar-ı azam and zât-ı âsafî (vizieral person).
In the Köprülü era (1656–1703), the Empire was controlled by a series of powerful grand viziers. The relative ineffectiveness of the sultans and the diffusion of power to lower levels of the government was a feature of the Köprülü era.
After the Tanzimat period of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, the grand viziers came to assume a role more like that of the prime ministers of contemporary Western monarchies.
Read more about this topic: Grand Vizier
Famous quotes containing the words grand and/or empire:
“If the Christ were content with humble toilers for disciples, that wasn’t good enough for our Bert. He wanted dukes’ half sisters and belted earls wiping his feet with their hair; grand apotheosis of the snob, to humiliate the objects of his own awe by making them venerate him.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“Ce corps qui s’appelait et qui s’appelle encore le saint empire romain n’était en aucune manière ni saint, ni romain, ni empire. This agglomeration which called itself and still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)