The centring of the second half of the frame on a
vizier and his daughter points toward one kind of 'hidden' political implication; and this implication becomes clearer when we also consider the place of
viziers' families in early Islamicate states.
In the face of external and internal challenges, central government proved to be ineffective--as between1648 and 1656 there was a total of twelve grand
viziers. The crisis raised the question of legitimacy; in particular, the position of power held by the valide sultan came to be seen as the source of all the empire's problems.
Following the introductory examination of Selim, the author focuses on several important grand
viziers (a
vizier is a chief military and political administrator and the most powerful man below the sultan) and their corresponding worldview.
Viziers in ancient Egypt were powerful officials who oversaw the running of the kingdom's intricate bureaucracy.
Under the leadership of the Sadrazam--the Grand
Vizier and aside from the sovereign (that is to say, it totally depended on his wish to attend or not) the participants of such sessions of the Consulting Council consisted of Sheikhulislam (dignitary responsible for all matters connected with the canon laws, religious schools, etc), the Kapudan Pasha (the admiral of the fleet), the Rumeli Kadiaskeri (chief military judge of Rumeli),the Anadolu Kadiaskeri (the chief military judge of Anatolia), all the
viziers, the leading state officials, the retired ranking statesmen and when considered necessary, the representatives of the Ulema class--the learned men.
The Indian king hoped to confound his Persian counterpart, but the Persian ruler, who also had to figure out the rules on his own, was victorious, "and for good measure [sent] a new game of his own court's invention, backgammon, as a gift in return." In another story, the
viziers of an orphaned prince, anxious that the inexperienced monarch had not had time to learn about war, trained him with a chess set.
The meetings of ambassadors and Grand
Viziers, in the Porte or a private kiosk, appeared to be a collision between two worlds: they wore different costumes, spoke different languages and followed different religions.
Abu Nuwas' initial appearance at the `Abbasid court in Baghdad met with little success; his alliance with the Barmakids, the `Abbasid
viziers, forced him to seek refuge in Egypt when the Barmakid dynasty collapsed.
Born at Magnesia (April 18, 1590), the son of Sultan Mohammed III; sultan on his father's death (January 22, 1603); agreed to the Treaty of Zsitvatorok (November 11, 1606), which ended the so-called Long War with Austria; suppressed the revolts of the Druse leader Fakhr al-din in Lebanon (1610-1613), and the sipahis (spahis, feudal cavalry) in Istanbul; worked vigorously to restore effective government to the Ottoman dominions, executing ineffective or corrupt
viziers and instituting several new regulations; also noted for his contributions to religious institutions and shrines; died in Istanbul (December 22, 1617) and was succeeded by his son Osman II.
As a scribe in his court, Ibn Abbad would have studied the letters of Abu l-Fal along with other exemplars of artistic prose from famed
viziers of the Umayyad and 'Abbasid periods.
Renowned for his piety and plain living, he was a tutor to the caliph's son and a favorite of the
viziers.
A descendant of a famous family of 17th-century Ottoman prime ministers (grand
viziers), Koprulu began teaching at the Galatasaray Lycee (secondary school) in Constantinople and in 1913 occupied the chair of Turkish literature at Istanbul University.
From al-Afdal to the end of the dynasty at the hands of the Ayyubids, patrons for buildings and other arts, notably but not exclusively
viziers, include a complex mix of Sunnis, Ismailis, Twelver Shi'is, and even Armenian Christians.
