English

Alternative forms

• High Porte
• Ottoman Porte
• Porte (shortening)

Proper noun

Sublime Porte

1. (literally) The monumental portal at the Ottoman palace where the supreme tribunals were held; became the surname of the first palace in Burssa (now Brussa), transferred to the even grander Topkapi palace after the capital's transfer to Istanbul (the former Byzantine imperial capital Constantinople)
2. (figuratively) A pars pro toto for the Ottoman sultanic court, hence for the imperial government, notably the vizierial divan and the entire empire

Synonyms

• (pars pro toto) Istanbul

Translations

French

Proper noun

Sublime Porte

1. The Sublime Porte, Ottoman sultanic palace, court, capital and empire