SUBLIME PORTE

also called Porte, the government of the Ottoman Empire. The name is a French translation of Turkish Bbili (High Gate, or Gate of the Eminent). which was the official name of the gate giving access to the block of buildings in Constantinople, or Istanbul, that housed the principal state departments. Early in the history of the Ottoman Empire, the grand viziers became powerful, but only in the 17th century did they acquire the official residence, Bbili, which became the real centre of government. There, too, were the offices of the foreign ministry and the council of state; hence the application of the term to the government as a whole. In the late 20th century, the buildings were the seat of a provincial governorate.