Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun 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)
  • proper noun figuratively A pars pro toto for the Ottoman sultanic court, hence for the imperial government, notably the vizierial divan and the entire empire

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the Ottoman court in Constantinople

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French, meaning 'the high gate/portal'.

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Examples

  • It is this gate which is called the Sublime Porte -- a name figuratively given to the court of the sultan, in all histories, records, and diplomatic transactions.

    Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf 1846

  • That perceived condition opened much of the Mediterranean littoral to the European powers.33 The British and French jostled for the allegiance of the beys who ostensibly ruled North Africa on behalf of the Sublime Porte.

    The Great Experiment Strobe Talbott 2008

  • The outbreak of war in August 1914 made the British more receptive to these overtures, and to Abdullah fell the task of weaving together the threads of this unholy alliance against the Sublime Porte.

    'Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace' 2008

  • The news must have astonished the Lieutenant of the Sublime Porte; and since the days of the Kingdom of Munster, under his Anabaptist

    Notes of a Journey From Cornhill to Grand Cairo 2004

  • With the Sublime Porte and all the Governments on the coast of Barbary our relations continue to be friendly.

    State of the Union Address (1790-2001) United States. Presidents.

  • An effort has been made during the past year to remove the hindrances to the proclamation of the treaty of naturalization with the Sublime Porte, signed in 1874, which has remained inoperative owing to a disagreement of interpretation of the clauses relative to the effects of the return to and sojourn of a naturalized citizen in the land of origin.

    State of the Union Address (1790-2001) United States. Presidents.

  • _On Sept. 10 an official announcement from the Sublime Porte was handed to the representatives of the powers in Constantinople, and communicated to the press.

    The New York Times Current History, A Monthly Magazine The European War, March 1915 Various

  • Our treaties with the Sublime Porte, Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Muscat also require the legislation of Congress to carry them into execution, though the necessity for immediate action may not be so urgent as in regard to

    State of the Union Address (1790-2001) United States. Presidents.

  • At Tunis thirty Deys, appointed by the Sublime Porte, succeeded one another from 1590 to

    The Story of the Barbary Corsairs Stanley Lane-Poole

  • Our treaty with the Sublime Porte is producing its expected effects on our commerce.

    State of the Union Address (1790-2001) United States. Presidents.

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