() or (), also and , was a senior court office in medieval Islamic states. Meaning 'the keeper of the inkpot', it was created during the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

. It denoted the head of the chancery, and derived its name from the royal inkpot, symbol of office of the

viziers A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the Near East. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a helper but afterwards became the rep ...

of the

Abbasid caliphs The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

. Under the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

it was initially a lowly office, but during the

Burji dynasty The Burji Mamluks () or Circassian Mamluks (), sometimes referred to as the Burji dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1382 until 1517. As with the preceding Bahri Mamluks, the members of the Burji Mamluk ruling class we ...

it became one of the seven most important offices, being termed 'Grand Keeper of the Inkpot' (), and receiving additional, junior s as aides. The office variously had responsibilities over tax and harvest collection in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

, or the mustering of soldiers for campaigns; some holders of the office accumulated great power, and some even rose to become sultans themselves. In the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and

Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, the s were mere chancery scribes.

References

Sources

* {{EI2 , last = Ayalon , first = D. , authorlink = David Ayalon, title = Dawādār , volume = 2 , page = 172 , doi =10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1740 Government of the Abbasid Caliphate Government of the Mamluk Sultanate