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A dragoman was an
interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...
, translator, and official guide between Turkish-,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
-, and
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
-speaking countries and
polities A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people organized for governance ...
of the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an
embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes a ...
,
consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
s, vice-consulates and
trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
s. A dragoman had to have a knowledge of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and European languages. 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 ...
, Dragomans were mainly members of the
Ottoman Greek Ottoman Greeks (; ) were ethnic Greeks who lived in the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922), much of which is in modern Turkey. Ottoman Greeks were Greek Orthodox Christians who belonged to the Rum Millet (''Millet-i Rum''). They were concentrated in ...
community, who possessed considerable multilingual skills, because Greek trading communities did substantial business in the markets of the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
, the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
, the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
, and the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. To a lesser extent, other communities with international commercial links, notably the
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
, were recruited.


Etymology and variants

In
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
the word is ترجمان (''tarjumān''), in Turkish ''tercüman''. Deriving from the Semitic quadriliteral root ''t-r-g-m'', it appears in Akkadian as "targumannu," in Ge'ez (Classical Ethiopic) as ትርጓም (''t-r-gw-m''), and in
Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
as ''targemana''.
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
makes a distinction between מתרגם (''metargem'')—referring to a translator of written texts—and מתורגמן (''meturgeman'') referring to an interpreter of spoken conversation or speeches. The latter is obviously more closely related to the other languages mentioned, though both are derived from the same Semitic root. There has been speculation of a Hittite origin of the term (Salonen, p. 12; Rabin, pp. 134–136). During the Middle Ages the word entered European languages: in
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
as ''dragman'', from
Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
''drugeman'', from Medieval Latin as ''dragumannus'', from
Middle Greek δραγομάνος, ''dragoumanos''. Later European variants include the German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
''trutzelmann'', the French ''trucheman'' or ''truchement'' (in post-
French language">French ''trucheman'' or ''truchement'' (in post-Tanzimat French, and in modern French it is ''drogman''), the Italian language">Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
''turcimanno'', and the Spanish language">Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
''trujamán'', ''trujimán'' and ''truchimán''; these variants point to a Turkish or Arabic word "turjuman", with different vocalization. ''Webster's Dictionary'' of 1828 lists ''dragoman'' as well as the variants ''drogman'' and ''truchman'' in English. Consequently, the plural, in English, is "dragomans" (not "dragomen"). The family name of Franjo Tudjman, the first post-Communist President of
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, indicates that one of his ancestors might have been a dragoman.


History

In the Turkish tradition, the dragoman position is recorded in the pre-Ottoman
Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. ...
during the 13th-century reign of
Keykubad I 'Alā' ad-Dīn Kay-qubād ibn-e Kay-xusraw (; , 1190–1237), also known as Kayqubad I, was the Seljuq Turkish Sultan of Rûm who reigned from 1220 to 1237. He expanded the borders of the sultanate at the expense of his neighbors, particula ...
when two dragomans and two translator clerks were appointed.


In the Ottoman Empire

In Ottoman records, the first imperial dragoman recorded was Lutfi Pasha who was sent to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in 1479 to deliver a treaty. The position took particular prominence 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 ...
, where demand for the mediation provided by dragomans is said to have been created by the resistance on the part of the
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
Ottomans to learn the languages of non-Muslim nations. The office incorporated diplomatic as well as linguistic duties—namely, in the Porte's relation with
Christian countries A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church (also called an established church), which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by ...
—and some dragomans thus came to play crucial roles in Ottoman politics. The profession tended to be dominated by ethnic
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
, including the first Ottoman Dragoman of the Sublime Porte, Panagiotis Nikousios, the official interpreter for the ''Divan'' ( Imperial Council) of the Sultan, and his successor
Alexander Mavrocordatos Alexander Mavrokordatos, Mavrocordatos, or Mavrocordato () can refer to: * Alexander Mavrokordatos the Exaporite (died 1709), physician and Grand Dragoman of the Porte (1673–1709) * Alexander Mavrocordatos Delibey (1742–1712), Prince of Molda ...
. But this dominance changed in 1821 with the start of the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
. In 1821 the chief dragoman Constantine Mourouzi was executed for suspected disloyalty, and his successor, Stavraki Aristarchi, was dismissed and exiled in 1822. With unanswered correspondence accumulating, the chief naval instructor, one
Ishak Efendi Hoca Ishak Efendi ( – 1835) was an Ottoman mathematician and engineer. Life Ishak Efendi was born in Arta (now in Greece), probably in 1774, to a Jewish family. His father had converted to Islam. After his father died, he went to Constantino ...
, took over the position and became a pioneer in translation of Western scientific literature into Turkish, a task for which he had to create an entirely new vocabulary. Following Ishak, the grand dragoman and his staff were Muslims, and the Translation Office (''Tercüme Odası'', "Translation Room", in Turkish), with its familiarity with things European, became a new major ladder to influence and power in the
Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...
era; this knowledge largely replaced the older ladders of the army, the bureaucracy, and the religious establishment in the mid- and late-19th century. The dragomans were exempt from taxation. As many of them were Jewish, in virtue of their proficiency in foreign languages, Jewish
Halakhic ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments (''mitzv ...
responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
dealt with the question whether or not these dragomans were exempt also from the internal taxes of the Jewish community. It became customary that most
hospodar ''Gospodar'' or ''hospodar'', also ''gospodin'' as a diminutive, is a term of Slavic origin, meaning "lord" or " master". The compound (, , , sh-Latn-Cyrl, gospodar, господар, ) is a derivative of ''gospod'' / ''gospodin'', , or when spe ...
s of the Phanariote rule (roughly 1711–1821) over the
Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities (, ) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) ...
(
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
and
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
) would previously have occupied this Ottoman office, a fact which did not prevent many of them from joining conspiracies that aimed to overthrow Turkish rule over the area.


Western dragomans

These men were instrumental in spreading a wide-ranging curiosity about Islamic culture throughout the Latin parts of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The dragomans had scholarly language training in Persian, Arabic and Turkish since they were translators, interpreters, authors and were very open to the material and fashionable intricacies of the Ottoman culture. The first French translation of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
was done by André du Ryer, in 1647. He was from the French consulate in Egypt. Another, Cosmo of Carbognano, from the
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
embassy, published in Latin: ''The Principles of Turkish Grammar for The Use of Apostolic Missionaries in Constantinople'' (Rome 1794). As a highly trained group of diplomatic professionals, they were employed by Europeans in embassies and consulates, not only translating and interpreting items but often meeting with Ottoman officials without their employer being present. An 18th-century Venetian ambassador described the dragomans as ‘the tongue that speaks, the ear that hears, the eye that sees, the hand that gives, the spirit that acts, and on whom the life and success of every negotiation may depend. There was huge success from the published translation of ''Thousand And One Nights'', by
Antoine Galland Antoine Galland (; 4 April 1646 – 17 February 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of ''One Thousand and One Nights'', which he called '' Les mille et une nuits''. His version of the ta ...
(1646–1715). He was attached to the embassy of Charles Marie François Olier, marquis de Nointel, a
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
ian who was a councilor to the
Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
, and a French ambassador to the
Ottoman court Ottoman court was the culture that evolved around the court of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman court was held at the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople where the sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Some served in the treasury and th ...
, 1670 to 1679. One who created a large European interest in the history of Islam, with his published '' Geschichte des osmanischen Reiches'' was Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall of Austria, a student at the
Diplomatic Academy of Vienna The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA; German: ''Diplomatische Akademie Wien''), also known as the Vienna School of International Studies, is a postgraduate professional school based in Vienna, Austria, with focused training for students and pro ...
(the academy was initially established by
Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...
in 1754 as "The Oriental Academy" to train young diplomats to represent the
Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
abroad).


See also

*
Translation Office (Ottoman Empire) The Translation Office (, also spelled ''Terceme Odası'', // (), Google Books]PT192 or Terdjuman Odasi; , also rendered as Bureau des Interprètes or Cabinet des Traducteurs) was an organ of the Government of the Ottoman Empire that translated docu ...
* List of dragomans *
Reis Effendi Reis may refer to : *Reis (surname), a Portuguese and German surname *Reis (military rank), an Ottoman military rank and obscure Lebanese/Syrian noble title Currency *Portuguese Indian rupia (subdivided into ''réis''), the currency of Portugues ...
*
Dragoman of the Porte The Dragoman of the Sublime Porte (Ottoman Turkish language, Ottoman Turkish: ; ), Dragoman of the Imperial Council (), or simply Grand Dragoman (, ) or Chief Dragoman (), was the senior interpreter of the Imperial Council (Ottoman Empire), Ottom ...
* Dragoman of the Fleet


Notes


References

*
Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British-American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near ...
, ''From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East'',
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, London and New York, 2004 * Philip Mansel, "Viziers and Dragomans," in '' Constantinople: City of the World's Desire 1453–1924'', London, 1995. pp. 133–162 * Marie de Testa, Antoine Gautier, "Drogmans et diplomates européens auprès de la Porte Ottomane", in ''Analecta Isisiana'', vol. lxxi, Les Éditions ISIS, Istanbul, 2003 * Frédéric Hitzel (ed.), ''Istanbul et les langues Orientales'', Varia Turca, vol. xxxi,
L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...
, Paris and Montreal, 1997 * Rabin, Chaim. 1963. Hittite Words in Hebrew. ''Orientalia'' 32.113–139. * Salonen, Armas. 1952. Alte Substrat- und Kulturwörter im Arabischen. ''Studia Orientalia'' xvii.2.


External links

*
The Dragoman
– Interpreter at the Crossroads of East & West {{Authority control Diplomats by role Court titles History of West Asia Politics of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman titles Government of the Ottoman Empire Turkish words and phrases