The Dragoman of the Sublime Porte, Dragoman of the Imperial Council, or simply Grand or Chief Dragoman, was the senior interpreter of the Ottoman government and de facto deputy foreign minister. From the position's inception in 1661 until the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in 1821, the office was occupied by Phanariotes, and was one of the main pillars of Phanariote power in the Ottoman Empire.
The Dragoman of the Porte (left), at the reception of a European ambassador (seated left) and a Bukharan envoy (seated right) by the reis ül-küttab (seated centre)
Depiction of a Grand Dragoman c. 1809, by an anonymous Greek artist in Constantinople
Image: Alexandros Maurokordatos o ex aporiton
Image: Nikolaos Maurokordatos 1721
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 by the British Empire, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their North African vassals. The war led to the formation of modern Greece, which would be expanded to its modern size in later years. The revolution is celebrated by Greeks around the world as independence day on 25 March.
Top left: The camp at Phaliro. Top right: The burning of an Ottoman frigate by a Greek fire ship. Bottom right: The Battle of Navarino. Bottom left: Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt at the Third Siege of Missolonghi.
Portrait of a Greek armatolos by Richard Parkes Bonington (oil painting, 1825–1826, Benaki Museum)
Adamantios Korais
Cover of "Thourios" by Rigas Feraios; intellectual, revolutionary and forerunner of the Greek Revolution.
