( , plural , ), also known as ( , plural , ), was the diplomatics term for a document or handwritten note of an official nature composed and personally signed by an Ottoman sultan. These notes were commonly written by the sultan personally, although they could also be transcribed by a palace scribe. They were written usually in response to, and directly on, a document submitted to the sultan by the grand vizier or another officer of the Ottoman government. Thus, they could be approvals or denials of a letter of petition, acknowledgements of a report, grants of permission for a request, an annotation to a decree, or other government documents. could also be composed from scratch, rather than as a response to an existing document.
After the Tanzimat era (1839–1876), aimed at modernizing the Ottoman Empire, hatt-i humayuns of the routine kind, as well as fermans, were supplanted by the practice of , or ( ; or less standardly , meaning 'ordinance'), in which the sultan's spoken response to his Grand Vizier's recommendations was recorded on the document by his scribe.
There are nearly 100,000 in the Ottoman archives in Istanbul. Among the more famous are the Hatt-i Sharif of Gulhane (, also known as the Tanzimat Fermani []) of 1839 and the Imperial Reform Edict () of 1856. The first one, which opened the Tanzimat era, is so called because it carries a handwritten order by the sultan to the grand vizier to execute his command.
The term can sometimes also be used in a literal sense, meaning a document handwritten by an Ottoman sultan.
Etymology The terms hatt-i humayun and hatt-i sharif are ezafe constructions of (, from Arabic , 'handwriting, command') and (, from Persian , 'imperial') or (, from Arabic , 'lofty, noble').
The term irade-i seniyye is an ezafe of Arabic and , the feminine of . Around the late Ottoman Empire, the word irade was often used in European publications, but by the 21st century it became disused in European languages: (info page on book at Martin Luther University) // CITED: p. 39 (PDF p. 41/338).
Types of hatt-ı hümayun The hatt-ı hümayun would usually be written to the grand vizier (Sadrazam), or in his absence, to his replacement (the ka'immakâm), or to another senior official such as the grand admiral (Kapudan-i Derya) or the governor-general (Beylerbey) of Rumeli. There were three types of hatt-ı hümayuns: those addressed to a government post those "on the white" those on a document
Hatt-ı hümayun to a government post
Routine decrees (ferman) or titles of privilege (berat) were written by a scribe, but those written to certain officials and those that were particularly important were preceded by the Sultan's handwritten note beside his seal (tughra). The tughra and the notation might be surrounded by a decorated frame. The note would emphasize a particular part of his edict, urging or ordering it to be followed without fault. These were called Hatt-ı Hümayunla Müveşşeh Ferman (ferman decorated with a hatt-ı hümayun) or Unvanına Hatt-ı Hümayun (hatt-ı hümayun to the title). The note might use a clichéd phrase like "to be done as required" (mûcebince amel oluna) or, "my command is to carried out as required and no one is to interfere with its execution" (emrim mûcebince amel oluna, kimseye müdahale etmeyeler). Some edicts to the title would start with a note from the Sultan praising the person(s) to whom the edict was addressed, in order to encourage or honor him. Rarely, there might be a threat such as "if you want to keep your head, carry out this order as required" (Başın gerek ise mûcebiyle amel oluna).
Hatt-ı hümayun on the white
"Hatt-ı hümayun on the white" (beyaz üzerine hatt-ı hümâyun) were documents originating with the sultan (ex officio) rather than a notation on an existing document. They were so called because the edict was written on a blank (i.e. white) page. They could be documents such as a command, an edict, an appointment letter or a letter to a foreign ruler.
There also exist hatt-ı hümayuns expressing the sultan's opinions or even his feelings on certain matters. For example, after the successful defense of Mosul against the forces of Nadir Shah, in 1743, Sultan Mahmud I sent a hatt-ı hümayun to the governor Haj Husayn Pasha, which praised in verse the heroic exploits of the governor and the warriors of Mosul.
Hatt-ı hümayun on a document
In normal bureaucratic procedure, a document would be submitted by the grand vizier, or his deputy the kaymakam (Kâ'immakâm Paşa), who would summarize a situation for the Sultan, and request the Sultan's will on the matter. Such documents were called telhis (summary) until the 19th century and takrir (suggestion) later on. The Sultan's handwritten response (his command or decision) were called hatt-ı hümâyûn on telhis or hatt-ı hümâyûn on takrir. Other types of documents submitted to the Sultan were petitions (arzuhâl), sworn transcriptions of oral petitions (mahzar), reports from a higher to a lower office (şukka), religious reports by Qadis to higher offices (ilâm) and record books (tahrirat). These would be called hatt-ı hümâyûn on arz, hatt-ı hümâyûn on mahzar, etc. depending on the type of the document. The Sultan responded not only to documents submitted to him by his viziers but also to petitions (arzuhâl) submitted to him by his subjects following the Friday prayer. Thus, hatt-ı hümayuns on documents were analogous to Papal rescripts and rescripts used in other imperial regimes.
When the sultan contacted the public for Friday prayer or other occasions, people would hand in petitions addressed to him. These were later discussed and decided upon by the council of viziers. They would prepare a summary of all petitions and the action decided upon for each one. The sultan would write on the same sheet "I have been informed" (manzurum olmuştur) multiple times, followed by the item number to which he is referring. When palace bureaucracy was reorganized after the Tanzimat reforms, the Sultan's decision came to be written directly by the Chief Scribe at the bottom of the summary document, and this one writing applied to all decisions.
Practices When a petition or memo requiring the Sultan's decision was to be submitted to him, the grand vizier usually prepared an executive summary (telhis) as an attachment. In some cases, rather than prepare a separate summary document, the grand vizier or his deputy would write his summary and views diagonally, on the top or bottom margins of documents coming from lower functionaries (see an example in the first figure above). Such annotations on a written document were called derkenar. Sometimes the grand vizier would append a separate cover page on top of a proposal coming from a lower-level functionary like the Treasurer (Defterdar) or the Minister of Defence (Serasker), introducing it as, for example, "this is the proposal of the Defterdar". In such cases, the Sultan would write his hatt-ı hümayun on the cover page. In other cases, the grand vizier would summarize the matter directly in the margin of the document submitted by the lower functionary and the Sultan would write on the same page as well. Sometimes the Sultan would write his decision on a fresh piece of paper attached to the submitted document.
In most cases hatt-ı humayuns were written by the Sultan himself although there exist some that were penned by the chief scribe or another functionary. Important hatt-ı humayuns on the white were sometimes drafted by the head of diplomatic correspondence (Reis ül-Küttab) or the Secretary of Navy (Kapudan Paşa). In some cases, there were notations as to who prepared the draft of the document that was then re-written by the Sultan.
Hatt-ı hümayuns usually were not dated, although some, concerning withdrawal of money from the treasury, did carry dates. Most late-period hatt-ı hümayuns and irades had dates. Abdulhamid I was especially inclined to date his hatt-ı hümayuns. His grand vizier Koca Yusuf Pasha, later suggested this practice of dating hatt-ı hümayuns to Abdulhamid's successor Selim III so that he could follow up whether his orders were carried out. However, this suggestion was not adopted. Abdulhamid II used signatures toward the latter parts of his reign.
Language
The language of hatt-ı hümayuns on documents generally was a form of Turkish understandable (orally) even today and has changed little over the centuries. Many documents or annotations were short comments such as "I gave" (verdim), "be it given" (verilsin), "will not happen" (olmaz), "be it written" (yazılsın), "is clear/is clear to me" (malûm oldu / malûmum olmuştur), "provide it" (tedârük edesin), "it has come to my sight" (manzûrum oldu / manzûrum olmuştur), "be it answered" (cevap verile), "record it" (mukayyet olasın), "be it supplied" (tedârik görülsün), "be they without need" ("berhûrdâr olsunlar").
Some Sultans would write longer comments, starting with "It has become my knowledge" (Malûmum oldu), and continue with an introduction on the topic, then give their opinion such as "this report's/petition's/record's/etc. appearance and meaning has become my imperial knowledge"("... işbu takrîrin/telhîsin/şukkanın/kaimenin manzûr ve me'azi ma'lûm-ı hümayûnum olmuşdur"). Some common phrases in hatt-ı hümayuns are "according to this report..." (işbu telhisin mûcebince), "the matter is clear" (cümlesi malumdur), "I permit" (izin verdim), "I give, according to the provided facts" (vech-i meşruh üzere verdim).
Hatt-ı hümayuns to the position often had clichéd expressions such as "To be done as required" (Mûcebince amel oluna) or "To be done as required, not to be contravened" (Mûcebince amel ve hilâfından hazer oluna).
Hatt-ı hümayuns on the white were more elaborate and some may have been drafted by a scribe before being penned by the Sultan. They often started by addressing the recipient. The Sultan would refer to his grand vizier as "My Vizier", or if his grand vizier was away at war, would refer to his deputy as "Ka'immakâm Paşa". Those written to other officials would often start with an expression like "You who are my Vizier of Rumeli, Mehmed Pasha" ("Sen ki Rumili vezîrim Mehmed Paşa'sın"). The head of religious affairs (Şeyhülislam) or the Sultan's personal tutor would be addressed simply and respectfully. In cases where the hatt-ı hümayun was to be delivered ceremoniously, with an imperial sword and a cloak, as in an appointment to a high rank, there would be a flowery salutation such as "after I have honored you with my glorious greeting you should know that..." (seni selâm-ı şâhanemle teşrif eylediğimden sonra malumun ola ki...). Correspondence to a military commander could have a lengthy and ornate salutation or just address him by his title. A note without an address was meant for the grand vizier or his deputy.
History
The earliest known hatt-ı hümayun is the one sent by Sultan Murad I to Evrenos Bey in 1386, commending the commander for his conquests and giving him advice on how to administer people. Until the reign of Murad III, Viziers used to present matters orally to the Sultans, who would then give their consent or denial, also orally. While hatt-ı hümayuns were very rare prior to this, they proliferated afterward, especially during the reigns of Sultans such as Abdülhamid I, Selim III and Mahmud II, who wanted to increase their control and be informed of everything.