Interpreting in a “contact zone”. Dragomans at the Sultan's Court of Constantinople

In the sixteenth century, the Ottoman capital gradually became a centre of diplomacy as European nations set up permanent diplomatic missions, paving the way for regular contact and active social relations between European diplomats, their large retinues, Ottoman grandees, and all types of intermediaries. The history of diplomatic translation and interpretation in the Ottoman Empire is tightly linked to dragomans. As the ones who were translating all official correspondence, dragomans had access to sensitive information, a good reason why European ambassadors found it expedient to buy their goodwill by making regular payments and acquiescing to their occasional requests for rewards and favors.