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This article is about the Ottoman Empire. For other uses, see Vizier. Grand Vizier (in Ottoman Turkish "sadrazam" or "vezir-i âzam"; see below for the evolution of the term), deriving from the originally Persian word "Vizier" (وزير) was the first minister of the Sultan with absolute powers of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself. He held the imperial seal and he could convocate all other viziers for affairs of the state, their whole conference being called "Kubbealtı viziers" (viziers of the dome) in reference to the architecture of their meeting place. During the nascent phases of the Ottoman state, "Vizier" was the only title used. The first of these Ottoman "Vizier"s who was titled "Grand Vizier" was Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha. The purpose in instauring the title "Grand Vizier" had been to distinguish the holder of the sultan's seal from other viziers who seconded him. The initially more frequently used title of "vezir-i âzam" was gradually replaced by "sadrazam", both meaning "grand vizier" in practice. Throughout Ottoman history, the grand viziers have also been termed under such titles as "sadr-ı âlî (high vizier)", "vekil-i mutlak (absolute attorney)", "sâhib-i devlet (holder of the state)" and "zât-ı âsafî (vizierial person)". After the Tanzimat period of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, the grand viziers came to assume a role more similar to that of a "chief of cabinet" in the western sense.
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