Divan

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For other uses, see Divan (disambiguation).

Divan or diwan (Persian دیوان) was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official (see Diwan (title)). The piece of furniture was also named after it.

1 Etymology
2 Council
3 Ministerial departments
4 Halls
- 4.1 Diwan-i-Am
- 4.2 Diwan-i-Khas
5 Sources and references

[edit] Etymology

The word is recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental council of state," from Turkish divan, from Arabic diwan, is a Middle-Persian loan-word in Arabic and was borrowed also at an earlier date into Armenian^[1] dīvān "bundle of written sheets, small book, collection of poems" (as in the Divan i-Hafiz), related to debir "writer." Sense evolved through "book of accounts," to "office of accounts," "custom house," "council chamber," then to "long, cushioned seat," such as are found along the walls in Middle Eastern council chambers.

[edit] Council

The word first appears under the caliphate of Omar I (A.D. 634-644). Great wealth, gained from the Moslem conquests, was pouring into Medina, and a system of business management and administration became necessary. This was copied from the Persians (whose Sassanid empire was being conquered and islamised under Umar) and given the Persian name divan. Later, as the state became more complicated, the term was extended over all the government bureaus.

The divan of the Sublime Porte was for long the council of the empire, a sort of cabinet of the Ottoman Empire. It consisted of the Grand Vizier (usually presiding except in the Sultan's presence) and other viziers, and occasionally the Janissary Ağa.

In Javanese and related languages the cognate Dewan is the standard word for council, as in the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or Council of People's Representatives.

[edit] Ministerial departments

In the sultanate of Morocco, several portfolio Ministries had a title based on Diwan:

Diwan al-Alaf: ministry of War.
Diwan al-Bar: 'ministry of the Sea', i.e. (overseas=) Foreign ministry.
Diwan al-Shikayat (or - Chikayat): ministry of Complaints.

[edit] Halls

Two types of palatial buildings in Indian courts are called divan. They tend to occur in pairs, as in several of the Mughal imperial capitals, especially Delhi where they are the most famous ones, but also in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, and certain other princely capitals, e.g. Amber.