مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Cyprus Court Interpreters During the Ottoman Period

Abstract :

The Ottoman Government continuously employed dragoman and court interpreters in order to provide communication between the people and the administration where the people did not speak Turkish, as well as sometimes using interpreters in certain levels of the administration. The court interpreters facilitated relations between the people and the justice system, while the dragoman facilitated communications between those people who did not speak Turkish and the provincial administration. In Cyprus where there was a particular rayah population, the use of court interpreters dates from the Ottoman conquest of the island. In this study, based upon the Cyprus Shari’a Registers (Sijils), it was established that all Cyprus court interpreters were selected from among the Cypriot Greeks, with the exception of one Turkish interpreter who was appointed after the events of 1821. The Cypriot Greek interpreters were expected to be reliable and fair. They were not subject to dismissal as long as they fulfilled their duties responsibly. Court interpreters provided communications between the Cypriot Greek community and the justice system, acting for them in cases, as well as interpreting and translating petitions and papers. Cyprus court interpreters, together with other representatives of the Cypriot Greek community, had a very great power, an indicator of decentralization visible across the country in the 18th century. Some of the court interpreters were found to have been promoted to the rank of Cyprus dragoman. The economic wealth of the Cyprus court interpreters is an indication of their power.