Viziers

Vizier is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in many Islamic states and empires. The term comes from the Arabic wazir (وزير) and Persian vazir, and through Turkish and other languages. In practice, a vizier was often the ruler’s chief minister, responsible for overseeing administration, finance, justice, and diplomacy. In larger empires, the vizier sometimes headed the diwan (bureaucracy) and could be entrusted with the authority to issue decrees or commands on behalf of the ruler. The relation between vizier and ruler varied: in some eras the vizier advised and administered while the sovereign retained direct power; in others the vizier could be the power behind the throne, or even act as regent during the ruler’s minority or absence.

The position spread across many states, including the Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates, the Seljuk and Mamluk realms, the Ottoman Empire, and various Indian sultanates under the Mughal and Deccan dynasties, as well as in Safavid Persia. The Ottoman grand vizier, or visier, acted as the sultan’s chief minister and, at times, the de facto head of government, especially when the sultan was young or incapacitated; later a series of powerful vizier families or ministers helped shape policy and territorial expansion.

With the rise of centralized states, the office often diminished in absolute authority, becoming more of a ceremonial or advisory post in some periods, or being abolished altogether in others as rulers centralized power. Today the term vizier is primarily used in historical and literary contexts, though it remains a standard label in discussions of medieval Islamic governance.