Porte

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For the Italian comune, see Porte, Italy.

Ottoman Porte, Sublime Porte, and High Porte are similar terms for the Ottoman Turkish Bab-ı Ali, and are used to refer to the government of the Ottoman Empire, in particular in the context of diplomacy.

The Sublime Porte was the name of the open court of the sultan, led by the Grand Vizier. It got its name after the gate to the headquarters to the Grand Vizier in Topkapı Palace, where the sultan held the greeting ceremony for foreign ambassadors. It was an ancient Oriental practice to make the gates of cities and kings' palaces places of assembly. Sublime Porte is French for "Lofty Gate" and a literal translation of Bab-ı Ali. French was the language of European diplomacy.

Later the name came to refer to the Foreign Ministry and in contemporary times the office of the governor (Vali) of Istanbul Province. This name has also been interpreted as referring to the Empire's position as gateway between Europe and Asia.

The High Porte, in contrast, referred to the private court of the sultan. Porte is French for "gate"; therefore, the term High Porte is a bilingual combination of English High and French Porte that is equivalent to Bab-ı Ali.