‘Levantine’ Dragomans In Nineteenth Century Istanbul: The Pisanis, The British, And Issues Of Subjecthood

Abstract

What is interesting for our purposes is the information that Count Pisani provided about the dragomans employed by the British. He stated that in 1837 there were five active dragomans in the embassy, including his brother Etienne. He described their duties, explaining that the ‘office [of dragomans] was one of responsibility and trust,’ and that they were charged with interpreting and exchanging communications between the embassy and the Sublime Porte.