Paintings by Jean-Baptiste Vanmour (Van Mour), 1671-1737

Kul Kahyasi

Mehmet Kâhya of Kul Kâhyasî, adjudant van de Aga

Mehmet Kâhya of Kul Kâhyasî, adjudant van de Aga.

Het portret van Mehmet, de vizir kâhyasi (lieutenant) van de grootvizier, toont hem gekleed in een groene met bont afgezette kaftan en een bij zijn functie passende tulband. Oorspronkelijk was de vezir kâhyasi de persoonlijke bediende, of major domo, van de grootvizier, een functie die los stond van regeringszaken. De functie ontwikkelde zich in de loop der tijd tot persoonlijke adviseur van de grootvizier en later zelfs tot secretaris van binnenlandse zaken binnen de Keizerlijke Raad.

Mehmet Kâhya or Kul Kâhyasî, adjutant of the Aga.

This portrait of Mehmet, the vizir kâhyasi (lieutenant) of the grand vizier, shows him dressed in a green fur-trimmed caftan and turban appropriate to his position. Originally the vezir kâhyasi was the personal servant, or majordomo, of the Grand Vizier, a position independent of government affairs. The position developed in the course of time to be personal adviser to the Grand Vizier, and later even Secretary of Home Affairs within the Imperial Council.

Source: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the museum of the Netherlands

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Kethüda, often corrupted to k[y]ahya or kehya in daily speech, was an Ottoman Turkish title meaning "steward, deputy, lieutenant"
The Deputy Prime Minister and Internal Affairs Minister was the Devlet Kethüdası, in Mecmu'a-i Tesavir-i Osmaniye by Arif Mehmed Paşa; İstanbul, Tasvir-i Efkar Gazetesi Matbaası, 1279 (1863)