berat
berat — noun
1. In Ottoman Turkey and the wider Near East, an official document from a ruler — m
In Ottoman Turkey and the wider Near East, an official document from a ruler — most often the Sultan — that gives a special right, privilege, or title to a person, a family, or an institution such as a church or trading company.
Sultan Mehmed II issued a berat allowing Venetian merchants to trade freely in Ottoman ports.
issue + berat + allowing + infinitive
The Orthodox patriarch received a berat from the Sultan that confirmed the church's ancient privileges.
receive a berat from [authority]
Nikhil found a 16th-century berat in the archives listing the monastery's special tax rights.
Without a valid berat, the Venetian traders could not dock at the imperial docks.
- charter
A broader term for a written grant of rights; a berat is a specific type of charter tied to Ottoman/Near Eastern rulers.
- firman
Also an Ottoman decree, but a firman is any sultanic order or command, whereas a berat specifically confers a privilege or dignity.
- patent
In historical European usage, a patent of nobility or letters patent; comparable in function but different in cultural origin.
用法筆記
Rarely used outside historical writing about the Ottoman Empire. Distinguished from a general 'license' or 'permit' by its specific origin — a berat was issued by a sovereign (usually the Sultan) and often tied to a formal dignity or institutional privilege, not merely commercial permission.