The Chaous Bachi

Every day petitions reached the grand vizier's office in Istanbul, about debts, crimes and quarrels between merchants, and the çavuşbaşı was the official who sorted them. Clerks drew up summaries for him to put before the grand vizier, and he could send a case on to the proper court himself. A petition bearing his mark had to be heard wherever it went. Once a verdict was given, it was his men, the çavuşes, who saw that it was carried out. The Rijksmuseum describes him as the grand vizier's lieutenant in his capacity as judge, and when the grand vizier was away, the çavuşbaşı could preside over the council in his place.

In this small workshop picture he stands full length in front of a balustrade and a garden. The Dutch inscription on the back calls him the head of the imperial envoys, and the number one puts him at the very start of the set.