The office was established in 1701, in emulation of the
Grand Dragoman of the
Sublime Porte, which was also reserved for
Phanariotes. Indeed, the post of Dragoman of the Fleet often served as a stepping-stone to that of Grand Dragoman. The
dragoman (the term means 'interpreter') had to be proficient in the "three languages" () of
Arabic,
Persian, and
Turkish that were commonly used in the empire, as well as a number of foreign languages (usually French and Italian), but his role went far beyond a mere interpreter. He was the official intermediary between the
Kapudan Pasha, the commander-in-chief of the
Ottoman navy who was also governor of the
Eyalet of the Archipelago, and the mostly Greek and Christian islanders and inhabitants of the shores of the
Aegean Sea during the annual expeditions of the Ottoman fleet for the collection of the taxes, as well as the resolution of administrative problems. The post also entailed responsibilities for shipbuilding and naval operations. The proceeds of the office were considerable, to the tune of 150,000 , and led to intense competition among the Phanariotes to fill it. This competition involved extensive bribery of Ottoman officials, which was then recuperated from the Christian population by a special levy known as 'contribution to the new dragoman' (). As the office often changed hands with great frequency, this became a great burden on the ordinary people. The dragoman also had a staff, which was also paid from impositions on the islands: a deputy (Turkish , Greek ), a correspondence secretary, and a messenger. Their role in the administration of the Aegean islands was considerable, as they had the right to apportion taxation, as well as supervise the autonomous local administrations by judging cases themselves or appointing appeal judges. They could impose various fines and penalties, up to the death penalty, which however required the consent of the Kapudan Pasha. Apart from their administrative duties, the dragomans actively promoted education, made donations to churches, codified the customary law of the islands, and intervened in disputes between Orthodox and Catholic islanders. ==List of Dragomans of the Fleet==