Hatt-i humayun (Ottoman Turkish: خط همايون, Turkish: hatt-ı hümayun or hatt-ı hümâyûn), also known as hatt-i sharif (hatt-ı şerîf), is the diplomatics term for a document or handwritten note of an official nature composed by an Ottoman Sultan. The terms come from hatt (Arabic: handwriting, command), hümayun (imperial) and şerif (lofty, noble). These notes were commonly written by the Sultan personally, although they could also be transcribed by a palace scribe. They were written usually in response to, and directly on, a document submitted to the sultan by the grand vizier or another officer of the Ottoman government. Thus, they could be approvals or denials of a letter of petition, acknowledgements of a report, grants of permission for a request, an annotation to a decree, or other gover