Plural of chiaus; multiple Turkish officials, messengers, or intermediaries in diplomatic and commercial affairs.
Standard English plural of 'chiaus' (from Turkish 'çavuş'). The plural form appears in historical documents describing Ottoman diplomatic corps and merchant communities.
In historical records of Venice and other trading republics, merchants mention needing to pay chiauses for almost every transaction—protecting them, translating, arranging meetings. These fixers were essentially the first international business consultants!
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