FANAR (φανάριον). - A quarter of Constantinople, on the Golden Horn. After the Turkish conquest (1453), the Greek patriarch and many Greek families settled here, some of whom exercised notable influence over the Turkish government through their role as interpreters in diplomatic service and the navy.
Several members of these families, known as "phanariotes," even became hospodars (governors-princes) of the Danubian principalities (Wallachia, Moldavia). Notable phanariotes include Panaiot Nikusios, Alexander Mourouzis and his descendants, Moruzi, Soutzos, Ipsilanti, Ghica, and Callimachi (the last two only Hellenized). The term "Fanar" also became synonymous with the dissident Greek Church, and indeed with Greek political aspirations for independence.