Why did visitors to the Ottoman sultan speak through a translator?

Visitors to the Ottoman sultan at the Topkapı Palace Museum were required to speak through a translator as part of strict court customs designed to maintain the sultan's status and distance.1

When granted an audience in the third courtyard, visitors were prohibited from making eye contact or speaking directly to the sultan. Instead, they were expected to lower their heads, cast their eyes downward, and address the sultan’s translator, who would then relay the communication. These elaborate protocols, which helped isolate the sultan from his subjects, were part of a broader tradition of court hierarchy and ceremony that evolved within the Ottoman Empire.12