From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government was loosely structured.[1] The Empire was at first divided into provinces called eyalets, presided over by a Pasha of three tails (feathers borne on a state officer's ceremonial staff).[1] The Grand Vizier was responsible for nominating all the high officers of State, both in the capital and the provinces.[1] Between 1861 and 1866, these Eyalets were abolished, and the territory was divided for administrative purposes into Vilayets.[1]
The eyalets were subdivided into districts called livas or sanjaks,[2] each of which was under the charge of a Pasha of one tail, with the title of Mira-lira, or Sanjak-bey.[3] These provinces were usually called pashaliks by Europeans.[3] The pasha was invested with powers of absolute government within his province, being the chief of both the military and financial departments, as well as police and criminal justice.[3]
At official functions, the order of precedence was Egypt, Baghdad, Abyssinia, Buda, Anatolia, "Mera'ish", and the Capitan Pasha in Asia and Buda, Egypt, Abyssinia, Baghdad, and Rumelia in Europe, with the remainder arranged according to the chronological order of their conquest.[4]
The term eyalet is sometimes translated province or governorate. Depending on the rank of the governor, they were also sometimes known as pashaliks (governed by a pasha), beylerbeyliks (governed by a bey or beylerbey), and kapudanliks (governed by a kapudan).
Pashaluk or Pashalik (Turkish: paşalık) is the abstract word derived from pasha, denoting the quality, office or jurisdiction of a pasha or the territory administered by him. In European sources, the word "pashalic" generally referred to the eyalets.[3]
The term 'eyalet' began to be applied to the largest administrative unit of the Ottoman Empire instead of beglerbegilik from the 1590s onward, and it continued to be used until 1867.[5]
Murad I instituted the great division of the sultanate into two beylerbeyiliks of Rumelia and Anatolia, in circa 1365.[6] With the eastward expansion of Bayezid’s realms in the 1390s, a third eyalet, Rûm Eyalet, came into existence, with Amasya its chief town. This became the seat of government of Bayezid’s youngest son, Mehmed I, and was to remain a residence of princely governors until the 16th century.[7]
In 1395, Bayezid I executed the last Shishmanid Tsar of Bulgaria, and annexed his realm to Rumelia Eyalet. In 1461, Mehmed II expelled the last of the Isfendyarid dynasty from Sinop, awarding him lands near Bursa in exchange for his hereditary territory. The Isfendyarid principality became a district of Anatolia Eyalet.[7] In 1468, Karaman Eyalet was established, following the annexation of the formerly independent principality of Karaman; Mehmed II appointed his son Mustafa as governor of the new eyalet, with his seat at Konya.[7]
The 16th century saw the greatest increase in the number of eyalets, largely through the conquests of Selim I and Süleyman I, which created the need to incorporate the new territory into the structure of the Empire, and partly through the reorganisation of existing territory.[7] A list dated 1527 shows eight eyalets, with Egypt, Damascus, Diyarbekir and Kurdistan added to the original four. The last eyalet, however, did not survive as an administrative entity. Süleyman’s conquests in eastern Turkey, Iraq and Hungary also resulted in the creation of new eyalets.[7]
In 1580, Bosnia, previously a district of Rumelia, became an eyalet in its own right, presumably in view of its strategically important position on the border with the Habsburgs. Similar considerations led to the creation of the Kanije Eyalet from the districts adjoining this border fortress, which had fallen to the Ottomans in 1600. In the same period, the annexation of the Rumelian districts on the lower Danube and the Black Sea coast, and their addition to territories between the Danube and the Dniepr along the Black Sea, created the Silistra Eyalet. At the same time, on the south-eastern shore of the Black Sea, Trebizond Eyalet came into being. The purpose of this reorganisation, and especially the creation of the eyalet of Özi was presumably to improve the defences of the Black Sea ports against the Cossacks.[7]
By 1609, according to the list of Ayn Ali, there were 32 eyalets. Some of these, such as Tripoli, Cyprus or Tunis, were the spoils of conquest. Others, however, were the products of administrative division.[7]
The beglerbegiliks where the timar system was not applied, such as Abyssinia, Algiers, Egypt, Baghdad, Basra and Lahsa, were more autonomous than the others. Instead of collecting provincial revenues through sipahis, the beglerbegi transferred fixed annuals sums to Istanbul, known as the salyane.[5]
By 1500, the four central eyalets of the Empire, Rumelia, Anatolia, Rum and Karaman, were under direct rule. Wallachia, Moldavia and the Khanate of the Crimea, territories which Mehmed II had brought under his suzerainty, remained in the control of native dynasties tributary to the Sultan. So, too, did the Kingdom of Hungary after the battle of Mohács in 1526.[7]
also called Sukhum [Sohumkale] or Georgia [Gürcistan] and included Mingrelia and Imeretia as well as modern Abkhazia – nominally annexed but never fully conquered
Conquests of Selim I and Suleyman I in the 16th century required an increase in administrative units. By the end of the latter half of the century there were as many as 42 eyalets, as the beylerbeyliks came to be known. The chart below shows the administrative situation as of 1609.
Also called Meskheti, later possibly coextensive with Akhaltsikhe (Ahıska) Province. Most of eyalet passed to Russia in 1829. Remained parts of eyalet bounded to Erzurum in 1845.
The Karamanids or Karamanid dynasty, also known as the Principality of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman, was one of the Islamic Anatolian beyliks, centered in south-central Anatolia around the present-day Karaman Province. From the 13th century until its fall in 1487, the Karamanid dynasty was one of the most powerful Turkish beyliks in Anatolia.
Silistra Eyalet
The Eyalet of Silistra or Silistria, later known as Özü Eyalet meaning Province of Ochakiv was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire along the Black Sea littoral and south bank of the Danube River in southeastern Europe. The fortress of Akkerman was under the eyalet's jurisdiction. Its reported area in the 19th century was 27,469 square miles (71,140 km2).
Karaman Eyalet
Karaman Eyalet was one of the subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was 30,463 square miles (78,900 km2).
Sidon Eyalet
The Eyalet of Sidon was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, the eyalet extended from the border with Egypt to the Bay of Kesrouan, including parts of modern Israel, Palestine and Lebanon.
Baghdad Eyalet
Baghdad Eyalet was an Iraqi eyalet of the Ottoman Empire centered on Baghdad. Its reported area in the 19th century was 62,208 square miles (161,120 km2).
Ioannina Eyalet
The Ioannina Eyalet was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire located in the territory of present-day southern Albania, central and northern Greece. It was formed in 1670 and its administrative centre was Ioannina. In period 1788—1822 Ali Pasha, the sanjakbey of Trikala, seized control over Ioannina and after enlisting most of the local brigands under his own banner took advantage of a weak Ottoman government to gain control over the Ioannina Eyalet and most of Albania and continental Greece, transforming it into the semi-autonomous Pashalik of Yanina. After he was killed in 1822 the Ottoman Empire reestablished the Ioannina Eyalet which existed until establishment of the Janina Vilayet in 1867.
Bosnia Eyalet
The Eyalet of Bosnia or Bosnia Beylerbeylik was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based on the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prior to the Great Turkish War, it had also included most of Slavonia, Lika, and Dalmatia in present-day Croatia. Its reported area in the 19th century was 20,281 square miles (52,530 km2).
Erzurum Eyalet
The Erzurum Eyalet was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the conquest of Western Armenia by the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was 11,463 square miles (29,690 km2).
Yemen Eyalet
The Yemen Eyalet was an eyalet (province) of the Ottoman Empire. In 1872, most of it became Yemen Vilayet after a land reform in the empire.
Kefe Eyalet
The Eyalet of Kefe or Caffa was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. The eyalet stretched across the northern coast of the Black Sea with the main sanjak being located in the southern coast of Crimea. The eyalet was under direct Ottoman rule, completely separate from the Khanate of Crimea. Its capital was at Kefe, the Turkish name for Caffa.
Dulkadir Eyalet
Dulkadir Eyalet or Marash Eyalet was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was 77,352 square miles (200,340 km2).
Rumelia Eyalet
The Eyalet of Rumeli or Rumelia, also known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli, was a first-level province of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans ("Rumelia"). For most of its history it was also the largest and most important province of the Empire.
Mosul Eyalet
Mosul Eyalet was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was 7,832 square miles (20,280 km2). The eyalet was largely inhabited by Kurds.
Damascus Eyalet
Damascus Eyalet was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was 51,900 square kilometres (20,020 sq mi). It became an eyalet after the Ottomans conquered it from the Mamluks in 1516. Janbirdi al-Ghazali, a Mamluk traitor, was made the first beylerbey of Damascus. The Damascus Eyalet was one of the first Ottoman provinces to become a vilayet after an administrative reform in 1865, and by 1867 it had been reformed into the Syria Vilayet.
Ottoman wars in Asia
Ottoman wars in Asia refers to the wars involving the Ottoman Empire in Asia. Ottoman Empire was founded at the beginning of the 14th century. Its original settlement was in the north west Anatolia where it was a small beylik (principality). Its main rival was Byzantine Empire. In 1350s Ottomans were able to cross the Dardanelles strait and eventually they conquered whole south east Europe. Although they mainly concentrated on Europe, they also fought in Asia.
Imperial Council (Ottoman Empire)
The Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn, in English the Imperial Council, was the de facto cabinet of the Ottoman Empire for most of its history. Initially an informal gathering of the senior ministers presided over by the Sultan in person, in the mid-15th century the Council's composition and function became firmly regulated. The Grand Vizier, who became the Sultan's deputy as the head of government, assumed the role of chairing the Council, which comprised also the other viziers, charged with military and political affairs, the two kadi'askers or military judges, the defterdars in charge of finances, the nişancı in charge of the palace scribal service, and later the Kapudan Pasha, the head of the Ottoman Navy, and occasionally the beylerbey of Rumelia and the Agha of the Janissaries. The Council met in a dedicated building in the Second Courtyard of the Topkapi Palace, initially daily, then for four days a week by the 16th century. Its remit encompassed all matters of governance of the Empire, although the exact proceedings are no longer known. It was assisted by an extensive secretarial bureaucracy under the reis ül-küttab for the drafting of appropriate documents and the keeping of records. The Imperial Council remained the main executive organ of the Ottoman state until the mid-17th century, after which it lost most of its power to the office of the Grand Vizier. With the Tanzimat reforms of the early 19th century, it was eventually succeeded by a Western-style cabinet government.
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