Bitlis Vilayet was one of the Six vilayets of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. Before the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) it had been part of the Erzurum Vilayet, it was then made a separate vilayet by the Porte

Porte

The Sublime Porte, also Ottoman Porte or High Porte , is a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire, by reference to the High Gate of the Divan of the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.The particular term was used in the context of diplomacy by Western states, as their diplomats were...

.

At the beginning of the 20th century it reportedly had an area of 11522 square miles (29,841.8 km²), while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 388,625. The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.

Administrative divisions

Sanjaks of Bitlis Vilayet:

1. Sanjak of Bitlis
   Bitlis
   Bitlis is a town in eastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The town is located at an elevation of 1,400 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River, a tributary of the Tigris. The local economy is mainly based on agricultural products which include...
   
   
2. Sanjak of Mush
   Mus
   -Computing:* Mus, a file extension used by Finale * MUS, the internal music format used in Doom -Three-letter acronyms:* Mitsubishi UFJ Securities * MUS, the NATO country code for Mauritius...
   
   
3. Sanjak of Siird
4. Sanjak of Girdj

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