Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire
Encyclopedia
The subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire
were administrative division
s of the state organisation of the Ottoman Empire
. Outside this system were various types of vassal and tributary states
.
The beylerbey
, or governor, of each province was appointed by the central government. Sancaks were governed by sancakbeyis, selected from high military ranks by the central government. Beylerbeyis had authority over all the sancakbeyis in a region. Kaza was a subdivision of sancak and referred to the basic administrative district, governed by a kadı
.
It is considered extremely difficult to define the number and exact borders of Ottoman provinces and domains, as their borders were changed constantly. Until the Tanzimat
period, the borders of administrative units fluctuated, reflecting the changing strategies of the Ottomans, the emergence of new threats in the region, and the rise of powerful Ayan
s. All the subdivisions were very unequal in regard of area and population, and the presence of numerous nomadic tribes contributed to the extreme variability of the population figures.
In English, Ottoman subdivisions are seldom known by a myriad of Turkish terms (vilayet, eyalet, beylerbeylik, sancak, nahiye, kaza, etc.) which are often eschewed in favour of the English-language denomination (e.g. "province", "county", or "district") that is perceived to be the closest to the Turkish original. These translations are rarely consistent between the works of different scholars, however.
. The Ottoman Empire over the years became an amalgamation of pre-existing polities
, the Anatolian beyliks, brought under the sway of the ruling House of Osman
.
This extension was based on an already established administrative structure of the Seljuk system in which the hereditary rulers of these territories were known as bey
s. These beys (local leadership), which were not eliminated, continued to rule under the suzerainty
of the Ottoman sultan
s. The term bey came to be applied not only to these former rulers but also to new governors appointed where the local leadership had been eliminated.
The Ottoman Empire was, at first, subdivided into the sovereign’s sanjak
and other sanjaks entrusted to the Ottoman
sultan
’s sons. Sanjaks were governed by sanjak beyis, military governors who received a flag or standard – a "sanjak" (the literal meaning) – from the sultan.
As the Empire expanded into Europe
, the need for an intermediate level of administration arose and, under the rule of Murad I
(r. 1359-1389), a beylerbey
i or governor-general was appointed to oversee Rumelia
, the European part of the empire. At the end of the fourteenth century, a beylerbeylik was also established for Anatolia, with his capital at Kütahya
. He was always considered inferior in rank to the beylerbeyi of Rumelia, since large areas nominally under his control were given to the ruler's sons.
Following the establishment of beylerbeyliks, sanjaks became second-order administrative divisions, although they continued to be of the first order in certain circumstances such as newly conquered areas that had yet to be assigned a beylerbeyi. In addition to their duties as governors-general, beylerbeyis were the commanders of all troops in their province.
that were being enacted throughout the empire. Unlike the previous eyalet
system, the 1864 law established a hierarchy of administrative units: the vilayet, liva
/sanjak
, kaza and village council, to which the 1871 Vilayet Law added the nabiye. The 1864 law also specified the responsibilities of the governor (wali
) of the vilayet and their councils. At the same time, the law left to the governors vast scope for independent action as well as responsibility, as part of a system intended to achieve a large degree of efficiency in ruling the provinces.
s (also called livas) governed by sanjakbeys
and were further subdivided into timar
s (fiefs held by timariots), kadiluk
s (the area of responsibility of a judge, or Kadı
) and zeamets (also ziam; larger timars).
The Sanjak was governed just as a Vilayet on a smaller scale. The Mutesarrif was appointed by Imperial decree, and represented the Vali
, corresponding with the Government through him, except in some special circumstances where the Sanjak was independent, in which case the Mutesarrif corresponded directly with the Ministry of the Interior.
Sanjak governors also served as military commanders of all of the timariot and zeamet-holding cavalry
men in their sanjak. Some provinces such as Egypt
, Baghdad
, Abyssinia, and Al-Hasa (the salyane provinces) were not subdivided into sanjaks and timars. The area governed by an Aga was often known as an Agaluk
.
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...
were administrative division
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
s of the state organisation of the Ottoman Empire
State organisation of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire developed a highly advanced organisation of state over the centuries. Even though it had a very centralized government with the Sultan as the supreme ruler, it had an effective control of its provinces and inhabitants, as well as its officials. Wealth and rank wasn't necessarily...
. Outside this system were various types of vassal and tributary states
Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire
Vassal States were a number of tributary or vassal states, usually on the periphery of the Ottoman Empire under suzerainty of the Porte, over which direct control was not established, for various reasons.-Functions:...
.
The beylerbey
Beylerbey
Beylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...
, or governor, of each province was appointed by the central government. Sancaks were governed by sancakbeyis, selected from high military ranks by the central government. Beylerbeyis had authority over all the sancakbeyis in a region. Kaza was a subdivision of sancak and referred to the basic administrative district, governed by a kadı
Kadı
A kadı was an official in the Ottoman empire. Based on the Islamic concept of a judge, the Ottoman official also had extra duties; they performed local administrative tasks, and they were involved in taxation and conscription...
.
It is considered extremely difficult to define the number and exact borders of Ottoman provinces and domains, as their borders were changed constantly. Until the Tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
period, the borders of administrative units fluctuated, reflecting the changing strategies of the Ottomans, the emergence of new threats in the region, and the rise of powerful Ayan
Derebey
A derebey was a feudal lord in Anatolia in the 18th century, with considerable independence from the central government of the Ottoman Empire....
s. All the subdivisions were very unequal in regard of area and population, and the presence of numerous nomadic tribes contributed to the extreme variability of the population figures.
In English, Ottoman subdivisions are seldom known by a myriad of Turkish terms (vilayet, eyalet, beylerbeylik, sancak, nahiye, kaza, etc.) which are often eschewed in favour of the English-language denomination (e.g. "province", "county", or "district") that is perceived to be the closest to the Turkish original. These translations are rarely consistent between the works of different scholars, however.
Initial organization
The initial organization dates back to the Ottoman beginnings as a Seljuk vassal state (Uç Beyliği) in central AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The Ottoman Empire over the years became an amalgamation of pre-existing polities
Polity
Polity is a form of government Aristotle developed in his search for a government that could be most easily incorporated and used by the largest amount of people groups, or states...
, the Anatolian beyliks, brought under the sway of the ruling House of Osman
House of Osman
House of Osman was the name of the administrative structure of the Ottoman Dynasty, part of the state organization of the Ottoman Empire but nonetheless directly linked to the dynasty...
.
This extension was based on an already established administrative structure of the Seljuk system in which the hereditary rulers of these territories were known as bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
s. These beys (local leadership), which were not eliminated, continued to rule under the suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
of the Ottoman sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
s. The term bey came to be applied not only to these former rulers but also to new governors appointed where the local leadership had been eliminated.
The Ottoman Empire was, at first, subdivided into the sovereign’s sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
and other sanjaks entrusted to the Ottoman
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
’s sons. Sanjaks were governed by sanjak beyis, military governors who received a flag or standard – a "sanjak" (the literal meaning) – from the sultan.
As the Empire expanded into Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the need for an intermediate level of administration arose and, under the rule of Murad I
Murad I
Murad I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1361 to 1389...
(r. 1359-1389), a beylerbey
Beylerbey
Beylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...
i or governor-general was appointed to oversee Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
, the European part of the empire. At the end of the fourteenth century, a beylerbeylik was also established for Anatolia, with his capital at Kütahya
Kütahya
Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...
. He was always considered inferior in rank to the beylerbeyi of Rumelia, since large areas nominally under his control were given to the ruler's sons.
Following the establishment of beylerbeyliks, sanjaks became second-order administrative divisions, although they continued to be of the first order in certain circumstances such as newly conquered areas that had yet to be assigned a beylerbeyi. In addition to their duties as governors-general, beylerbeyis were the commanders of all troops in their province.
First-level administrative units
There were two main eras of administrative organisation. The first was the initial organisation that evolved with the rise of the Empire and the second was the organisation after extensive administrative reforms of 1864.Eyalets
The Eyalet was the territory of office or a beylerbeyi, and was further subdivided in sanjaks.Vilayets
The Vilayets were introduced with the promulgation of the "Vilayet Law" in 1864, as part of the administrative reformsTanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
that were being enacted throughout the empire. Unlike the previous eyalet
Eyalet
Eyalets were a former primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The term is sometimes translated province or government. Depending on the rank of their commander, they are also sometimes known as pashaliks, beylerbeyliks, and kapudanliks.From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth...
system, the 1864 law established a hierarchy of administrative units: the vilayet, liva
Liva
Liva is the first live album released by the Norwegian band Gåte, and was recorded on December 30, 2005 at Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo, Norway.-Track listing:#"Knut Liten og Sylvelin"#"Kjærleik"#"Følgje"#"Venelite"#"Du som er ung"#"Stengd dør"...
/sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
, kaza and village council, to which the 1871 Vilayet Law added the nabiye. The 1864 law also specified the responsibilities of the governor (wali
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...
) of the vilayet and their councils. At the same time, the law left to the governors vast scope for independent action as well as responsibility, as part of a system intended to achieve a large degree of efficiency in ruling the provinces.
Lower-order administrative units
The provinces (eyalets) were divided into sanjakSanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
s (also called livas) governed by sanjakbeys
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
and were further subdivided into timar
Timar
Timar is a land granted by the Ottoman sultans between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a tax revenue annual value of less than 20 000 akçes. The revenues produced from land acted as compensation for military service. A Timar holder was known as a Timariot...
s (fiefs held by timariots), kadiluk
Kadiluk
A Kadiluk, in some cases equivalent to a Kaza, was a local administrative subdivision of the Ottoman empire, which was the territory of a Kadı, or judge.There could be several kadiluks in a sanjak...
s (the area of responsibility of a judge, or Kadı
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
) and zeamets (also ziam; larger timars).
The Sanjak was governed just as a Vilayet on a smaller scale. The Mutesarrif was appointed by Imperial decree, and represented the Vali
Vali
Vali or Wali can refer to:* Váli * Váli* Vali * The Vali tribe, a Sarmatian tribe of Ptolemy* Ferenc A. Váli, Hungarian-born lawyer, author and political analyst* Al-Walee, one of the Names of God in the Qur'an...
, corresponding with the Government through him, except in some special circumstances where the Sanjak was independent, in which case the Mutesarrif corresponded directly with the Ministry of the Interior.
Sanjak governors also served as military commanders of all of the timariot and zeamet-holding cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
men in their sanjak. Some provinces such as Egypt
Egypt Eyalet
Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War and the loss of Syria to the Ottomans in 1516. Egypt was administrated as an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 until 1867, with an interruption during the French occupation of 1798 to 1801.Egypt was always a...
, Baghdad
Baghdad Eyalet
Baghdad Eyalet was an Iraqi eyalet of the Ottoman Empire centered around Baghdad. Its reported area in the 19th century was .-History:Ismail I took the Baghdad region from the Aq Qoyunlu in 1508. After the Safavid takeover, Sunni Muslims, Jews and Christians became targets of persecution, and were...
, Abyssinia, and Al-Hasa (the salyane provinces) were not subdivided into sanjaks and timars. The area governed by an Aga was often known as an Agaluk
Agaluk
An Agaluk was a feudal unit of the Ottoman Empire governed by an Aga, or lord.In Bosnian history, an agaluk may often refer to land owned by an Aga....
.
External links
- Map of Europe in year 1500 with the subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire
- WorldStatesmen Turkey; see also other present-day countries
Further reading
- Colin Imber. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power. (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.)
- Halil Inalcik. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600. Trans. Norman Itzkowitz and Colin Imber. (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1973.)
- Paul Robert Magocsi. Historical Atlas of Central Europe. (2nd ed.) Seattle, WA, USA: Univ. of Washington Press, 2002)
- Nouveau Larousse illustré, undated (early 20th century), passim (in French)
- Donald Edgar Pitcher. An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire. (Leiden, Netherlands: E.J.Brill,1972.) (Includes 36 color maps)
- Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German) (includes maps)