Eyalet

Eyalets (Ottoman Turkish: ایالت‎, pronounced [ejaːˈlet], English: State), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were a primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire.

Not to be confused with Eyelet or Ayelet.
1730 map
1849 map
Two European maps of the Ottoman Empire. The first map describes the provinces as "Beylerbeyliks", whereas the second describes them as "Pashaliks"
The 1803 Cedid Atlas, showing the Middle Eastern Eyalets

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]

Names

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]

History
Eyalets in 1609

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]

The former principality of Dulkadir became the Dulkadir Eyalet at some time after its annexation in 1522. After the Iranian campaign of 1533–6, the new eyalets of Erzurum, Van, Sharazor and Baghdad guarded the frontier with Iran.[7] In 1541 came the creation of Budin Eyalet from part of the old Kingdom of Hungary.[7] The Eyalet of the Archipelago was created by Süleyman I especially for Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1533, by detaching districts from the shores and islands of the Aegean which had previously been part of the eyalets of Rumelia and Anatolia, and uniting them as an independent eyalet.[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]

Eyalets in 1795

In 1795, the government launched a major reorganization of the provincial administration, with a law decreeing that there would be 28 provinces, each to be governed by a vizer. These were Adana, Aleppo, Anatolia, Baghdad, Basra, Bosnia, Childir, Crete, Damascus, Diyarbekir, Egypt, Erzurum, Habesh, Karaman, Kars, Dulkadir, the Archipelago, Morea, Mosul, Rakka, Rumelia, Sayda, Sharazor, Silistra, Sivas, Trebizond, Tripoli, Van. In practice, however, central control remained weak, and beylerbeyis continued to rule some provinces, instead of vizers.[8]

Government

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]

Map

List

From the mid-14th century until the late 16th century, only one new beylerbeylik (Karaman) was established.

Disappeared before 1609

The eyalets that existed before 1609 but disappeared include the following:[9]

Province Name Ottoman Turkish Name and Transliteration (Modern Turkish) Existed for
AbkhaziaAbhazya? years (1578–?)also called Sukhum [Sohumkale] or Georgia [Gürcistan] and included Mingrelia and Imeretia as well as modern Abkhazia – nominally annexed but never fully conquered
AkhaltsikheAhıska? years (1603–?)either split from or coextensive with Samtskhe
DagestanDağıstan? years (1578–?)also called Demirkapı – assigned a serdar [chief] rather than a beylerbeyi
DmanisiTumanis? years (1584–?)
GanjaGence16 years (1588–1604)
GoriGori? years (1588–?)probably replaced Tiflis after 1586
GyőrYanık04 years (1594–1598)
IbrimÌbrīm01 year (1584-1585)temporary promotion of the sanjak of Ibrim[10]
KakhetiKaheti? years (1578–?)Kakhetian king was appointed hereditary bey
Lazistan? years (1574–?)
LorriLori? years (1584–?)
NakhichevanNahçivan01 year (1603 only)possibly never separate from Yerevan[9]
PotiFaş? years (1579–?)may have also been another name for Trabzon
SanaaSan'a02 years (1567–1569)temporary division of Yemen
ShemakhaŞamahı01 year (1583 only)may have also been another name for Shervan
SzigetvárZigetvar04 years (1596–1600)later transferred to Kanizsa
ShervanŞirvan26 years (1578–1604)overseen by a serdar [chief] rather than a beylerbeyi
TabrizTebriz18 years (1585–1603)
TiflisTiflis08 years (1578–1586)probably replaced by Gori after 1586
WallachiaEflak2 months (September–October 1595)the rest of the time Wallachia was a separate autonomous principality
YerevanErivan21 years (1583–1604)sometimes also included Van
ZabidZebit02 years (1567–1569)temporary division of Yemen

Eyalets in 1609

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.

Province Name Ottoman Turkish Name and Transliteration (Modern Turkish) Existed for
Habesh EyaletHabeş313 years (1554–1867)Included areas on both sides of the Red Sea. Also called "Mecca and Medina"
Adana Eyaletآضنه Ażana (Adana)257 years (1608–1865)
Archipelagoجزایر بحر سفید Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid329 years (1535–1864)Domain of the Kapudan Pasha (Lord Admiral); Also called Denizi or Denizli, later Vilayet of the Archipelago
Aleppo Eyaletحلب Ḥaleb (Halep)330 years (1534–1864)
Algiers Eyaletجزایر غرب Cezâyîr-i Ġarb (Cezayir Garp, Cezayir)313 years (1517–1830)
Anatolia EyaletAnadolu448 years (1393–1841)Second Eyalet
Baghdad Eyaletبغداد Baġdâd (Bağdat)326 years (1535–1861)Until the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), Ottoman rule was not consolidated.
Basra Eyaletبصره Baṣra (Basra)324 years (1538–1862)
Bosnia EyaletBosna284 years (1580–1864)
Budin EyaletBudin145 years (1541–1686)
Kıbrış Eyaletقبرص Ḳıbrıṣ (Kıbrıs)092 years (1571-1660; 1745-1748)
Diyarbekir Eyaletدیار بكر Diyârbekir (Diyarbakır)305 years (1541–1846)
Eger Eyaletاكر Egir (Eğri)065 years (1596–1661)
Egypt Eyaletمصر Mıṣır (Mısır)350 years (1517–1867)
Erzurum EyaletErzurum334 years (1533–1867)Until the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), Ottoman rule was not consolidated.
Al-Hasa EyaletLahsa110 years (1560–1670)Seldom directly ruled
Kefe Eyalet (Theodosia)كفه Kefe206 years (1568–1774)
Kanizsa EyaletKanije086 years (1600–1686)
Karaman EyaletKaraman381 years (1483–1864)
Kars EyaletKars295 years (1580–1875)Until the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), Ottoman rule was not consolidated. Bounded to Erzurum Eyalet in 1875.
Dulkadir EyaletMaraş, Dulkadır342 years (1522–1864)
Mosul EyaletMusul329 years (1535–1864)Until the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), Ottoman rule was not consolidated.
Ar-RaqqahRakka278 years (1586–1864)
Rumelia EyaletRumeli502 years (1365–1867)First Eyalet
Childir EyaletÇıldır267 years (1578–1845)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.
Shahrizor EyaletŞehrizor132 years (1554–1686)Also Shahrizor, Sheherizul, or Kirkuk. In 1830, this eyalet bounded to Mosul province as Kirkuk sanjak.
Silistria EyaletSilistre271 years (1593–1864)Later sometimes called Ochakiv (Özi); First beylerbeyi was the Crimean khan
Eyalet of SivasSivas466 years (1398–1864)
Syriaشام Şam348 years (1517–1865)
Temeşvar EyaletTımışvar (Temeşvar)164 years (1552–1716)
Trebizond Eyalet, LazistanTrabzon403 years (1461–1864)
Tripoli Eyalet (Tripoli-in-the-East)طرابلس شام Trablus-ı Şam (Trablusşam)285 years (1579–1864)
Tripolitania Eyalet (Tripoli-in-the-West)طرابلس غرب Trablus-ı Garb (Trablusgarp)313 years (1551–1864)
Tunis EyaletTunus340 years (1524–1864)
Van Eyaletوان Van316 years (1548–1864)Until the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), Ottoman rule was not consolidated.
Yemen Eyaletیمن Yemen142 years (1517–1636; 1849–1872)

Sources:

  • 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.)
  • Donald Edgar Pitcher. An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire (Leiden, Netherlands: E.J.Brill,1972.)

Established 1609–1683
Province Name Ottoman Turkish Name and Transliteration (Modern Turkish) Existed for
Crete EyaletGirid198 years (1669–1867)
Morea EyaletMora181 years (1620–1687) and (1715–1829)originally part of Aegean Archipelago Province
Podolia EyaletPodolya027 years (1672–1699)overseen by several serdars (marshals) rather than by beylerbeyi (governors)
Sidon EyaletSayda181 years (1660–1841)
Uyvar EyaletUyvar022 years (1663–1685)
Varad EyaletVarad031 years (1661–1692)

Established 1683–1864
Province Name Ottoman Turkish Name and Transliteration (Modern Turkish) Existed for
Eyalet of AdrianopleEdirne38 years (1826–1864)
Monastir EyaletMonastir38 years (1826–1864)
Salonica EyaletSelanik38 years (1826–1864)
Eyalet of AidinAydın38 years (1826–1864)
Ankara EyaletAnkara37 years (1827–1864)
Kastamonu EyaletKastamonu37 years (1827–1864)
Herzegovina EyaletHersek18 years (1833–1851)
Hüdavendigâr EyaletHüdavendigâr26 years (1841–1867)
Karasi EyaletKaresi02 years (1845–1847)
Niš EyaletNiş18 years (1846–1864)
Kurdistan Eyalet Kurdistan 21 years (1846–1867)[11]
Vidin EyaletVidin18 years (1846–1864)

Maps
  • Eyalets in the 17th century
  • 1855 map of Turkey in Asia by Joseph Hutchins Colton
  • Map of European Turkey by Carl Ritter, published in 1864
gollark: I'm just on Discord *constantly*, to remain synchronized with the internet hive mind.
gollark: Bees WILL be initiated
gollark: > i think i should quit discord for a while and only check it like once a month or somethingno.
gollark: Oh, cool idea; map them to names using the unicode character database somehow?
gollark: ... are these just random?

See also
  • Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire

References
  1. A handbook of Asia Minor. Naval Staff. Intelligence Department. 1919. p. 203.
  2. Raymond Detrez; Barbara Segaert (2008-01-01). Europe and the historical legacies in the Balkans. Peter Lang. p. 167. ISBN 978-90-5201-374-9. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  3. The empires and cities of Asia (1873) by Forbes, A. Gruar. Page 188
  4. Çelebi, Evliya. Trans. by von Hammer, Joseph. Narrative of travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa in the seventeenth century, Vol. 1, p. 90 ff. Parbury, Allen, & Co. (London), 1834.
  5. Selcuk Aksin Somel (2010-03-23). The A to Z of the Ottoman Empire. Scarecrow Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-4617-3176-4. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  6. D. E. Pitcher (1972). An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire: From Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century. Brill Archive. p. 125. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  7. Imber, Colin (2002). "The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power" (PDF). pp. 177–200. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-26.
  8. M. Sükrü Hanioglu (2010-03-08). A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire. Princeton University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-4008-2968-2. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  9. D. E. Pitcher (1972). An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire: From Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century. Brill Archive. pp. 128–29. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  10. V. L. Menage (1988): "The Ottomans and Nubia in the sixteenth century". Annales Islamologiques 24. pp.152-153.
  11. Aydın, Suavi; Verheij, Jelle (2012). Jorngerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle (eds.). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915. Brill. p. 18. ISBN 9789004225183.

Further reading
  • Imber, Colin (2002). The Ottoman Empire, 1300–1650: The Structure of Power. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-3336-1386-3.
  • 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)
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