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The Ottoman Empire existed from 1299 to 1922 and, at the height of its power in the 16th Century , it included nearly 20 million Km&2 in Anatolia (Asia Minor), the Middle East , parts of North Africa , and much of south-eastern Europe , and the Caucasus . From its beginnings as a Seljuk vassal state (''Uç Beyliği'') in central Anatolia, the Empire over the years became an amalgamation of pre-existing Polities , the Anatolian Beyliks , brought under the sway of the ruling House Of Osman . The hereditary rulers of these territories were known as '' Bey s'' and many of the 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. With the expansion of the Empire, the need for more systematic administrative organization arose. Over time a dual system of military and civil administration developed a kind of Separation Of Powers with most higher Executive functions carried out by the military authorities and Judicial and basic administration duties carried out by civil authorities. Outside this system were various types of Vassal and Tributary states. Most of the areas ruled by the Ottomans were explicitly mentioned in the official full style of the sultan, including various lofty titles adopted to emphasize imperial rank and show the empire as being "successor-in-law" to conquered states. For example, in the early 16th Century this was the full title held by the sultan: Sultan Hân N.N., Padishah , Hünkar , Hakan ül-Berreyn Vel-Bahreyn ; Sovereign of the House Of Osman , Sultan of Sultans, Khan of Khans, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe ; Protector of the Holy Cities of Mecca , Medina and Jerusalem ; Emperor of The Three Cities of Constantinople , Adrianople and Bursa , and of the Cities of Damascus and Cairo , of all Azerbaijan , of the Magris , of Barka , of Kairouan , of Aleppo , of Arabic Iraq and of Ajim , of Basra , of Al-Hasa , of Dilen , of Ar Raqqah , of Mosul , of Parthia , of Diyarbakir , of Cilicia , of the Vilayet s of Erzurum , of Sivas , of Adana , of Karaman , Van , of Barbary , of Abyssinia , of Tunisia , of Tripoli , of Damascus , of Cyprus , of Rhodes , of Candia , of the Vilayet of the Morea , of the Marmara Sea , the Black Sea and also its coasts, of Anatolia , of Rumelia , Baghdad , Kurdistan , Greece , Turkistan , Tartary , Circassia , of the two regions of Kabarda , of Georgia , of the plain of Kypchak , of the whole country of the Tartars , of Kefe and of all the neighboring countries, of Bosnia and its Dependencies , of the City and Fort of Belgrade , of the Vilayet of Serbia , with all the castles, forts and cities, of all Albania , of all Eflak and Bogdania , as well as all the dependencies and borders, and many others countries and cities. MILITARY ADMINISTRATION 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 ''beylerbeyi'' or governor-general was appointed to oversee Rumelia . About the same time a '''''beylerbeylik''''' was established for Anatolia except for the Rum area around Amasya , then the seat of the Empire, which remained under the sultan’s direct control (usually through his Grand Vizier ). Following the establishment of beylerbeyliks, sanjaks were relegated to second-order administration 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-order administrative units From the mid- 14th Century until the late 16th Century , only one new beylerbeylik ( Karaman ) was established. However, new conquests of Selim I and Suleyman I in the 17th 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, at a given time. The chart below shows the administrative situation as of 1609 followed by eyalets that existed before 1609 but disappeared and eyalets created after 1609. Eyalets in 1609 Sources:
Eyalets which had disappeared before 1609
Eyalets established 1609-1683
Eyalets established 1683-1864 19th century administrative reform As the Ottoman Empire began to decline, the administrative structure came under pressure. After 1861 there existed an autonomous Mount Lebanon with a Christian Mutasarrif , which had been created as a homeland for the Maronite Christian s under Europe an pressure. As part of the Tanzimat reforms, an Ottoman law passed in 1864 provided for a standard provincial administration throughout the empire with the eyalets becoming smaller '' Vilayets '' governed by a ''vali'' or governor still appointed by the Porte but with new provincial assemblies participating in administration. The vilayets were subdivided into sanjaks and vassal states such as Serbia , Romania , and Montenegro remained separate from the provincial system. Vilayets in 1877
Administrative changes 1877-1918 ]] =Asia Minor (1915) After 1885, with the governing reforms of Tanzimat , the control of the Ottoman land in Asia Minor divided into 15 Vilayet s, one Sanjak and one mutersaflik of the vilayet of Constantinople (both being on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus ). Every vilayet was further divided in a number of sanjaks. More specifically the political division of Asia Minor in 1915 was as follows;
Also the Vilayets in 1918
Second-order administrative units The provinces were divided into Sanjak s (also called ''livas'') ruled by ''sancak Bey s'' and were then subdivided into '' Timar s'' (fiefs held by '' Timariots '') and ''zeamets'' (also ''ziam''; larger timars). Some, such as the Mutasarrifate (Sanjak) Of Jerusalem , were not part of a province. 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. GOVERNMENT See the article on State Organisation Of The Ottoman Empire for further information on the structure of power in the provinces. CIVIL ADMINISTRATION Civil and judicial administration was carried out under a separate parallel system of small municipal or rural units called '' Kaza s'' administered by a '' Qadi '' (''kadı''). Kazas in turn were subdivided into '' Nahiye s''. The qadis came from the Ulema and represent the legal authority of the sultan. The civil system was considered a check on the military system since Bey s (who represented executive authority) could not carry out punishment without a sentence for a qadi. Likewiese, qadis were not permitted to personally effect punishemnt. In the areas of '' Sharia '' and '' Kanun '' law, qadis were responsible directly to the sultan. VASSAL OR TRIBUTARY STATES Besides the provinces, there were a number of Tributary or Vassal State s, usually on the periphery of the Empire under Suzerainty of the Porte , over which direct control was not established, for various reasons. Some of these states served as Buffer States s between the Ottomans and Christendom in Europe or Shi’ism in Asia. Their number varied over time but notable were the Khanate Of Crimea , Wallachia , Moldavia , Transylvania , Serbia , Circassia , and the Kurdish states. Other states such as Bulgaria , Serbia , and Bosnia were vassals before being absorbed into the Empire. Still others had commercial value such as Imeretia , Mingrelia , Chios , the Duchy Of Naxos , and the Republic Of Ragusa (Dubrovnik). Areas such as Holy Cities and Venetian tributary areas of Cyprus and Zante were not fully incorporated either. Finally, some small areas such as Montenegro / Zeta and Mount Lebanon did not merit the effort of conquest and were not fully subordinated to the center. Vassalage or tribute took several forms:
There were also secondary vassals such as the Nogai Horde and the Circassians who were (at least nominally) vassals of the Khan s of Crimea , or some Berbers and Arabs who paid tribute to the North Africa n beylerbeyis, who were in turn Ottoman vassals themselves. Other states paid tribute for possessions that were legally bound to the Ottoman Empire but not possessed by the Ottomans such as the Habsburgs for parts of Royal Hungary or Venice for Zante . Other tribute from foreign powers included a kind of “protection money” sometimes called a Horde tax (similar to the Danegeld ) paid by Russia or the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . It was usually paid to the Ottoman vassal Khan s of Crimea rather than to the Ottoman sultan directly. Vassal states 1877-1922
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
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