Erzurum vilayet

The Vilayet of Erzurum (Armenian: Էրզրումի նահանգ, Ottoman Turkish: ولايت ارضروم, Vilâyet-i Erzurum)[1] was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire.

ولايت ارضروم
Vilâyet-i Erzurum
Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire
1867–1923

The Erzurum Vilayet in 1890
CapitalErzurum
History
History 
1867
• Declaration of the Republic of Turkey
1923
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Erzurum Eyalet
Bitlis Vilayet
Kars Oblast
Today part ofAğrı, Ardahan, Erzurum, Iğdır, Kars, Van

The vilayet of Erzurum shared borders with the Persian and Russian empires in the east and north-east, in the north with the Trebizond Vilayet, in the west with the vilayet of Sivas, and in the south with the vilayets of Bitlis, Mamuret-ül Aziz and Van.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Erzurum Vilayet reportedly had an area of 29,614 square miles (76,700 km2), while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 645,702.[2] The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.[2] It was one of the six Armenian vilayets in the eastern part of Anatolia, and, prior to World War I, many Armenians lived there. Also there lived small communities of Georgians, Pontic Greeks and Caucasus Greeks, and other ethnic groups, both Muslim and Christian [mainly Armenian Apostolic].

History

The Erzurum 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 Erzurum Vilayet.[3]

In 1875 it was divided in six vilayets: Erzurum, Van, Hakkari, Bitlis, Hozat (Dersim) and Kars-Çildir. In 1888 by an imperial order Hakkari was joined to the vilayet of Van, and Hozat to Mamuret ul-Aziz.[4]

The Kars and Çildir regions were lost in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and ceded to the Russian Empire,[5] which administered it as the Kars Oblast until 1917.

Administrative divisions
Map of subdivisions of Erzurum Vilayet in 1907

Sanjaks of the vilayet:[6]

  1. Sanjak of Erzurum (Erzurum, Pasinler, Bayburt, İspir, Tercan, Tortum, Yusufeli, Kiğı, Narman, Hınıs)
  2. Sanjak of Erzincan (Erzincan, Pülümür, Refahiye, İliç, Kemah)
  3. Sanjak of Bayazid (Beyazit, Eleşkirt, Diyadin, Tutak, Ağrı)

Demographics

In 1893, there were in total 19 Kaza (districts). In all kaza's Muslims (Sunni and Alevi) were the majority.[7] Lowest percentage of Muslims (64%) was in the kaza of Hınıs.[7] Most of the Protestants and Catholics were Armenian.

Population of the Sanjaks, in thousands, according to the Ottoman census of 1893[7]
GroupsErzurumBayezidErzincanTotal
Muslims312,247,485,9445,5
Armenian Apostolic73,98,319101,2
Catholics5,41,3-6,7
Protestants1,70,10,22
Greek Orthodox1,5-23,5
Others0,2--0,2
Total394,957,1107,1559

See also

References
  1. Hathi Trust Digital Library - Holdings: Salname-yi Vilâyet-i Erzurum
  2. Asia by A. H. Keane, page 460
  3. Almanach de Gotha: annuaire généalogique, diplomatique et statistique. J. Perthes. 1867. pp. 827–829. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  4. Krikorian, Mesrob K (1977). Armenians in the Service of the Ottoman Empire: 1860–1908. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7100-8564-1. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  5. Dadrian, Vahakn N. (2003). Warrant for Genocide: Key Elements of Turko-Armenian Conflict. Transaction Publishers. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-4128-4119-1. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  6. "Erzurum Vilayeti". Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  7. Ottoman Population, 1830–1914: Demographic and Social Characteristics, Kemal H. Karpat, page 124, 1985

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