TheEyalet of the Islands of the White Sea(Ottoman Turkish:ایالت جزایر بحر سفید,Eyālet-i Cezāyir-i Baḥr-i Sefīd,"Eyalet of the Islands of theWhite Sea")[2]was a first-level province (eyalet) of theOttoman Empire.From its inception until theTanzimatreforms of the mid-19th century, it was under the personal control of theKapudan Pasha,the commander-in-chief of theOttoman Navy.
| Eyalet of the Islands of the White Sea | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eyaletof theOttoman Empire | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1533–1864 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 The Eyalet of the Archipelago in 1609 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Gallipoli[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Established | 1533 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1864 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Today part of |  Turkey Greece Cyprus | ||||||||||||||||||||
History
editDuring the early period of theOttoman Empire,the commander of the Ottoman fleet (theDerya Begi,"Beyof the Sea ") also held the governorship of thesanjakofGallipoli,which was the principal Ottoman naval base until the construction of theImperial Arsenalunder SultanSelim I(reigned 1512–20). His province also included the isolatedkazasofGalataandIzmit.[3][4]
In 1533/4, the corsair captainHayreddin Barbarossa,who had taken overAlgeria,submitted to the authority of SultanSuleyman I(r. 1520–66). His province was expanded by the addition of thesanjaksofKocaeli,Suğla,andBigafrom theEyalet of Anatolia,and of thesanjaksofInebahti(Naupaktos),Ağriboz(Euboea),Karli-eli(Aetolia-Acarnania),Mezistre(Mystras), andMidilli(Lesbos) from theEyalet of Rumelia,thus forming the Eyalet of the Archipelago.[3][4]After Hayreddin's death, the province remained the domain of theKapudan Pasha,the new title of the commander-in-chief of the navy, a position of great power and prestige: its holder was avizierof threehorsetailsand a member of theImperial Council.[3][4]As a token of this, the title of the local sub-provincial governors was notsanjak-beybutderya-bey.[3]Although the Kapudan Pashas resided in the Imperial Arsenal, Gallipoli remained the official capital (pasha-sanjak) until the 18th century.[3][4][5]
After Hayreddin's death in 1546, thesanjakofRodos(Rhodes) also became part of the Eyalet of the Archipelago, and in 1617/8 thesanjaksofSakız(Chios),Nakşa(Naxos) andAndıra(Andros) were added to it.[3]Algeria becamede factoindependent of Ottoman control after 1642, and in ca. 1670Cypruswas added to the eyalet. It was detached in 1703 as the personal fief (hass) of theGrand Vizier,but returned to the eyalet in 1784. UnderMerzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha,thesanjaksof Mezistre and Karli-eli were detached and incorporated in the newEyalet of the Morea.[3]Alone among the majorAegean islands,Crete,althoughconqueredfrom theRepublic of Venicein 1645–69, was never subordinated to the Eyalet of the Archipelago.[3]From 1701–1821, the office of theDragoman of the Fleet,entrusted to aPhanariote Greek,served as intermediary between the Kapudan Pasha and the autonomous communities of the Aegean islands. In this area, the Dragoman of the Fleet enjoyed considerable authority.
By the early 19th century, the eyalet was reduced to thesanjaksof Biga (now thepasha-sanjak,its centre was moved toKale-i Sultaniyein 1855), Gelibolu, Rodos, Sakız, Midilli,Limni(Lemnos) and Cyprus.[3].Sanjak of Gelibolubecame part ofEdirne Eyaletin 1846.[6]As part of theTanzimatreforms, its ties to the Kapudan Pasha were severed in 1849,[3][5]and it became theVilayet of the Archipelagoafter 1867.[5]Sanjak of Biga was part ofHüdavendigâr Eyaletbetween 1 January 1847 and 31 December 1868 and 1 January 1872 and 1873 before reverting to this province during periods of 1869-1871 and 1873-1877. Sanjak of Biga broken ties with her after transferring to Şehremaneti (Its centre wasIstanbulin 1877.[7]The island ofSamos(Turkish Sisam), which was anautonomous principalitysince 1832, continued to be counted as asanjakof the eyalet until 1867.[5]Cyprus was lost toBritish controlin 1878, and the remainder of the vilayet was dissolved after the eastern Aegean islands were conquered by the Italians during theItalo-Turkish War(1911–12) and the Greeks in theFirst Balkan War(1912–13).[3][5]
Including Crete, its reported area in the 19th century was 9,829 square miles (25,460 km2) and its population around 700,000.[8]
Other names
editThe eyalet's English names are theProvince of the Islands[1]orof the Archipelago.[9]Because it was commanded by theKapudan Pasha,the head of theOttoman navy,it was also known as theProvince of the Kapudan Pasha[10](Ottoman Turkish:Kapudanlık-ı Derya,"Captaincy of the Sea" ).
Dejezayr-Bahr-i-Rum
editThe Ottoman 'Vilâyet Djezayr Bahr-i-Sefid' for the islands was derived from an old Arabic name 'Djezayr-Bahr-i-Rum' (جزائر بحر الروم), Province of Djezayrs[1]or Dschesair,[8]the Province of the Islands of the Archipelago,[8]the Province of the Islands of the White Sea,[11]and the Eyalet of the Mediterranean Islands.[12]
Administrative divisions
editSee also
edit- List of Kapudan Pashas
- List of Ottoman admirals
- The Eyalet of the Western Archipelago(Algiers), also held by the Kapudan Pashas
- TheByzantinenavalthemes:Cibyrrhaeot,Aegean Sea,andSamos
Sources
edit- ^abcMacgregor, John.Commercial Statistics: A Digest of the Productive Resources, Commercial Legislation, Customs Tariffs, Navigation, Port, and Quarantine Laws, and Charges, Shipping, Imports and Exports, and the Monies, Weights, and Measures of All Nations. Including All British Commercial Treaties with Foreign States2 ed., Vol. II, p. 12. Whittaker and Co. (London), 1850. Accessed 10 September 2011.
- ^"White Sea" being theOttoman Turkishname for the Mediterranean.
- ^abcdefghijkBeckingham, C.F. (1991)."D̲j̲azāʾir-i Baḥr-i Safīd".The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume II: C–G.Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 521–522.ISBN90-04-07026-5.
- ^abcdOzbaran, S. (1997)."Ḳapudan Pas̲h̲a".The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume IV: Ira–Kha.Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 571–572.ISBN90-04-05745-5.
- ^abcdefBirken, Andreas (1976).Die Provinzen des Osmanischen Reiches.Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients (in German). Vol. 13. Reichert. pp. 101–108.ISBN9783920153568.
- ^https:// devletarsivleri.gov.tr/varliklar/dosyalar/eskisiteden/yayinlar/genel-mudurluk-yayinlar/osmanli_yer_adlari.pdfOttoman place names (Page: 293)
- ^https:// devletarsivleri.gov.tr/varliklar/dosyalar/eskisiteden/yayinlar/genel-mudurluk-yayinlar/osmanli_yer_adlari.pdfOttoman place names (Pages of 128 and 180
- ^abcThe Popular Encyclopedia; or, Conversations Lexicon.Revised ed. Vol. VI, pp. 698 & 701. Blackie & Son (London), 1862. Accessed 10 September 2011.
- ^MacKay, Pierre. "Acrocorinth in 1668, a Turkish Account."Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.37(4), 386–397. Accessed 10 September 2011.
- ^abÇelebi, Evliya. Trans. by von Hammer, Joseph.Narrative of travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa in the seventeenth century,Vol. 1, p. 91. Parbury, Allen, & Co. (London), 1834. Accessed 10 September 2011.
- ^Süssheim, K. "AĶ DEŇIZ."Encyclopaedia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography, and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples.E.J. Brill and Luzac & Co. (Leiden), 1938. Accessed 10 September 2011.
- ^Greene, Molly.A Shared World: Christians and Muslims in the Early Modern Mediterranean,p. 22. Princeton University Press (Princeton), 2002. Accessed 10 September 2011.
- ^Emecen, Feridun (1998)."Osmanlı Taşra Teşkilâtının Kaynaklarından 957-958 (1550-1551) Tarihli Sancak Tevcîh Defteri (42 sayfa belge ile birlikte)".Belgeler.XIX:53–98 – via Türk Tarih Kurumu.
- ^abcOrhan Kılıç, XVII.Yüzyılın İlk Yarısında Osmanlı Devleti'nin Eyalet ve Sancak Teşkilatlanması, Osmanlı, Cilt 6: Teşkilât, Yeni Türkiye Yayınları,p. 104. (Ankara) 1999.ISBN975-6782-09-9.(in Turkish)
External links
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