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Mutasarrif
Ottoman title for governors of an administrative district

The Ottoman Empire used the title mutasarrif for governors of administrative districts called sanjaks or liwas, a system that was formalized during the 1864 Tanzimat reform. Mutasarrifs were appointed directly by the Sultan and governed mutasarrifates, ranking below a wali or governor-general but above a kaymakam. This title was also used in territories like post-Ottoman Iraq. The mutasarrifate was known by different names in Turkish (sanjak), Arabic, and Persian (liwa), reflecting the empire’s administrative diversity and hierarchical governance structure.

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Etymology

Ottoman Turkish mutasarrıf is derived from the Arabic mutaṣarrif, meaning provincial governor.8 Mutaṣarrif is the active participle of taṣarrafa, meaning "to act without restriction", "have the right of disposing (over somebody or something)".9

History

This administrative unit was sometimes independent (e.g., Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate or Cyprus) and sometimes was part of a vilayet (province), administered by a vali, and contained nahiye (communes), each administered by a kaymakam.10 This rank was established in 1864 against the new Law of Villayets instead of rank of mutesellim which was abolished in 1842.11

"This small political unit was governed by a non-Lebanese Ottoman Christian subject and given the protection of European powers. The religious communities of the district were represented by a council that dealt directly with the governor. This system provided peace and prosperity until its abolition."12

The mutassarifates of the Ottoman Empire included:

See also

References

  1. Mutesarrif. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 11 February 2022. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mutasarrif ↩

  2. "Mutesarrif". Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon (in German) (6th ed.). 1905–1909. Retrieved 11 February 2022 – via de-academic.com. https://meyers.de-academic.com/94775/Mutesarrif ↩

  3. Krikorian, Mesrob K. (2018). Armenians in the Service of the Ottoman Empire: 1860-1908. Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-1351031288. Retrieved 11 February 2022. 978-1351031288 ↩

  4. "Mutesarrif". Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon (in German) (6th ed.). 1905–1909. Retrieved 11 February 2022 – via de-academic.com. https://meyers.de-academic.com/94775/Mutesarrif ↩

  5. Meyers (1905–1909), Liwâ. https://meyers.de-academic.com/dic.nsf/meyers/83486/Liw%C3%A2 ↩

  6. "Mutesarrif". Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon (in German) (6th ed.). 1905–1909. Retrieved 11 February 2022 – via de-academic.com. https://meyers.de-academic.com/94775/Mutesarrif ↩

  7. Meyers (1905–1909), Kaimakam. https://meyers.de-academic.com/dic.nsf/meyers/68292/Kaimakam ↩

  8. lexico.com, mutasarrif. Accessed 11 Feb 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220211224738/https://www.lexico.com/definition/mutasarrif ↩

  9. lexico.com, mutasarrif. Accessed 11 Feb 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220211224738/https://www.lexico.com/definition/mutasarrif ↩

  10. Üngör, Uğur Ü. (June 2005). A Reign of Terror, Master's thesis, University of Amsterdam, p. 21. Archived 2006-11-28 at the Wayback Machine. /wiki/U%C4%9Fur_%C3%9Cmit_%C3%9Cng%C3%B6r ↩

  11. Benedict, Peter (1974). Ula: An Anatolian Town. p. 85. ↩

  12. A History of the modern middle east Cleveland and Buntin p.84 ↩

  13. Rogan, E.L. Frontiers of the State in the Late Ottoman Empire: Transjordan, 1850-1921. Cambridge University Press. p55. ↩