''Mütesellim'' or ''mutesellim'' was an Ottoman gubernatorial title used to describe mainly the head of a ''nahiye'', but also other positions within the Ottoman hierarchy, depending on the context. Mostly this title was used for civil governors of individual towns, who managed

tax collection A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation authority is a government agency responsible for the intake of government revenue, including taxes and sometimes non-tax revenue. Depending on the jurisdiction, revenue services may be charged with ...

and maintained public order. In order to reduce conflicts between ''mütesellim''s, in some cases one ''mütesellim'' was appointed by the ''

sanjak-bey ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' ( ota, سنجاق بك) () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak ...

'' as lieutenant governor in charge for the whole ''

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

''. The Ottoman Empire abolished the position of ''mütesellim'' in 1842. This position was often connected with conflicts between various parties who saw it as possibility to increase their personal wealth. In the period between 1842 and 1864 local military governors assisted by local administration were in charge for tax collection and control of the population instead of ''mütesellims''. After 1864 and the creation of the ''

vilayet A vilayet ( ota, , "province"), also known by various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated ...

'' system, the office of ''mütesellim'' was replaced with new position of ''

mutasarrıf Mutasarrif or mutesarrif ( ota, متصرّف, tr, mutasarrıf) was the title used in the Ottoman Empire and places like post-Ottoman Iraq for the governor of an administrative district. The Ottoman rank of mutasarrif was established as part of a ...

''.

References

Gubernatorial titles Civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Turkish words and phrases Military ranks of the Ottoman Empire Taxation in the Ottoman Empire {{Ottoman-stub