Damascus Eyalet (; ) was an

eyalet Eyalets (, , ), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were the primary administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government was loosely structured. The empire was a ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans took it from the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

following the 1516–1517 Ottoman–Mamluk War. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters

Janbirdi al-Ghazali Janbirdi al-Ghazali (; died 1521) was the first governor of Damascus Province under the Ottoman Empire from February 1519 until his death in February 1521. Career Viceroy of Hama and Governor of Damascus Al-Ghazali was originally the '' na'ib'' ...

, a Mamluk traitor, was made the first

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...

of Damascus. The Damascus Eyalet was one of the first Ottoman provinces to become a

vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, 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 b ...

after an administrative reform in 1865, and by 1867 it had been reformed into the Syria Vilayet.

Territorial jurisdiction

The

conquered Syria from the

following the Battle of Marj Dabiq in August 1516 and the subsequent pledges of allegiance paid to the Ottoman sultan,

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

, in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

by delegations of notables from throughout Syria. The Ottomans established Damascus as the center of an ''

'' (Ottoman province) whose territories consisted of the ''mamlakat'' (Mamluk provinces) of Damascus,

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

, Tripoli,

Safad Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortified town in the Upper Gal ...

and Karak.Abu-Husayn, p. 11. The ''mamlaka'' of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, which covered much of northern Syria, became the Aleppo Eyalet. For a few months in 1521, Tripoli and its district were separated from Damascus Eyalet, but after 1579, the Tripoli Eyalet permanently became its own province. At the close of the 16th century, the Damascus Eyalet was administratively divided into the '' sanjaks'' (districts) of Tadmur,

Lajjun Lajjun (, ''al-Lajjūn'') was a large Palestine (region), Palestinian Arab village located northwest of Jenin and south of the remains of the biblical city of Tel Megiddo, Megiddo. The Israeli kibbutz of Megiddo, Israel was built 600 metres ...

Ajlun Ajloun (, ''‘Ajlūn''), also spelled Ajlun, is the capital town of the Ajloun Governorate, a hilly town in the north of Jordan, located 76 kilometers (around 47 miles) north west of Amman. It is noted for its impressive ruins of the 12th-centur ...

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, Gaza and Karak, in addition to the city of Damascus and its district.Bakhit 1982, p. 91. There was also the ''sanjak'' of Sidon-Beirut, though throughout the late 16th century, it frequently switched hands between the ''eyalets'' of Damascus and Tripoli. Briefly in 1614, and then permanently after 1660, the Sidon-Beirut and Safad ''sanjaks'' were separated from Damascus to form the

Sidon Eyalet The Eyalet of Sidon (; ) was an eyalet (also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, the eyalet extended from the border with Egypt to the Bay of Kisrawan, including parts of modern Israel and Lebanon. Depending ...

. These administrative divisions largely held place with relatively minor changes until the mid-19th century.Salibi, pp. 63–64.

Governors

Administrative divisions

Sanjaks of Damascus Eyalet in the 17th century: By

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

, Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall *''Khass'' sanjaks (i.e. yielded a land revenue): # Sanjak of Damascus # Sanjak of Jerusalem # Sanjak of Gaza # Sanjak of Karak # Sanjak of Safad #

Sanjak of Nablus The Nablus Sanjak (; ) was an administrative area that existed throughout Ottoman rule in the Levant (1517–1917). It was administratively part of the Damascus Eyalet until 1864 when it became part of Syria Vilayet and then the Beirut Vilaye ...

# Sanjak of

# Sanjak of Lajjun # Sanjak of Beqaa *''Salyane'' sanjaks (i.e. had an annual allowance from government): # Sanjak of Tadmur # Sanjak of

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

# Sanjak of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Sanjaks between 1700 and 1740 # Sanjak of

# Sanjak of the Mîr-Haclık (managed the muslim

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

) # Sanjak of Karak # Sanjak of

# Sanjak of Gaza # Sanjak of

# Sanjak of

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{coord missing, Asia Ottoman Syria Eyalets of the Ottoman Empire in Asia History of Damascus Political entities in the Land of Israel 16th century in Ottoman Syria 17th century in Ottoman Syria 18th century in Ottoman Syria 19th century in Ottoman Syria 16th-century establishments in Ottoman Syria 1864 disestablishments in Ottoman Syria 1516 establishments in the Ottoman Empire

Territorial jurisdiction

Governors

Administrative divisions

See also

References

Bibliography