The subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire were administrative divisions of the state organisation of the Ottoman Empire based on military administration but with civil executive functions as well. Outside this system were various types of vassal and tributary states. There were two main eras of administrative organisation. The first was the initial organisation that evolved with the rise of the Empire and the second was the organisation after extensive administrative reforms of 1864.
Initial Organization
The initial organization dates back to the Ottoman beginnings as a Seljuk vassal state (Uç Beyliği) in central Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire over the years became an amalgamation of pre-existing polities, the Anatolian beyliks, brought under the sway of the ruling House of Osman.
This extension was based on an already established administrative structure of the Seljuk system in which the hereditary rulers of these territories were known as beys. These beys (local leadership), which were not eliminated, continued to rule under the suzerainty of the Ottoman sultans. The term bey came to be applied not only to these former rulers but also to new governors appointed where the local leadership had been eliminated.
The Ottoman Empire was, at first, subdivided into the sovereign’s sanjak and other sanjaks entrusted to the Ottoman sultan’s sons. Sanjaks were governed by sanjak beyis, military governors who received a flag or standard – a "sanjak" (the literal meaning) – from the sultan. As the Empire expanded into Europe, the need for an intermediate level of administration arose and, under the rule of Murad I (r. 1359-1389), a beylerbeyi or governor-general was appointed to oversee Rumelia, the European part of the empire. About the same time a beylerbeylik was also established for Anatolia, excluding however the Rum area around Amasya, then the seat of the Empire, which remained under the sultan’s direct control (usually through his grand vizier). Following the establishment of beylerbeyliks, sanjaks became second-order administrative divisions, although they continued to be of the first order in certain circumstances such as newly conquered areas that had yet to be assigned a beylerbeyi. In addition to their duties as governors-general, beylerbeyis were the commanders of all troops in their province.
First-order administrative units
Eyalets in 1299-1609
From the mid-14th century until the late 16th century, only one new beylerbeylik (Karaman) was established.
Eyalets disappeared before 1609
The eyalets that existed before 1609 but disappeared and eyalets created after 1609.
Abkhazia (Abhaz) (1578-?) (also called Sukhum [Sohumkale] or Georgia [Gürcistan] and included Mingrelia and Imeretia as well as modern Abkhazia – nominally annexed but never fully conquered)
Akhaltsikhe (Ahıska) (c. 1603-?) (either split from or coextensive with Samtskhe)
Dagestan (Dağıstan) (1578-?) (also called Demirkapı – assigned a serdar [chief] rather than a beylerbeyi)
Dmanisi (Tumanis) (c. 1584-?)
Ganja (Gence) (c.1588-1604)
Gori (Gori) (c. 1588-?) (probably replaced Tiflis after 1586)
Győr (Yanık) (1594–1598)
Kakheti (Kaheti) (c. 1578-?) (Kakhetian king was appointed hereditary bey)
Lazistan Province, Ottoman EmpireLazistan]] (c. 1574-?)
Lorri (Lori) (c. 1584-?)
Moldavia (Boğdan) (1595 only; the rest of the time Moldavia was an separate autonomous province)
Nakhichevan (Nahçivan) (c. 1603) (possibly never separate from Yerevan)
Poti (Faş) (1579-?) (may have also been another name for Trabzon)
Sanaa (San'a) (1567–1569) (temporary division of Yemen)
Shemakha (Şamahı) (c. 1583) (may have also been another name for Shervan)
Szigetvár (Sigetvar, Zigetvar) (c. 1596) (later transferred to Kanizsa)
Shervan (Şirvan) (1578–1604) (overseen by a serdar [chief] rather than a beylerbeyi)
Tabriz (Tebriz) (1585–1603)
Tiflis (Tiflis) (1578–1586) (probably replaced by Gori after 1586)
Wallachia (Eflak) (1595 only; the rest of the time Wallachia was an separate autonomous province)
Yerevan (Erivan) (1583–1604) (sometimes also included Van)
Zabid (Zebid [Zebit]) (1567–1569) (temporary division of Yemen)
Eyalets in 1609
Conquests of Selim I and Suleyman I in the 17th century required an increase in administrative units. By the end of the latter half of the century there were as many as 42 eyalets, as the beylerbeyliks came to be known. The chart below shows the administrative situation as of 1609.
Province Name
Ottoman Turkish Name and Transliteration (Modern Turkish)
Year Established
Current Location
Abyssinia
Habeş
c. 1554
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia
Included areas on both sides of the Red Sea. Also called "Mecca and Medina"
Adana
آضنه Ażana (Adana)
c. 1608
Turkey
Aegean Archipelago
Cezayir
mid-1500s
Greece
Domain of the Kapudan Pasha (Lord Admiral); Also called Denizi, later Cezayir Bahr-i Sefid
Aleppo
حلب Ḥaleb (Halep)
c.1516-1521
Syria, Turkey
Algiers
جزاير غرب Cezâyîr-i Ġarb (Cezayir Garp)
1519
Algeria
Anatolia
Anadolu
c. 1365
Turkey
Baghdad
بغداد Baġdâd (Bağdat)
1535
Iraq
Basra
بصره Baṣra (Basra)
c. 1552
Iraq, Kuwait
Bosnia
Bosna
c. 1520s
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro
Buda
Budin
1541
Hungary, Croatia, Serbia
Cyprus
قبرص Ḳıbrıṣ (Kıbrıs)
1571
Cyprus, Turkey
c. 1660-1703 and 1784→ part of Aegean Archipelago Province
Diyarbekir
دياربكر Diyârbekir (Diyarbakır)
1515
Turkey, Iraq
Eger
اكر Egir (Eğri)
1596
Hungary, Slovakia
Egypt
مصر Mıṣır (Mısır)
1517
Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
Erzurum
Erzurum
c. 1514-1534
Turkey
Al-Hasa
Lahsa
c. 1579
Saudi Arabia
Seldom directly ruled
Kefe (Theodosia)
Kefe
c. 1581
Ukraine, Russia
Kanizsa
Kanije
1600
Hungary, Croatia
Karaman
Karaman
c. 1470
Turkey
Kars
Kars
1579
Turkey, Georgia
Merged with Samtskhe in 1604. Finally bounded to *Erzurum in 1845.
Maraş
Maraş, Dulkadır
c. 1522
Turkey
Mosul
Musul
c. late 1500s
Iraq
Ar-Raqqah
Rakka
c. late 1500s
Syria, Turkey, Iraq
Also called Ruha (Urfa)
Rumelia
Rumeli
c. 1365
Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey
With Anatolia, one of the original two eyalets
Samtskhe
Çıldır
c. 1579
Georgia, Turkey
Also called Meskheti, later possibly coextensive with Akhaltsikhe (Ahıska) Province. Most of eyalet passed to Russia in 1829. Remained parts of eyalet bounded to Erzurum in 1845.
Shehrizor
Şehrizor
c. mid-1500s
Iraq, Iran
Also Shahrizor, Sheherizul, or Kirkuk. In 1830, this eyalet bounded to Mosul province as Kirkuk sanjak.
Silistria
Silistre
c. 1599
Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
Later sometimes called Ochakiv (Özi); First beylerbeyi was the Crimean khan
Sivas
Sivas
c. early 1500s
Turkey
Syria
Şam
1516-17
Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan, part of present Turkey and part of present Iraq.
Timişoara
Tımışvar
1552
Romania, Serbia, Hungary
Also called Temesvar Province
Trabzon,Lazistan
Trabzon
c. late 1500s
Turkey, Georgia
Also called Trebizond Province
Tripoli (Tripoli-in-the-East)
Trablus-ı Şam (Trablusşam)
c. 1570s
Lebanon, Syria
Tripolitania (Tripoli-in-the-West)
Trablus-ı Garb (Trablusgarp)
1551
Libya
Tunis
Tunus
1574
Tunisia
Van
Van
1548
Turkey
Yemen
Yemen
1517-18, 1539
Yemen, Saudi Arabia
Eyalets established 1609–1683
Crete (Girid [Girit]) (1669/70– )
Morea (Mora) (1620–1687) and (1715–1829) (originally part of Aegean Archipelago Province)
Podolia (Podolya) (1674–1699 only) (overseen be several serdars [chiefs] rather than a beylerbeyi)
Sidon (Sayda) (1660– )
Neuhäusl (Uyvar) (1663–1685)
Oradea (Varad) (1661–1692)
Eyalets established 1683–1864
Second-order administrative units
The provinces were divided into sanjaks (also called livas) governed by sanjakbeys and were further subdivided into timars (fiefs held by timariots) and zeamets (also ziam; larger timars). Some, such as the Mutasarrifate (Sanjak) of Jerusalem, were not part of a province. Sanjak governors also served as military commanders of all of the timariot and zeamet-holding cavalrymen in their sanjak. Some provinces such as Egypt, Baghdad, Abyssinia, and Al-Hasa (the salyane provinces) were not subdivided into sanjaks and timars.
Administrative reform, 1864
As the Ottoman Empire began to decline, the administrative structure came under pressure. After 1861 there existed an autonomous Mount Lebanon with a Christian mutasarrif, which had been created as a homeland for the Maronite Christians under European pressure. As part of the Tanzimat reforms, an Ottoman law passed in 1864 provided for a standard provincial administration throughout the empire with the eyalets becoming smaller vilayets governed by a vâli or governor still appointed by the Porte but with new provincial assemblies participating in administration. The vilayets were subdivided into sanjaks, mutasarrifates and vassal states such as Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro remained separate from the provincial system.
Vilayets, 1877
Western
1885- Western vilayets
Bosnia (Bosna)
Çatalca (Çatalca) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (Çatalca Sancağı)
Crete (Girit)
Cyprus (Kıbrıs) (island with special status) (Kıbrıs Adası)
Danube (Tuna)
Eastern Rumelia, autonomous
Edirne (Edirne) (Also called Adrianople)
Herzegovina (Hersek)
Istanbul (İstanbul) (Also called Constantinople)
Janina (Yanya)
Kosovo (Kosova)
Monastir (Manastır)
Salonica (Selanik)
Shkodër (İşkodra)
Samos (Sisam) (island with special status) (Sisam Beyliği)
Sofia (Sofya)
Mecca (Mekke) (autonomous sharifate, not a vilayet) (Mekke Şerifliği)
Mosul (Musul) (from 1879)
Mount Lebanon (Cebel-i Lübnan [Cebeli Lübnan]) (mutasarrifate of Beirut, not a vilayet) (Cebel-i Lübnan Mutasarrıflığı)
Serfije Sanjak (Serfije, Servia), not attached to a vilayet
Syria (Şam) (Also called Damascus)
Tripolitania (Trablusu-Garb [Trablusgarp])
Tunis (Tunus) (autonomous eyalet, ruled by hereditary beys) (Tunus Eyaleti)
Anatolia
Adana (Adana)
Aegean Archipelago (Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid [Akdeniz Adaları])
Aleppo (Haleb [Halep])
Ankara (Ankara) (also called Angora)
Aydın (Aydın)
Biga (Biga) (also called Kale-i Sultaniye) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (Biga Sancağı)
Bitlis (Bitlis)
Diyarbekir (Diyarbekır [Diyarbakır])
Erzurum (Erzurum)
Van (Van)
Eastern
Baghdad (Bağdad [Bağdat])
Basra (Basra)
Beirut (Beyrut)
Benghazi (Bingazi) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (Bingazi Sancağı)
Deir ez-Zor (Deyr-i Zor)
Egypt (Mısır) (autonomous khedivate, not a vilayet) (Mısır Hidivliği)
Hejaz (Hicaz)
Hudavendigar (Hüdavendigar) (Also called Bursa)
İzmit (İzmid [İzmit]) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (İzmid Sancağı)
Jerusalem (Kudüs-i Şerif) (mutasarrifate, not a part of any vilayet) (Kudüs-i Şerif Mutasarrıflığı)
Kastamonu (Kastamonu)
Konya (Konya)
Mamuret-el-Aziz (Mamuret-ül Aziz [Mamuretülaziz]) (also called Kharput, now Elazığ)
Sivas (Sivas)
Vilayets, 1915
1915 Vilayets
After 1885, with the governing reforms of Tanzimat, the control of the Ottoman land in Asia Minor divided into 15 vilayets, one sanjak and one mutersaflik of the vilayet of Constantinople (both being on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus).
Every vilayet was further divided in a number of sanjaks.
More specifically the political division of Asia Minor in 1915 was as follows;
Western
Independent vilayet of the Dardanelles
the sanjak of Uskudar
Anatolia
Vilayet of İzmir divided in the sanjaks of Manisa, İzmir, Aydın, Denizli, Mentese
Vilayet of Bursa divided in the sanjaks of Balıkesir, Bursa, Erdogrul, Kütahya, Afyon
Vilayet of Konya divided in the sanjaks of Burdur, Hamid abad, Atalya, Konya, Nigde
Vilayet of Kastamonu divided in the sanjaks of Bolu, Çankırı, Kastamonu, Sinop
Vilayet of Ankara divided in the sanjaks of Ankara, Kırşehir, Yozgat, Kayseri
Vilayet of Adana, divided in the sanjaks of Icel (Mersin), Adana, Kozan, Osmaniye
Vilayet of Sivas divided in the sanjaks of Sivas, Tokat, Amasya, Şebinkarahisar
Vilayet of Trabzon divided in the sanjaks of Samsun, Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Lazistan
Vilayet of Erzurum
Vilayet of Bitlis divided in the sanjaks of Muş, Genç, Siirt
Vilayet of Van divided in the sanjaks of Van, Hakkari
Independent mutersaflik of İzmit and
Eastern
Vilayet of Mosul divided in the sanjaks of Mosul, Sehrizor (Kirkuk), Suleymaniyeh
Vilayet of Mamure-ul-Azil divided in the sanjak of Diyarbakır and the mutersaflik of Zor
Vilayet of Halep divided in the sanjaks of Halep, Urfa, Maraş
Also the
Vilayets, 1918
Western
Istanbul
Anatolia
Vilayet of Adana
Vilayet of Ankara
Vilayet of Aydın
Vilayet of Bitlis
Vilayet of Diyarbekir
Vilayet of Edirne
Vilayet of Erzurum
Vilayet of Hudavendigar (Bursa)
Vilayet of İzmit
Vilayet of Konya
Vilayet of Mamuret-el-Aziz (Elazığ)
Vilayet of Sivas
Vilayet of Trabzon
Vilayet of Van
Eastern
Vilayet of Mosul divided in the sanjaks of Mosul, Sehrizan, Suleymanih
The initial organization dates back to the Ottoman beginnings as a Seljuk vassal state (Uç Beyliği) in central Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire over the years became an amalgamation of pre-existing polities, the Anatolian beyliks, brought under the sway of the ruling House of Osman.
This extension was based on an already established administrative structure of the Seljuk system in which the hereditary rulers of these territories were known as beys. These beys (local leadership), which were not eliminated, continued to rule under the suzerainty of the Ottoman sultans. The term bey came to be applied not only to these former rulers but also to new governors appointed where the local leadership had been eliminated.
The Ottoman Empire was, at first, subdivided into the sovereign’s sanjak and other sanjaks entrusted to the Ottoman sultan’s sons. Sanjaks were governed by sanjak beyis, military governors who received a flag or standard – a "sanjak" (the literal meaning) – from the sultan. As the Empire expanded into Europe, the need for an intermediate level of administration arose and, under the rule of Murad I (r. 1359-1389), a beylerbeyi or governor-general was appointed to oversee Rumelia, the European part of the empire. About the same time a beylerbeylik was also established for Anatolia, excluding however the Rum area around Amasya, then the seat of the Empire, which remained under the sultan’s direct control (usually through his grand vizier). Following the establishment of beylerbeyliks, sanjaks became second-order administrative divisions, although they continued to be of the first order in certain circumstances such as newly conquered areas that had yet to be assigned a beylerbeyi. In addition to their duties as governors-general, beylerbeyis were the commanders of all troops in their province.
First-order administrative units
Eyalets in 1299-1609
From the mid-14th century until the late 16th century, only one new beylerbeylik (Karaman) was established.
Eyalets disappeared before 1609
The eyalets that existed before 1609 but disappeared and eyalets created after 1609.
Abkhazia (Abhaz) (1578-?) (also called Sukhum [Sohumkale] or Georgia [Gürcistan] and included Mingrelia and Imeretia as well as modern Abkhazia – nominally annexed but never fully conquered)
Akhaltsikhe (Ahıska) (c. 1603-?) (either split from or coextensive with Samtskhe)
Dagestan (Dağıstan) (1578-?) (also called Demirkapı – assigned a serdar [chief] rather than a beylerbeyi)
Dmanisi (Tumanis) (c. 1584-?)
Ganja (Gence) (c.1588-1604)
Gori (Gori) (c. 1588-?) (probably replaced Tiflis after 1586)
Győr (Yanık) (1594–1598)
Kakheti (Kaheti) (c. 1578-?) (Kakhetian king was appointed hereditary bey)
Lazistan Province, Ottoman EmpireLazistan]] (c. 1574-?)
Lorri (Lori) (c. 1584-?)
Moldavia (Boğdan) (1595 only; the rest of the time Moldavia was an separate autonomous province)
Nakhichevan (Nahçivan) (c. 1603) (possibly never separate from Yerevan)
Poti (Faş) (1579-?) (may have also been another name for Trabzon)
Sanaa (San'a) (1567–1569) (temporary division of Yemen)
Shemakha (Şamahı) (c. 1583) (may have also been another name for Shervan)
Szigetvár (Sigetvar, Zigetvar) (c. 1596) (later transferred to Kanizsa)
Shervan (Şirvan) (1578–1604) (overseen by a serdar [chief] rather than a beylerbeyi)
Tabriz (Tebriz) (1585–1603)
Tiflis (Tiflis) (1578–1586) (probably replaced by Gori after 1586)
Wallachia (Eflak) (1595 only; the rest of the time Wallachia was an separate autonomous province)
Yerevan (Erivan) (1583–1604) (sometimes also included Van)
Zabid (Zebid [Zebit]) (1567–1569) (temporary division of Yemen)
Eyalets in 1609
Conquests of Selim I and Suleyman I in the 17th century required an increase in administrative units. By the end of the latter half of the century there were as many as 42 eyalets, as the beylerbeyliks came to be known. The chart below shows the administrative situation as of 1609.
Province Name
Ottoman Turkish Name and Transliteration (Modern Turkish)
Year Established
Current Location
Abyssinia
Habeş
c. 1554
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia
Included areas on both sides of the Red Sea. Also called "Mecca and Medina"
Adana
آضنه Ażana (Adana)
c. 1608
Turkey
Aegean Archipelago
Cezayir
mid-1500s
Greece
Domain of the Kapudan Pasha (Lord Admiral); Also called Denizi, later Cezayir Bahr-i Sefid
Aleppo
حلب Ḥaleb (Halep)
c.1516-1521
Syria, Turkey
Algiers
جزاير غرب Cezâyîr-i Ġarb (Cezayir Garp)
1519
Algeria
Anatolia
Anadolu
c. 1365
Turkey
Baghdad
بغداد Baġdâd (Bağdat)
1535
Iraq
Basra
بصره Baṣra (Basra)
c. 1552
Iraq, Kuwait
Bosnia
Bosna
c. 1520s
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro
Buda
Budin
1541
Hungary, Croatia, Serbia
Cyprus
قبرص Ḳıbrıṣ (Kıbrıs)
1571
Cyprus, Turkey
c. 1660-1703 and 1784→ part of Aegean Archipelago Province
Diyarbekir
دياربكر Diyârbekir (Diyarbakır)
1515
Turkey, Iraq
Eger
اكر Egir (Eğri)
1596
Hungary, Slovakia
Egypt
مصر Mıṣır (Mısır)
1517
Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
Erzurum
Erzurum
c. 1514-1534
Turkey
Al-Hasa
Lahsa
c. 1579
Saudi Arabia
Seldom directly ruled
Kefe (Theodosia)
Kefe
c. 1581
Ukraine, Russia
Kanizsa
Kanije
1600
Hungary, Croatia
Karaman
Karaman
c. 1470
Turkey
Kars
Kars
1579
Turkey, Georgia
Merged with Samtskhe in 1604. Finally bounded to *Erzurum in 1845.
Maraş
Maraş, Dulkadır
c. 1522
Turkey
Mosul
Musul
c. late 1500s
Iraq
Ar-Raqqah
Rakka
c. late 1500s
Syria, Turkey, Iraq
Also called Ruha (Urfa)
Rumelia
Rumeli
c. 1365
Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey
With Anatolia, one of the original two eyalets
Samtskhe
Çıldır
c. 1579
Georgia, Turkey
Also called Meskheti, later possibly coextensive with Akhaltsikhe (Ahıska) Province. Most of eyalet passed to Russia in 1829. Remained parts of eyalet bounded to Erzurum in 1845.
Shehrizor
Şehrizor
c. mid-1500s
Iraq, Iran
Also Shahrizor, Sheherizul, or Kirkuk. In 1830, this eyalet bounded to Mosul province as Kirkuk sanjak.
Silistria
Silistre
c. 1599
Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
Later sometimes called Ochakiv (Özi); First beylerbeyi was the Crimean khan
Sivas
Sivas
c. early 1500s
Turkey
Syria
Şam
1516-17
Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan, part of present Turkey and part of present Iraq.
Timişoara
Tımışvar
1552
Romania, Serbia, Hungary
Also called Temesvar Province
Trabzon,Lazistan
Trabzon
c. late 1500s
Turkey, Georgia
Also called Trebizond Province
Tripoli (Tripoli-in-the-East)
Trablus-ı Şam (Trablusşam)
c. 1570s
Lebanon, Syria
Tripolitania (Tripoli-in-the-West)
Trablus-ı Garb (Trablusgarp)
1551
Libya
Tunis
Tunus
1574
Tunisia
Van
Van
1548
Turkey
Yemen
Yemen
1517-18, 1539
Yemen, Saudi Arabia
Eyalets established 1609–1683
Crete (Girid [Girit]) (1669/70– )
Morea (Mora) (1620–1687) and (1715–1829) (originally part of Aegean Archipelago Province)
Podolia (Podolya) (1674–1699 only) (overseen be several serdars [chiefs] rather than a beylerbeyi)
Sidon (Sayda) (1660– )
Neuhäusl (Uyvar) (1663–1685)
Oradea (Varad) (1661–1692)
Eyalets established 1683–1864
Second-order administrative units
The provinces were divided into sanjaks (also called livas) governed by sanjakbeys and were further subdivided into timars (fiefs held by timariots) and zeamets (also ziam; larger timars). Some, such as the Mutasarrifate (Sanjak) of Jerusalem, were not part of a province. Sanjak governors also served as military commanders of all of the timariot and zeamet-holding cavalrymen in their sanjak. Some provinces such as Egypt, Baghdad, Abyssinia, and Al-Hasa (the salyane provinces) were not subdivided into sanjaks and timars.
Administrative reform, 1864
As the Ottoman Empire began to decline, the administrative structure came under pressure. After 1861 there existed an autonomous Mount Lebanon with a Christian mutasarrif, which had been created as a homeland for the Maronite Christians under European pressure. As part of the Tanzimat reforms, an Ottoman law passed in 1864 provided for a standard provincial administration throughout the empire with the eyalets becoming smaller vilayets governed by a vâli or governor still appointed by the Porte but with new provincial assemblies participating in administration. The vilayets were subdivided into sanjaks, mutasarrifates and vassal states such as Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro remained separate from the provincial system.
Vilayets, 1877
Western
1885- Western vilayets
Bosnia (Bosna)
Çatalca (Çatalca) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (Çatalca Sancağı)
Crete (Girit)
Cyprus (Kıbrıs) (island with special status) (Kıbrıs Adası)
Danube (Tuna)
Eastern Rumelia, autonomous
Edirne (Edirne) (Also called Adrianople)
Herzegovina (Hersek)
Istanbul (İstanbul) (Also called Constantinople)
Janina (Yanya)
Kosovo (Kosova)
Monastir (Manastır)
Salonica (Selanik)
Shkodër (İşkodra)
Samos (Sisam) (island with special status) (Sisam Beyliği)
Sofia (Sofya)
Mecca (Mekke) (autonomous sharifate, not a vilayet) (Mekke Şerifliği)
Mosul (Musul) (from 1879)
Mount Lebanon (Cebel-i Lübnan [Cebeli Lübnan]) (mutasarrifate of Beirut, not a vilayet) (Cebel-i Lübnan Mutasarrıflığı)
Serfije Sanjak (Serfije, Servia), not attached to a vilayet
Syria (Şam) (Also called Damascus)
Tripolitania (Trablusu-Garb [Trablusgarp])
Tunis (Tunus) (autonomous eyalet, ruled by hereditary beys) (Tunus Eyaleti)
Anatolia
Adana (Adana)
Aegean Archipelago (Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid [Akdeniz Adaları])
Aleppo (Haleb [Halep])
Ankara (Ankara) (also called Angora)
Aydın (Aydın)
Biga (Biga) (also called Kale-i Sultaniye) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (Biga Sancağı)
Bitlis (Bitlis)
Diyarbekir (Diyarbekır [Diyarbakır])
Erzurum (Erzurum)
Van (Van)
Eastern
Baghdad (Bağdad [Bağdat])
Basra (Basra)
Beirut (Beyrut)
Benghazi (Bingazi) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (Bingazi Sancağı)
Deir ez-Zor (Deyr-i Zor)
Egypt (Mısır) (autonomous khedivate, not a vilayet) (Mısır Hidivliği)
Hejaz (Hicaz)
Hudavendigar (Hüdavendigar) (Also called Bursa)
İzmit (İzmid [İzmit]) (autonomous sanjak, not a vilayet) (İzmid Sancağı)
Jerusalem (Kudüs-i Şerif) (mutasarrifate, not a part of any vilayet) (Kudüs-i Şerif Mutasarrıflığı)
Kastamonu (Kastamonu)
Konya (Konya)
Mamuret-el-Aziz (Mamuret-ül Aziz [Mamuretülaziz]) (also called Kharput, now Elazığ)
Sivas (Sivas)
Vilayets, 1915
1915 Vilayets
After 1885, with the governing reforms of Tanzimat, the control of the Ottoman land in Asia Minor divided into 15 vilayets, one sanjak and one mutersaflik of the vilayet of Constantinople (both being on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus).
Every vilayet was further divided in a number of sanjaks.
More specifically the political division of Asia Minor in 1915 was as follows;
Western
Independent vilayet of the Dardanelles
the sanjak of Uskudar
Anatolia
Vilayet of İzmir divided in the sanjaks of Manisa, İzmir, Aydın, Denizli, Mentese
Vilayet of Bursa divided in the sanjaks of Balıkesir, Bursa, Erdogrul, Kütahya, Afyon
Vilayet of Konya divided in the sanjaks of Burdur, Hamid abad, Atalya, Konya, Nigde
Vilayet of Kastamonu divided in the sanjaks of Bolu, Çankırı, Kastamonu, Sinop
Vilayet of Ankara divided in the sanjaks of Ankara, Kırşehir, Yozgat, Kayseri
Vilayet of Adana, divided in the sanjaks of Icel (Mersin), Adana, Kozan, Osmaniye
Vilayet of Sivas divided in the sanjaks of Sivas, Tokat, Amasya, Şebinkarahisar
Vilayet of Trabzon divided in the sanjaks of Samsun, Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Lazistan
Vilayet of Erzurum
Vilayet of Bitlis divided in the sanjaks of Muş, Genç, Siirt
Vilayet of Van divided in the sanjaks of Van, Hakkari
Independent mutersaflik of İzmit and
Eastern
Vilayet of Mosul divided in the sanjaks of Mosul, Sehrizor (Kirkuk), Suleymaniyeh
Vilayet of Mamure-ul-Azil divided in the sanjak of Diyarbakır and the mutersaflik of Zor
Vilayet of Halep divided in the sanjaks of Halep, Urfa, Maraş
Also the
Vilayets, 1918
Western
Istanbul
Anatolia
Vilayet of Adana
Vilayet of Ankara
Vilayet of Aydın
Vilayet of Bitlis
Vilayet of Diyarbekir
Vilayet of Edirne
Vilayet of Erzurum
Vilayet of Hudavendigar (Bursa)
Vilayet of İzmit
Vilayet of Konya
Vilayet of Mamuret-el-Aziz (Elazığ)
Vilayet of Sivas
Vilayet of Trabzon
Vilayet of Van
Eastern
Vilayet of Mosul divided in the sanjaks of Mosul, Sehrizan, Suleymanih
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