Niš Eyalet

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

Eyalet-i Niş Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire ← 1846–1864 → Niš Eyalet in the 1850s Capital Niš[1] 43°18′N 21°54′E / 43.3°N 21.9°E / 43.3; 21.9Coordinates: 43°18′N 21°54′E / 43.3°N 21.9°E / 43.3; 21.9 History  - Established 1846  - Disestablished 1864

Niš Eyalet was an administrative unit of the Ottoman Empire located in the territory of present-day southern Serbia and western Bulgaria. It was formed in 1846 and its administrative centre was Niš. Pashaluk of Niš was incorporated into Danube Vilayet in 1864.

History

This section requires expansion.

In 1861, Midhat Pasha was put in charge of the Niš Eyalet. He was a reformer influenced by Western ideas and the eyalet became a showpiece of the reformist movement. He tackled the problems of communications and security: he set up a system of block-houses to stop the incursion of armed bands from Serbia. According to his laudatory son's biography of him, "he organized a gendarmerie, secured the peaceful collection of taxes, and put an end to all religious persecution." He also established schools and hospitals for members of all religious groups without discrimination. Midhat's reforms were so successful that they inspired a reworking of the Ottoman system. In 1864, the council of state decided that the eyalets would be replaced by larger vilayets. At each of these main levels of rule, there would be mixed Muslim-Christian councils. The first of the vilayets was run for a time by Midhat Pasha and it included the former Niš Eyalet and much of Bulgaria and was called the "Danube Vilayet." In the next three years, he carried through a large program of school-building and other public works, as well as introducing a provincial newspaper.^[2]

Administrative divisions

Sanjaks of the Eyalet in the mid-19th century:^[3]

1. Sanjak of Niš
2. Sanjak of Sofia
3. Sanjak of Samokov
4. Sanjak of Kyustendil

See also

• History of Serbia
• History of Bulgaria

References

v t e Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire   Eyalets (1363–1864) Africa Algiers Egypt Habesh Tripolitania Tunis Anatolia Adana Aidin Anatolia Ankara Archipelago Diyarbekir Dulkadir Erzurum Hüdavendigâr Karaman Karasi Kars Kastamonu Rum Trebizond Van Asia Aleppo Baghdad Basra Childir Cyprus Damascus Lahsa Mosul Rakka Sharazor Sidon Tripoli Yemen Europe Adrianople Bosnia Budin Crete Egir Herzegovina Kanije Kefe Monastir Morea Niš Yanina Podolia Rumelia Salonica Silistra Temeşvar Uyvar Varat Widdin Zigetvar   Vilayets (1864–1922) Anatolia Adana Aidin Ankara Archipelago Bitlis Diyâr-ı Bekr Erzurum Hüdavendigâr Istanbul Kastamonu Konya Mamuret-ul-Aziz Sivas Trebizond Van Europe Adrianople Bosnia Crete Danube Janina Kosovo Monastir Salonica Scutari Elsewhere Aleppo Baghdad Basra Beirut Hejaz Mosul Syria Tripolitania Yemen   Vassals and autonomies Cossack Hetmanate Cretan State Crimean Khanate Khedivate of Egypt Principality of Moldavia Sharifate of Mecca Republic of Ragusa Eastern Rumelia Principality of Samos Serbian Despotate Duchy of Syrmia Principality of Transylvania Tunis Eyalet Principality of Wallachia See also the list of short-lived Ottoman provinces