State-Making in the Ottoman Periphery: Tanzimat Reforms in the Sanjak of Bayezid in the Mid-Nineteenth Century

Abstract

The Ottoman centralization process, which began in the early nineteenth century, attempted to homogenize various administrative, judicial, and societal aspects of the state and life. In the Empires' eastern peripheral regions, the system of indirect rule, governed by local hereditary dynasties, prevailed but gradually came to an end. The shift towards an imperial-national direct state sphere necessitated the implementation of new regulations and institutions in these outlying regions. This paper explores the application of centralization reforms in the hereditary sanjak of Bayezid, located on the Ottoman eastern frontier adjacent to the Iranian and Russian Empires during the mid-nineteenth century. The state-making efforts did not merely involve the removal of local dynasties; it also entailed the multifaceted imposition of state rules and structures, establishing direct governance across various domains. This study examines how these new regulations were implemented, both successfully and to a limited extent, in Bayezid during the ]850s and ]860s, the initial decades of the reform period in the region. Additionally, the paper challenges the prevailing literature by arguing that not all hereditary dynasties resisted the reforms aimed at establishing a direct state sphere.