Danube Vilayet

The Vilayet of the Danube or Danubian Vilayet (Ottoman Turkish: ولايت طونه, Vilâyet-i Tuna‎;[2] Bulgarian: Дунавска област, Dunavska(ta) oblast,[3] more commonly Дунавски вилает, Danube Vilayet; French: Vilayet du Danube) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire from 1864 to 1878.[4] In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of 34,120 square miles (88,400 km2).[5]

ولايت طونه‎
Vilâyet-i Tûna
Bulgarian: Дунавска област
Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire
1864–1878

The Danube Vilayet in the 1860s
CapitalRusçuk
Area
 • Coordinates43°0′N 25°0′E
Population 
• 1864
1,995,000[1]
History 
1864
1878
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Nis Eyalet
Vidin Eyalet
Ozu Eyalet
Principality of Bulgaria
Principality of Serbia
Kingdom of Romania
Eastern Rumelia
Today part of Romania
 Ukraine
 Serbia
 Bulgaria

The vilayet was created from the northern parts of Silistra Province along the Danube River and eyalets of Niš, Vidin and Silistra. This vilayet was meant to become a model province, showcasing all the progress achieved by the Porte through the modernising Tanzimat reforms.[6] Other vilayets modelled on the vilayet of the Danube were ultimately established throughout the empire by 1876, with the exception of the Arabian Peninsula and the by then semi-independent Egypt.[6] Rusçuk, today Ruse in Bulgaria, was chosen as the capital of the vilayet due to its position as a key Ottoman port on the Danube.[6]

The province disappeared after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, when its north-eastern part (Northern Dobruja) was incorporated into Romania, some of its western territories into Serbia, while the central and southern regions made up most of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria and a part of Eastern Rumelia.

Government

Midhat Pasha was the first governor of the vilayet (1864–1868).[6] During his time as a governor, steamship lines were established on the Danube River; the Ruse-Varna railroad was completed; agricultural credit cooperatives providing farmers with low-interest loans were introduced; tax incentives were also offered to encourage new industrial enterprises.[6]

The first official vilayet newspaper in the Ottoman Empire, Tuna/Dunav, was published in both Ottoman Turkish and Bulgarian and had both Ottoman and Bulgarian editors. Its editors in chief included Ismail Kemal and Ahmed Midhat Efendi.[6]

The vilayet had an Administrative Assembly that included state officials appointed by the Ottoman government as well as six representatives (three Muslims and three non-Muslims) elected from among the inhabitants of the province.[6] Non-Muslims also participated in the provincial criminal and commercial courts that were based on a secular code of law and justice.[6] Mixed Muslim-Christian schools were also introduced, but this reform was abolished after it was met by strong opposition by the populace.[6]

Governors
Ottoman Turkish version of the "Constitutive law of the department formed under the name of vilayet of the Danube" (Bulgarian: Органически устав на департамента, създаден под наименование Дунавски вилает[7]) as published in the Takvim-i Vekayi
Loi constitutive du département formé sous le nom de vilayet du Danube ("Constitutive law of the department formed under the name of vilayet of the Danube") in French

Governors of the Vilayet:[8]

  • Hafiz Ahmed Midhat Shefik Pasha (October 1864 - March 1868)
  • Mehmed Sabri Pasha (March 1868 - December 1868)
  • Arnavud Mehmed Akif Pasha (February 1869 - October 1870)
  • Kücük ömer Fevzi Pasha (October 1870 - October 1871)
  • Ahmed Rasim Pasha (October 1871 - June 1872)
  • Ahmed Hamdi Pasha (June 1872 - April 1873)
  • Abdurrahman Nureddin Pasha (April 1873 - April 1874)
  • Mehmed Asim Pasha (April 1874 - September 1876)
  • Halil Rifat Pasha (October 1876 - February 1877)
  • Oman Mazhar Ahmed (1876–1877)

Administrative divisions

The province included the following sanjaks:[9]

  1. Sanjak of Tulcea
  2. Sanjak of Varna
  3. Sanjak of Ruse
  4. Sanjak of Tărnovo
  5. Sanjak of Vidin
  6. Sanjak of Sofia
  7. Sanjak of Niš

The Danube Province was founded in 1864 and consisted the subprovinces of Ruse, Varna, Tulcea, Tarnovo, Vidin, Sofia and Niş.[10] Two subprovinces (Sofia and Niş) were separated from the Danube Province, so that Niş sanjak was part of Prizren Vilayet in 1869-1874, while the detached Sofia Province was founded in 1876, and finally both Sofia and Niş were annexed to Adrianople and Kosovo Vilayets respectively in 1877.[10]

Demographics

In 1865, 658,600 (40.51%) Muslims and 967,058 (59.49%) non-Muslims, including females, were living in the province (excluding Niş sanjak); some 569,868 (34.68%) Muslims, apart from the immigrants and 1.073.496 (65,32%) non-Muslims in 1859-1860.[11] Some 250000-300000 Muslim immigrants from Crimea and Caucasus had been settled in this region from 1855 to 1864.[12]

Male population of the Danube Vilayet in 1866:

1866 census[12]
sancak Muslim Non-Muslim
Rusçuk 138,692 95,834
Varna 58,689 20,769
Vidin 25,338 124,567
Sofya 24,410 147,095
Tirnova 71,645 104,273
Tulça 39,133 17,929
Niş 54,510 100,425
Total 412,417 610,892

Male Population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sancak) in 1865 according to Kuyûd-ı Atîk (the Danube Vilayet printing press):[13]

Community Rusçuk Sanjak Vidin Sanjak Varna Sanjak Tırnova Sanjak Tulça Sanjak Sofya Sanjak Danube Vilayet
Bulgar Millet 85,268 (38%) 93,613 (80%) 9,553 (18%) 113,213 (59%) 12,961 (22%) 142,410 (86%) 457,018 (56%)
Islam Millet 138,017 (61%) 14,835 (13%) 38,230 (74%) 77,539 (40%) 38,479 (65%) 20,612 (12%) 327,712 (40%)
Ulah Millet 0 (0%) 7,446 (6%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 7,446 (1%)
Ermeni Millet 926 (0%) 0 (0%) 368 (1%) 0 (0%) 5,720 (10%) 0 (0%) 7,014 (1%)
Rum Millet 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2,639 (5%) 0 (0%) 2,215 (4%) 0 (0%) 4,908 (1%)
Yahudi Millet 1,101 (0%) 630 (1%) 14 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (0%) 1,790 (1%) 3,536 (0%)
Muslim Gypsies 312 (0%) 245 (0%) 118 (0%) 128 (0%) 19 (0%) 766 (0%) 1,588 (0%)
Non-Muslim Gypsies 145 (0%) 130 (0%) 999 (2%) 1,455 (1%) 92 (0%) 786 (0%) 3,607 (0%)
TOTAL 225,769 (100%) 116,899 (100%) 51,975 (100%) 192,335 (100%) 59,487 (100%) 166,364 (100%) 812,829 (100%)

Male Population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sanjak) in 1866-1873 according to the editor of the Danube newspaper Ismail Kemal:[14]

Community Population
Muslims 481,798 (42%)
- Established Muslims 392,369 (34%)
- Muslim settlers 64,398 (6%)
- Muslim Gypsies 25,031 (2%)
Christians 646,215 (57%)
- Bulgarians 592,573 (52%)
- Greeks 7,655 (1%)
- Armenians 2,128 (0%)
- Catholics 3,556 (0%)
- other Christians 40,303 (4%)
Jews 5,375 (0%)
Non-Muslims Gypsies 7,663 (1%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet 1,141,051 (100%)

Male Population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sancak) in 1868 according to Kemal Karpat:[12]

Group Population
Christian Bulgarians 490.467
Muslims 359.907

According to the 1874 census, there were 963596 (42,22%) Muslims and 1318506 (57,78%) non-Muslims in the Danube Province excluding Nış sanjak. Together with the sanjak of Nish the population consisted of 1055650 (40,68%) Muslims and 1539278 (59,32%) non-Muslims in 1874. Muslims were the majority in the sanjaks of Rusçuk, Varna and Tulça, while the non-Muslims were in majority in the rest of the sanjaks.[10]


Male Population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sanjak) in 1875 according to Tahrir-i Cedid (the Danube Vilayet printing press):[15]

Community Rusçuk Sanjak Vidin Sanjak Varna Sanjak Tırnova Sanjak Tulça Sanjak Sofya Sanjak Danube Vilayet
Bulgar Millet 114,792 (37%) 131,279 (73%) 21,261 (25%) 148,713 (60%) 10,553 (12%) 179,202 (84%) 605,800 (54%)
Islam Millet 164,455 (53%) 20,492 (11%) 52,742 (61%) 88,445 (36%) 53,059 (61%) 27,001 (13%) 406,194 (36%)
Ermeni Millet 991 (0%) 0 (0%) 808 (1%) 0 (0%) 3,885 (4%) 0 (0%) 5,684 (1%)
Rum Millet 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3,421 (4%) 494 (0%) 217 (0%) 0 (0%) 4,132 (0%)
Yahudi Millet 1,102 (0%) 1,009 (1%) 110 (0%) 0 (0%) 780 (1%) 2,374 (1%) 5,375 (0%)
Circassian Muhacirs 16,588 (5%) 6,522 (4%) 4,307 (5%) 0 (0%) 2,954 (3%) 202 (0%) 30,573 (3%)
Muslim Gypsies 9,579 (3%) 2,783 (2%) 2,825 (3%) 6,545 (3%) 139 (0%) 2,964 (1%) 24,835 (2%)
Non-Muslim Gypsies 1,790 (1%) 2,048 (1%) 331 (0%) 1,697 (1%) 356 (0%) 1,437 (1%) 7,659 (1%)
Vlachs, Catholics, etc. 500 (0%) 14,690 (8%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 15,512 (18%) 0 (0%) 30,702 (3%)
TOTAL 309,797 (100%) 178,823 (100%) 85,805 (100%) 245,894 (100%) 87,455 (100%) 213,180 (100%) 1,120,954 (100%)

Male Population of the Danube Vilayet in 1876 according to the Ottoman officer Stanislas Saint Clair:[14]

Community Population
Turk Muslims 457,018 (36%)
Other Muslims 104,639 (8%)
Bulgarian Christians 639,813 (50%)
Armenian Christians 2,128 (0%)
Vlach and Greek Christians 56,647 (4%)
Gypsies 8,220 (1%)
Jews 5,847 (0%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet 1,274,282 (100%)

Total population of the Danube Vilayet (including Niş and Sofia sanjaks) according to the 1876 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica:[16]

Group Population
Bulgarians 1,500,000 (63%)
Turks 500,000 (21%)
Tatars 100,000 (4%)
Circassians 90,000 (4%)
Albanians 70,000 (3%)
Romanians 40,000 (2%)
Gypsies 25,000 (1%)
Russians 10,000 (0%)
Armenians 10,000 (0%)
Jews 10,000 (0%)
Greeks 8,000 (0%)
Serbs 5,000 (0%)
Germans, Italians, Arabs and others 1,000 (0%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet 2,369,000 (100%)

Total Population of the Danube Vilayet (excluding Niş sanjak) in 1876 estimated by the French counsel Aubaret from the register:[17][18]

Community Population
Muslims 1,120,000 (48%)
incl. Turks 774,000 (33%)
incl. Circassians 200,000 (8%)
incl. Tatars 110,000 (5%)
incl. Gypsies 35,000 (1%)
Non-Muslims 1,233,500 (52%)
incl. Bulgarians 1,130,000 (48%)
incl. Gypsies 12,000 (1%)
incl. Greeks 12,000 (1%)
incl. Jews 12,000 (1%)
incl. Armenians 2,500 (0%)
incl. Vlachs and others 65,000 (3%)
TOTAL Danube Vilayet 2,353,000 (100%)

References
  1. Palairet, Michael R. (2003-11-13). The Balkan Economies c.1800-1914: Evolution without Development. ISBN 9780521522564.
  2. Hathi Trust Digital Library - Holdings: Salname-yi Vilâyet-i Tuna
  3. Strauss, Johann (2010). "A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages". In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.). The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy. Wurzburg: Orient-Institut Istanbul. p. 21-51. (info page on book at Martin Luther University) // CITED: p. 42 (PDF p. 44/338).
  4. Rumelia at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  5. Europe by Éliseé Reclus, page 152
  6. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, p. 172, at Google Books By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters
  7. Indzhov, Emil (2017). "THE BULGARIANS AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE IN 50-60 YEARS AT THE XIX CENTURY" (PDF). Proceedings of the University of Ruse (in Bulgarian). 56 (6.2). - FRI-2.207-1-HEF-04
  8. World Statesmen — Bulgaria
  9. Stanford Jay Shaw; Ezel Kural. Shaw (1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Cambridge University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-521-29166-8. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  10. KOYUNCU, Aşkın. "Population And Demographics In The Danube Province (1864-1877)". www.turkishstudies.net. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  11. "Makale Takip Sistemi Mobile". Archived from the original on 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  12. Karpat, K.H. (1985). Ottoman population, 1830-1914: demographic and social characteristics. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press.
  13. (PDF). p. 695 http://www.turkishstudies.net/Makaleler/880266314_38KoyuncuAşkın-trh-675-737.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. Димитър Аркадиев. ИЗМЕНЕНИЯ В БРОЯ НА НАСЕЛЕНИЕТО ПО БЪЛГАРСКИТЕ ЗЕМИ В СЪСТАВА НА ОСМАНСКАТА ИМПЕРИЯ http://spisaniestatistika.nsi.bg/page/bg/details.php?article_id=84&tab=en] National Statistical Institute
  15. (PDF). p. 717 http://www.turkishstudies.net/Makaleler/880266314_38KoyuncuAşkın-trh-675-737.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. Kellogg, Day Otis (1876). Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. J.M. Stoddart. p. 462.
  17. Suleiman, Yasir (2013-12-16). Language and Identity in the Middle East and North Africa. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 9781136787843.
  18. ENGİN DENİZ TANIR. THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY OTTOMAN BULGARIA FROM THE VIEWPOINTS OF THE FRENCH TRAVELERS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY. pp. 52–55.
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