A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , group=note) is an

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

historically used in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

and is currently used in several of its successor states. The term is from

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

and means 'jurisdiction'; it is often translated 'district', 'sub-district' (though this also applies to a ), or 'juridical district'.

Ottoman Empire

In the Ottoman Empire, a kaza was originally a "geographical area subject to the legal and administrative jurisdiction of a ''

kadı A ''kadi'' ( ar, قاضي '; tr, kadı) was an official in the Ottoman Empire. The term ''kadi'' refers to judges who preside over matters in accordance with Islamic law, but in the Ottoman Empire, the ''kadi'' also became a crucial part of the ...

''. With the first

Tanzimat The Tanzimat (; ota, تنظيمات, translit=Tanzimāt, lit=Reorganization, ''see'' nizām) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 187 ...

reforms of 1839, the administrative duties of the ''kadı'' were transferred to a governor ''(

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retaine ...

)'', with the ''kadıs'' acting as judges of

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

. In the Tanzimat era, the kaza became an administrative district with the 1864 Provincial Reform Law, which was implemented over the following decade. A kaza unified the jurisdiction of a governor ''(kaymakam)'' appointed by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

, a treasurer (chief finance officer), and a judge ''(kadı)'' in a single administrative unit. It was part of efforts of the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

to establish uniform, rational administration across the empire. The kaza was a subdivision of a

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

and corresponded roughly to a city with its surrounding villages. Kazas, in turn, were divided into nahiyes (governed by ''müdürs'' and ''

mütesellim ''Mütesellim'' or ''mutesellim'' was an Ottoman gubernatorial title used to describe mainly the head of a ''nahiye'', but also other positions within the Ottoman hierarchy, depending on the context. Mostly this title was used for civil governor ...

s'') and villages (''karye'', governed by '' muhtars''). The 1871 revisions to the administrative law established the nahiye (still governing a ''müdür''), as an intermediate level between the kaza and the village.

Turkey

The early

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

continued to use the term ''kaza'' until it renamed them ilçe in the 1920s.

Arab countries

The kaza was also formerly a second-level administrative division in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, but it is now called a mintaqah. The kaza or qadaa is used to refer to the following: *

districts of Iraq Iraq's 18 governorates are subdivided into 120 districts (''kaza''). The district usually bears the same name as the district capital. The districts are listed below, by governorate (with capital in parentheses): Al Anbar Governorate * Al-Qa' ...

(second-level, below the governorate) *

districts of Lebanon The nine governorates of Lebanon are subdivided into 25 districts (''Aqdya'', singular'' qadaa''). Beirut Governorate is not subdivided into districts, and Akkar Governorate comprises a single district. The districts are further divided into m ...

(second-level, below the governorate) * Sub-districts (third-level, below the governorate and the district) * subdistricts of Mandatory Palestine * Counties of Israel

Notes

References

{{Turkish terms for country subdivisions Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire Types of administrative division Arabic words and phrases

Ottoman Empire

Turkey

Arab countries

See also

Notes

References