Rumelia Province, Ottoman Empire

The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia ( ota, ایالت روم ایلی, ), known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli until 1591, was a first-level province ('' beylerbeylik'' or ''eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans ("Rumelia"). For most of its history, it was the largest and most important province of the Empire, containing key cities such as Edirne, Yanina (Ioannina), Sofia, Filibe (Plovdiv), Manastır/Monastir (Bitola), Üsküp (Skopje), and the major seaport of Selanik/Salonica (Thessaloniki). It was also among the oldest Ottoman eyalets, lasting more than 500 years with several territorial restructurings over the long course of its existence.

The capital was in Adrianople ( Edirne), Sofia, and finally Monastir (Bitola). Its reported area in an 1862 almanac was .

History

The first ''beylerbey'' of Rumelia was Lala Shahin Pasha, who was awarded the title by Sultan Murad I as a reward for his capture of Adrianople ( Edirne) in the 1360s, and given military authority over the Ottoman territories in Europe, which he governed effectively as the Sultan's deputy while the Sultan returned to Anatolia. Also, Silistra Eyalet was formed in 1593.

From its foundation, the province of Rumelia—initially termed ''beylerbeylik'' or generically ''vilayet'' ("province"), only after 1591 was the term ''eyalet'' used—encompassed the entirety of the Ottoman Empire's European possessions, including the trans-Danubian conquests like Akkerman, until the creation of further ''eyalets'' in the 16th century, beginning with the Archipelago (1533), Budin (1541) and Bosnia (1580).

The first capital of Rumelia was probably Edirne (Adrianople), which was also, until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottomans' capital city. It was followed by Sofia for a while and again by Edirne until 1520, when Sofia once more became the seat of the ''beylerbey''. At the time, the ''beylerbey'' of Rumelia was the commander of the most important military force in the state in the form of the timariot '' sipahi'' cavalry, and his presence in the capital during this period made him a regular member of the Imperial Council (''divan''). For the same reason, powerful Grand Viziers like Mahmud Pasha Angelovic or Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha held the ''beylerbeylik'' in tandem with the grand vizierate.

In the 18th century, Monastir emerged as an alternate residence of the governor, and in 1836, it officially became the capital of the ''eyalet''. At about the same time, the ''Tanzimat'' reforms, aimed at modernizing the Empire, split off the new ''eyalets'' of Üsküb, Yanya and Selanik and reduced the Rumelia Eyalet to a few provinces around Monastir. The rump ''eyalet'' survived until 1867, when, as part of the transition to the more uniform ''vilayet'' system, it became part of the Salonica Vilayet

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