The Sanjak of Dedeağaç (

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

: ''Liva-i Dedeağaç'', ), originally in 1878–1884 the Sanjak of Dimetoka (''Liva-i Dimetoka'', Υποδιοίκησις Διδυμοτείχου), was a second-level province (''

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

'') of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, forming part of the Adrianople Vilayet. Its capital was Dedeağaç, modern

Alexandroupolis Alexandroupolis (, ) or Alexandroupoli (, ) is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Greek Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,75 ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

History and administrative division

The ''sanjak'' was created in 1878 out of the territory of the ''sanjaks'' of

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

and Adrianople, as well as the island of

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki; , ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long, in size and has a population of 2,596 (2021 census). Its main industries ...

, which had hitherto belonged to the Vilayet of the Archipelago. The capital was originally at Dimetoka (

Didymoteicho Didymoteicho ( ) is a town located on the eastern edge of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in northeastern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town (pop. 8,681 in 2021 ...

), but was moved to Dedeağaç (

) in 1884. Dimetoka itself later returned under the ''sanjak'' of Adrianople. It comprised three sub-provinces or ''

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

s'', which were further subdivided into ''

nahiye A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

s'': * ''Kaza'' of Dedeağaç (mod. Alexandroupolis): Ferecik, Mekri, Sahinler, Samothrace (Tr. Semendrek), Doğanhišar * ''Kaza'' of Sofulu (mod. Soufli): Pitikli, Pessani, Pisman, Kamberler-i Bala, Dervent, Ede, Ipsala * ''Kaza'' of

Enez Enez is a town in Edirne Province, in East Thrace, Turkey. The ancient name of the town was Ainos (), Latinised as Aenus. It is the seat of Enez District.

: Enez or Koca Ali. Of these, the ''kaza'' of Dedeağaç and most of the ''kaza'' of Sofulu lie today in Greece, while the ''kaza'' of Enez with the parts of the ''kaza'' of Sofulu east of the Evros river lie in Turkey. The ''sanjak'' survived until it was occupied by Bulgarian troops in the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

(1912–1913), after which the portion west of the Evros became a Bulgarian (and after 1919, Greek) province, while the eastern remained under Turkish control (except for the period 1919–1922, when it was under Allied and then Greek control).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dedeagac, Sanjak of Sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire in Europe Ottoman Greece History of Edirne Province History of Western Thrace 1878 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Alexandroupolis Ottoman Thrace Adrianople vilayet 1912 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire