The Eyalet of Silistra or Silistria (; ), later known as Özü Eyalet (; ) meaning Province of

Ochakiv Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...

was an ''

eyalet Eyalets (, , ), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were the primary administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government was loosely structured. The empire was a ...

'' 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 ...

along the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

and south bank of the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

in southeastern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

Akkerman Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (, ; ; ), historically known as Aq Kirmān () or by other names, is a port city in Odesa Oblast, southwestern Ukraine. It is situated on the right bank of the Dniester Estuary leading to the Black Sea, in the historical r ...

was under the eyalet's jurisdiction. Its reported area in the 19th century was .

History

The Eyalet of Silistra was formed in 1593 as of Özi (, )Nejat Göyünç, Osmanlı Devleti'nde Tașra Teșkilâtı (Tanzimat'a Kadar), ''Osmanlı'', Cilt 6: Teșkilât, Yeni Türkiye Yayınları, Ankara, 1999, , p. 78. from territory of the former

Principality of Karvuna The Despotate of Dobruja or Principality of Karvuna ( or ; or ) was a 14th-century quasi-independent Bulgarian polity in the region of modern Dobruja, that split off from the Second Bulgarian Empire under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. T ...

, later

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

, Silistra was originally the Silistra Sanjak of

Rumelia Eyalet The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia (), 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 named after

Silistra Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

, since its governor often resided in this Danubian fortress. Around 1599, it was expanded and raised to the level of an eyalet likely as a benefit to its first governor-general (), the

khan Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. It was centered on the regions of

Budjak Budjak, also known as Budzhak, is a historical region that was part of Bessarabia from 1812 to 1940. Situated along the Black Sea, between the Danube and Dniester rivers, this #Ethnic groups and demographics, multi-ethnic region covers an area ...

(Ottoman

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

), and

Yedisan Yedisan (also ''Jedisan'' or ''Edisan''; , , , , , Dobrujan Tatar: ''Ğedísan'') was a conditional name for Özi aşaSancağı (Ochakiv Sanjak) of Silistra Eyalet, a territory located in today's Southern Ukraine between the Dniester and the S ...

and included the towns of

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

, Kustendja (Constanța),

(Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi), and

Khadjibey Khadjibey (; ) was a fortress and a haven by the Gulf of Odesa, in the location of the modern city of Odesa, Ukraine. The settlement was destroyed and abandoned in the 15th or 16th century and was revived under the Ottoman Empire in the 18th ...

(Odesa) with its capital at the fortresses of

(now in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

) or

Özi Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). In the 17th century, Silistra Eyalet was expanded to the south and west to include most of modern

and European

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

including the towns of

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

(Edirne), Filibe (Plovdiv), and

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a series of

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

s truncated the eyalet in the east with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

eventually annexing all of

and

to the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

by 1812. Edirne Eyalet was constituted from south of Silistra Eyalet in

1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) ...

. With Ottoman administrative reforms of 1864 the Silistra Eyalet was reconstituted as the Danube Vilayet.

Administrative division

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

mentioned in his book (''

Seyahatnâme ''Seyahatname'' () is the name of a literary form and tradition whose examples can be found throughout centuries in the Middle Ages around the Islamic world, starting with the Arab travellers of the Umayyad period. In a more specific sense, the ...

'') that the Silistra or Özi Eyalet had ten sanjaks: # Niğbolu Sanjak ( Nikopol) # Çirmen Sanjak (

Ormenio Ormenio (; ; ) is the northernmost place in all of Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Trigono in the Evros regional unit of Thrace. It is situated near the right bank of the river Evros, which forms the border with Bulgaria here. On the ...

) # Vize Sanjak (

Vize Vize (; ; ) is a town in Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Vize District.Kırklareli Kırklareli () is a city in the East Thrace, European part of Turkey. It is the seat of Kırklareli Province and Kırklareli District.Bender) # Akkerman Sanjak (

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (, ; ; ), historically known as Aq Kirmān () or by other names, is a port city in Odesa Oblast, southwestern Ukraine. It is situated on the right bank of the Dniester Estuary leading to the Black Sea, in the historical r ...

) # Özi-Kale Sanjak (

) # Kılburun Sanjak ( Kinburn) # Doğan Sanjak (

Beryslav Beryslav (, ) is a city in Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Beryslav Raion, housing the district's local administration buildings. Beryslav hosts the administration of Beryslav urban hromada, one of ...

) # Silistre Sanjak (

) According to ''Sancak Tevcih Defteri'', eyalet consisted of eight sanjaks between 1700 and 1730 as follows:Orhan Kılıç, XVII. Yüzyılın İlk Yarısında Osmanlı Devleti'nin Eyalet ve Sancak Teșkilatlanması, ''Osmanlı'', Cilt 6: Teșkilât, Yeni Türkiye Yayınları, Ankara, 1999, , pp. 92-93. # Sanjak of ''Özi'' (''Paşa Sancağı'',

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

), centered at Özi-Kale (

) # Sanjak of ''Silistre'' (

) #

Sanjak of Vidin The Sanjak of Vidin or the Vidin Sanjak (, , ) was a sanjak in the Ottoman Empire, with Vidin as its administrative centre. It was established after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 out of the territories of the Tsardom of Vidin and in the mid-15 ...

(

) # Sanjak of ''Niğbolu'' ( Nikopol) # Sanjak of Kırk Kilise (

Kırklareli Kırklareli () is a city in the East Thrace, European part of Turkey. It is the seat of Kırklareli Province and Kırklareli District.Sanjak of Çirmen (

) # Sanjak of Vize (

Vize Vize (; ; ) is a town in Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Vize District.Beryslav Beryslav (, ) is a city in Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Beryslav Raion, housing the district's local administration buildings. Beryslav hosts the administration of Beryslav urban hromada, one of ...

) (until 1699) Sanjaks in the early 19th century: # Sanjak of ''Niğbolu'' # Sanjak of Çirmen (after 1829, its capital was

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

) # Sanjak of Vize # Sanjak of Kırk Kilise # Sanjak of

, which was only a military command in Bilhorod (Akkerman) in the

Budzhak Budjak, also known as Budzhak, is a historical region that was part of Bessarabia from 1812 to 1940. Situated along the Black Sea, between the Danube and Dniester rivers, this multi-ethnic region covers an area of and is home to approximatel ...

Beylerbeys

* 1615? - ? Iskender Pasha * 1621–1623

Khan Temir Khan Temir (before 1594 to 1637) was a steppe warlord and raider. He ruled the Budjak Horde in what is now the southwestern corner of Ukraine (Budjak) along the Romanian border. Budjak is the southwesternmost corner of the Eurasian Steppe. He raid ...

* 1630-1632 - Damat Murtaza Pasha * Late Spring 1632 - 1634

Abaza Mehmed Pasha Abaza Mehmed Pasha (, ); 1576 – August 23, 1634) was a statesman and military commander of the Ottoman Empire, the namesake of the Abaza rebellion. He was the beylerbey of the Bosnia Eyalet in 1628–1631. He was executed by sultan Murat IV in ...

* c.1657

Melek Ahmed Pasha Melek Ahmed Pasha ("Ahmed Pasha the Angel"; 1604–1662) was an Ottoman statesman and grand vizier during the reign of Mehmed IV. Early years He was of Abkhaz (or Abazin) origin. According to one source, his father was a sea captain named ...

* c.1683 Mustafa Pasha

References

Bibliography

* {{Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire Eyalets of the Ottoman Empire in Europe Ottoman period in the history of Bulgaria Ottoman period in Romania Ottoman period in Moldova Ottoman period in Ukraine History of Silistra States and territories established in 1599 1593 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1864 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire