The Vilayet of Trebizond (; ) was a first-level administrative division (''
vilayet
A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...
'') in the north-eastern part 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 ...
, corresponding to the area along the eastern
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 ...
coastline and the interior highland region of the
Pontic Alps
The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (, meaning 'North Anatolian Mountains'), form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the "Parhar Mountains" in the local Turkish and Pontic Greek languages. The term ''Parhar'' ...
.
At the beginning of the 20th century it reportedly had an area of , while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 1,047,700.Asia by
A. H. Keane
Augustus Henry Keane (1833–1912) was an Irish Roman Catholic journalist and linguist, known for his ethnological writings.
Early life
He was born in Cork, Ireland.George Grant MacCurdy, James Mooney and A. B. Legía - Antonio Flores, ''Anthro ...
, page 459 The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.
After the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the sanjak of Lazistan was established.
Rize
Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...
, the former centre of the sanjak, to
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 ...
with kaza of
Artvin
Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District.salname
A salname (also called ''nevsal'') was an official annal of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.
History
The first salname was published in 1847. It was prepared by Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Ahmed Cevdet Pasha and Hayrullah. It was sponsored by the ...
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
pharmacists. The Vilayet also counted with a considerable
Pontic Greek
Pontic Greek (, ; or ''Romeika'') is a variety of Modern Greek indigenous to the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, and the Eastern Turkish and Caucasus region. An endangered Greek language variety ...
population.
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
eastern half of vilayet (Kazas of Görele, Vakfıkebir, Akçaabat, Trabzon, Of and Maçka with sanjaks of Lazistan and Gümüşhane) was occupied by
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
troops by summer 1916. It was retaken by Ottomans in 1918.
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
majority since the 16th century. Western estimates given in the 19th century about the City of Trabzon estimate a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
* Something related to Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire
* The w ...
majority.
Census of 1914
Administrative divisions
The vilayet included three
sanjaks
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 ...
(four after 1889) and 22 kazas.Yüksel A., Doğu Karadeniz Araştırmaları, Kitabevi, İstanbul, 2005, s.
Sanjaks of the Vilayet:
# Trabzon Sanjak (
Trabzon
Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...
,
Ordu
Ordu () or Altınordu is a port city on the Black Sea coast of Turkey and the capital of Ordu Province. The city forms the urban part of the Altınordu, Ordu, Altınordu district, with a population of 235,096 in 2023.
Name
Kotyora, the origina ...
,
Giresun
Giresun () is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District.Tirebolu
Tirebolu (from the Greek word "Τρίπολις" meaning "three cities"; old name Tripolis, formerly Ischopolis, from the Greek "Ἰσχόπολις") is a town in Giresun Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Tirebolu District.
,
Görele
Görele is a town in Giresun Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Görele District.
,
Vakfıkebir
Vakfıkebir () is a municipality and district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 141 km2, and its population is 27,060 (2022). On 31 March 2024, Fuat Koçal (Independent) was elected mayor.
Composition
There are 46 neighbourhoods
...
,
Sürmene
Sürmene (; , ''Sourmena''; , romanized as ''Sürmena e') is a municipality and district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 166 km2, and its population is 25,950 (2022). In ancient times the town of Hyssus or Hyssos () was nearby. The ...
Akçaabat
Akçaabat is a municipality and district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 375 km2, and its population is 129,290 (2022). It lies on the Black Sea coast, to the west of the city of Trabzon. Its elevation is . Akçaabat is a coastal tow ...
,
Maçka
Maçka (, the "club"; Laz language, Laz: მაჩხა ''Maçxa'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 925 km2, and its population is 24,709 (2022). The name derives from the medieval ...
Gümüşhane
Gümüşhane () is a city in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Gümüşhane Province and Gümüşhane District.Kelkit
Kelkit ( is a town in Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea Region, Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Kelkit District.Şiran
Şiran () is a town in Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Şiran District.
,
Torul
Torul is a town in Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea Region of 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 Eur ...
)
#
Lazistan Sanjak
Lazistan ( / ''Lazona'', ლაზეთი / ''Lazeti'', ჭანეთი / ''Ç'aneti''; , ''Lazistān'') was the Ottoman administrative name for the sanjak, under Trebizond Vilayet, comprising the Laz or Lazuri-speaking population on the ...
(Its center was
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...
at first until 1878, later
Rize
Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Atina,
Artvin
Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District.Of as well)
# Canik Sanjak (Its center was
Samsun
Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...
after 1889) (Samsun,
Bafra
Bafra is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Covering about 1,500 km2, and with over 140,000 inhabitants it is a settlement located from the Black Sea, in the fertile Kızılırmak Delta. The Bafra Pl ...
,
Ünye
Ünye (''Oinòe'', Οἰνόη in ancient Greek) is a municipality and district of Ordu Province, Turkey. Its area is 569 km2, and its population is 132,432 (2022). It is on the Black Sea coast, 76 km west of the city of Ordu.
Geography ...
,
Fatsa
Fatsa is a municipality and district of Ordu Province, Turkey. Its area is 363 km2, and its population is 126,775 (2022). It lies on the Black Sea coast.
Name
The oldest recorded name of the town is Polemonion (, Latinized as Polemonium), af ...
,
Çarşamba
Çarşamba is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 774 km2, and its population is 140,664 (2022). It is in the center of the Çarşamba Plain. The mayor is Hüseyin Dündar (Independent). Ferhan Şensoy - writ ...
,
Terme
Terme (formerly spelled ''Termeh''; Ancient Greek: Thèrmae, Θέρμαι) is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 548 km2, and its population is 71,092 (2022). Terme is located on Terme River, about 5 k ...