Syria vilayet

The Vilayet of Syria (Arabic: ولاية سوريا; Ottoman Turkish: ولايت سوريه, romanized: Vilâyet-i Sûriye), also known as Vilayet of Damascus, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire.http://www.hips.hacettepe.edu.tr/nbd_cilt25/mutlu.pdf

 History 
The Vilayet of Syria was established following the promulgation of the Vilayet Law in 1864. In 1865, the province was reformed and named Suriyya/Suriye. Jerusalem was separated from the province and became an independent sanjak reporting directly to Istanbul, while Mount Lebanon became a self-governing mutasarrifate in 1864. A short-lived administrative region was created in Ma'an in 1872 but closed due to costs. In 1888, the coastal areas formed the new Vilayet of Beirut. In 1892, a mutasarrifate centered in Ma'an was established and later moved to Karak in 1895, marking the southernmost extent of Ottoman rule in Syria.

 References 

Category:Ottoman Empire