Vilayet
A vilayet (; or ) was a first-order administrative division, or province of the later Ottoman Empire, introduced with the promulgation of the Vilayet Law () of 21 January 1867. The reform was part of the ongoing Tanzimat administrative reforms that were being enacted throughout the empire, and enshrined in the Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856. The reform was at first implemented experimentally in the Danube Vilayet, specially formed in 1864 and headed by the leading reformist Midhat Pasha. The reform was gradually implemented, and not until 1884 was it applied to the entirety of the Empire's provinces. Etymology. The  term is derived from the Arabic word or (). While in Arabic, the word is used to denote a province or region or district without any specific administrative connotation, the Ottomans used it to denote a specific administrative division. Administrative division. The Ottoman Empire had already begun to modernize its administration and regularize its provinces (eyalets) in the 1840s, but the Vilayet Law extended this to the entire Ottoman territory, with a regularized hierarchy of administrative units: the province or "vilayet", headed by a "vali", was subdivided into sub-provinces or counties ("sanjak" or "liva") under a "mütesarrif", further into districts  ("kaza" ) under a "kaimakam", into communes ("nahiye") under a "müdir", and into city quarters or villages ("kariye"). Vali, head of a province (vilayet). The "vali" was appointed by the Sultan and acted as his representative in the vilayet and hence as the supreme head of the administration, holding the executive power over all the executive branches, with the only exception of the military. He was however the head of the police. His administration comprised secretaries in charge of finances ("defterdar"), correspondence and archives ("mektubci"), dealings with foreigners, public works, agriculture and commerce, nominated by the respective ministers in Istanbul. The  defterdar for instance answered directly to the finance minister. Along with the chief justice ("mufettiş-i hukkam-i Şeri'a"), the top officials formed the vilayet's executive council. In addition, there was an elected provincial council of four members, two Muslims and two non-Muslims. The governor of the chief "sanjak" ("merkez sanjak"), where the vilayet's capital was located, deputized for the "vali" in the latter's absence. Alternatively, M. Krikorian writes that the role of replacing the "vali" when absent or incapacitated fell to his assistant, the "muavin", and when none existed, to the "defterdar". A similar structure  was replicated in the lower hierarchical levels, with executive and advisory councils drawn from the local administrators and—following long-established practice—the heads of the millets, the various local religious communities. Mutasarrif, head of a county (sanjak/liva). The mutasarrif was also appointed by the Sultan, and acted as chief-administrator of a sanjak and head of that county's council (the "idare meclisi"), the public works board ("nafia") and the education system ("maarif"). A deputy judge ("naib"), chief accountant ("muhasebeci") and head of the secretariat ("tahrirat müdürü") completed the sanjak's top administration. Kaymakam, head of a district  (kaza). In similar manner, the kaymakam headed the administration the kaza's council, as well as its public works board, assisted by a deputy judge, a chief accountant ("mal müdürü"), and the head clerk ("tahrirat kâtibi"). Müdir/müdür, head of a commune (nahiye). The "müdür" was appointed by the vali, but answered to his immediate superior, the kaymakam. His attributions included tax collection, executing the court sentences, and at times had to mediate disputes and pacify the locals. Muhtar, head of a quarter or village (kariye). A muhtar, meaning "head man", headed a city quarter or village and was chosen  by its inhabitants, but had to be confirmed by the kaymakam of his kaza. An "ihtiyar meclisi", "council of elders", assisted him. List. Vilayets, sanjaks and autonomies, c. 1876. Vilayets, sanjaks and autonomies, circa 1876: Vilayets and independent sanjaks in 1917. Vilayets and independent sanjaks in 1917: