Administrative Structure of Ardahan According to Erzurum Provincial Yearbooks (1870-1877)

Abstract

The modernization reforms initiated by the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century based on the Tanzimat and Islahat decrees led to fundamental transformations in provincial administration. The main subject and purpose of this research is to document, based on primary sources, how this process, which aimed to strengthen centralised administration, shaped the administrative, judicial, and financial structure of Ardahan within the framework of the Erzurum Vilayet Salnameleri (Erzurum Provincial Yearbooks), the 1864 and 1871 Vilayet Nizamnameleri (Provincial Regulations). In this regard, Erzurum Provincial Yearbooks were transcribed and document content analysis techniques were applied within the perspective of qualitative research methodology. A total of five yearbooks from 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1877 were examined, and the information identified about Ardahan's administrative, financial, and judicial structure was incorporated into the study. The study compares Ardahan's administrative situation before and after the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War. Although there are studies on the history of Ardahan in the literature, it is believed that this research will contribute significantly to the literature as a primary source, because of the lack of specific studies directly illuminating the administrative, judicial, and financial administration during and after the Tanzimat period.