Saray of Provincial Ottoman Governors: Place for Living, Place for Governing

Authors:

Pages: 256-267
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/CYAJ6612

Abstract:

The article tries to examine the sarays of the Ottoman provincial governors from different perspectives by revealing their importance as cores of local provincial governing, but also as personal space of higher Ottoman officials. Although the data are very limited, it is possible to reveal some details of everyday life in the saray, their supply and maintenance. Various sources, such as Bitola and Sofia sicills, travelogues and diplomatic documents about Vidin, Salonica and some other Balkan towns, as well as researches on Anatolian provincial Sarays have been used. As a result, a dividing line between Tanzimat and pre-Tanzimat local centres of government was drawn. On the basis of the examined documents a thesis about the shifting character of those governing centres developed. It seems that the idea about government complexes consisted not only of sarays but also of numerous administrative buildings developed in the 19th c., precisely during the period of modernization. Then these governing nuclei became dominant in the cities’ centres and represented, materially and symbolically, the Ottoman power in the provinces.

Keywords:

Rumelia, Sofia, Bitola, Vidin, Ottoman provincial governor, sarays, konaks

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