1878–1922 → Disestablished 1922 Greek, 1914 205,752 | Established 1878 Muslim, 1914 560,434 Armenian, 1914 82,880 | |
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The Vilayet of Constantinople or Istanbul was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, encompassing the imperial capital, Constantinople (Istanbul).
It had a special organisation, as it was placed under the immediate authority of the Minister of Police (Zabtiye Naziri), who filled a role equivalent to the governor (wali) in other vilayets.
It included Istanbul and the quarters of Eyüp, Kassim Pacha, Pera and Galata, and all the suburbs from Silivri on the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea on the European side, and from Ghili on the Black Sea to the end of the Gulf of İzmit on the Asiatic side.
In 1878, a provincial structure, with a governor (wāli) and provincial officers, was established to perform the same functions within Istanbul that provincial authorities performed elsewhere in the Empire.
Administrative divisions
Sanjaks and kazas, circa 1877: