Eyalet of the Archipelago
Encyclopedia
The Eyalet of the Archipelago ' onMouseout='HidePop("11962")' href="/topics/Mediterranean_Sea">White Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

") was an eyalet
Eyalet
Eyalets were a former primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The term is sometimes translated province or government. Depending on the rank of their commander, they are also sometimes known as pashaliks, beylerbeyliks, and kapudanliks.From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth...

 of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

.

The province was formed in 1535 as a beylerbeylik
Beylerbeylik
Beylerbeylik was a type of country subdivision in the Ottoman Empire....

. Its capital was Gallipoli
Gelibolu
Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli , is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on the southern shore of the peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, two miles away from Lapseki on the other...

, the principal naval base of the Ottoman fleet. Because it was commanded by the Kapudan Pasha, the head of the Ottoman navy
Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...

, it was also known as the Province of the Kapudan Pasha . It originally comprised the Gallipoli peninsula and many of the islands of the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...

 Archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

. Rhodes and Cyprus
Ottoman Cyprus
The Eyalet of Cyprus was created in 1571, and changed its status frequently. It was a sanjak of the Eyalet of the Archipelago from 1660 to 1703, and again from 1784 onwards; a fief of the Grand Vizier , and again an eyalet for the short period 1745-1748.- Ottoman raids and conquest :Throughout the...

 were included after their annexation by the Ottomans.

Including Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

, its reported area in the 19th century was 9829 square miles (25,457 km²) and its population around 700,000.

After 1864, it was reformed into the smaller Vilayet of the Archipelago.

Other names

The eyalet's most common English names are the Province of the Islands or of the Archipelago

Other names include the Province of Djezayrs or Dschesair, the Province of the Islands of the Archipelago, the Province of the Islands of the White Sea, and the Eyalet of the Mediterranean Islands.

Administrative divisions

Sanjaks of the eyalet in the 17th century:
  1. Sanjak of Gelibolu (Gallipoli
    Gelibolu
    Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli , is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on the southern shore of the peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, two miles away from Lapseki on the other...

    )
  2. Sanjak of Ağriboz (Negropont)
  3. Sanjak of Karlıeli (Acarnania
    Acarnania
    Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...

    )
  4. Sanjak of İnebahtı (Naupactus
    Naupactus
    Naupactus or Nafpaktos , is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...

    )
  5. Sanjak of Rodos (Rhodes
    Rhodos
    In Greek mythology, Rhodos or Rhodus also known as Rhode was the goddess of the island of Rhodes and wife of Helios, she was the daughter of Aphrodite and Poseidon. -References:* Grimal, Pierre, , Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, ISBN 9780631201021....

    )
  6. Sanjak of Midilli (Mytilene
    Mytilene
    Mytilene is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is built on the...

    )
  7. Sanjak of Biga (Biga)
  8. Sanjak of Kocaeli
  9. Izmit
    Izmit
    İzmit is a city in Turkey, administrative center of Kocaeli Province as well as the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. The city center has a population of 294.875...

  10. Izmir
    Izmir
    Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

Between 1688 and 1702:
  • Sanjak of Gelibolu (Gallipoli
    Gelibolu
    Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli , is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on the southern shore of the peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, two miles away from Lapseki on the other...

    )
  • Sanjak of Rodos (Rhodes
    Rhodos
    In Greek mythology, Rhodos or Rhodus also known as Rhode was the goddess of the island of Rhodes and wife of Helios, she was the daughter of Aphrodite and Poseidon. -References:* Grimal, Pierre, , Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, ISBN 9780631201021....

    )
  • Sanjak of Değirmenilk ve Mesentûri (Milos
    Milos
    Milos , is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete...

    )
  • Sanjak of Andıra (Andros
    Andros
    Andros, or Andro is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, approximately south east of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The area is...

    )
  • Sanjak of Senturin (Santorini
    Santorini
    Santorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...

    )
  • Sanjak of Nakşa Berre (Naxos
    Naxos (island)
    Naxos is a Greek island, the largest island in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture....

    )
  • Sanjak of Limni (Lemnos
    Lemnos
    Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...

    )
  • Sanjak of Kavala (Kavala
    Kavala
    Kavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...

    )
  • Sanjak of Midillü (Lesbos) with Eskerüs (Skyros
    Skyros
    Skyros is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC and slightly later, the island was known as The Island of the Magnetes where the Magnetes used to live and later Pelasgia and Dolopia and later Skyros...

    )
  • Sanjak of Sakız (Chios
    Chios
    Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...

    )
  • Sanjak of Mezistre (Mystras
    Mystras
    Mystras is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti, of which it is a municipal unit. Situated on Mt...

    )
  • Sanjak of İnebahtı (Naupactus
    Naupactus
    Naupactus or Nafpaktos , is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...

    )
  • Sanjak of İskenderiyye (Alexandria
    Alexandria
    Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

    )
  • Sanjak of Dimyad (Damietta
    Damietta
    Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...

    ) with Reşîd (Rosetta
    Rosetta
    Rosetta is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is located east of Alexandria, in Beheira governorate. It was founded around AD 800....

    )
  • Between 1717 and 1730:
  • Sanjak of Gelibolu (Gallipoli
    Gelibolu
    Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli , is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on the southern shore of the peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, two miles away from Lapseki on the other...

    )
  • Sanjak of Kavala (Kavala
    Kavala
    Kavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...

    )
  • Sanjak of Ağriboz (Negropont)
  • Sanjak of İnebahtı (Naupactus
    Naupactus
    Naupactus or Nafpaktos , is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...

    )
  • Sanjak of Sığla or Suğla (Ayasuluğ
    Selçuk
    Selçuk is the central town of Selçuk district, İzmir Province in Turkey, 2 km northeast of Ephesus.Its original Greek name, Agios Theológos referred to John the Theologian. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Ayasoluk...

    , absent)
  • Sanjak of Kocaeli (İzmit
    Izmit
    İzmit is a city in Turkey, administrative center of Kocaeli Province as well as the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. The city center has a population of 294.875...

    )
  • Sanjak of Karlıeli (Acarnania
    Acarnania
    Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...

    )
  • Between 1731 and 1740:
  • Sanjak of Gelibolu (Gallipoli
    Gelibolu
    Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli , is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on the southern shore of the peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, two miles away from Lapseki on the other...

    )
  • Sanjak of Değirmenlik ve Mesentûri (Milos
    Milos
    Milos , is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete...

    , absent)
  • Sanjak of Sığla or Suğla (Ayasuluğ
    Selçuk
    Selçuk is the central town of Selçuk district, İzmir Province in Turkey, 2 km northeast of Ephesus.Its original Greek name, Agios Theológos referred to John the Theologian. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was known as Ayasoluk...

    , absent)
  • Sanjak of Karlıeli (Acarnania
    Acarnania
    Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...

    )
  • Sanjak of Senturin (Santorini
    Santorini
    Santorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...

    , absent)
  • Sanjak of Nakşa Berre (Naxos
    Naxos (island)
    Naxos is a Greek island, the largest island in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture....

    , absent)
  • Sanjak of Kavala (Kavala
    Kavala
    Kavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...

    )
  • Sanjak of Ağriboz (Negropont)
  • Sanjak of İnebahtı (Naupactus
    Naupactus
    Naupactus or Nafpaktos , is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...

    )
  • Sanjak of Mora (Nafplion
    Nafplion
    Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of...

    , muhassıllık)
  • Sanjak of Mezistre (Mystras
    Mystras
    Mystras is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti, of which it is a municipal unit. Situated on Mt...

    , absent)
  • Sanjak of Kocaeli (İzmit
    Izmit
    İzmit is a city in Turkey, administrative center of Kocaeli Province as well as the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. The city center has a population of 294.875...

    )

  • See Also

    • List of Kapudan Pashas
    • List of Ottoman admirals
    • The Eyalet of the Western Archipelago
      Ottoman Algeria
      Ottoman Algeria was an Ottoman territory centered on Algiers, in modern Algeria. It was established around 1525 when Hayreddin Barbarossa recaptured the city. The Regency of Algiers was the principal center of Ottoman Empire power in the Maghreb. It was also a base from which attacks were made on...

       (Algiers), also held by the Kapudan Pashas
    • The Byzantine
      Byzantine Empire
      The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

       naval themes: Cibyrrhaeot
      Cibyrrhaeot Theme
      The Cibyrrhaeot Theme, more properly the Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots , was a Byzantine theme encompassing the southern coast of Asia Minor from the early 8th to the late 12th centuries...

      , Aegean Sea, and Samos
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