Kirkuk in the XIXthcentury (Physical, administrative and socio-economic structures)

In this study, physical, administrative and socio-economic structures of Kirkuk which one of the important centers of Ottoman Iraq are explained in terms of the effects of itssurrounding region. After the Battle of Çaldıran,the first contact with Kirkuk and its surroundings was made during the struggle of the Ottoman State to fortifyits eastern borders, and the region was included in the Ottoman political orbit.After the conquest of Baghdad by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1534, Kirkuk came directly under domination of Ottoman, and the central institutions of the state were intensely deployed there.As the center of the State was its central institutions and administration, a key position was assigned to Kirkuk in establishing and maintaining Ottoman dominance in border regions under the monitoring and control of Iran.Functions assigned to Kirkuk and its surroundings in the defensive efforts for border region and relationship established with regional dynamics in the direction of these functions caused the physical, administrative and socio-economic structures of the city to be shaped. Keywords: Ottoman, Kirkuk, Şehrizor, Baban, Memluk, Celili, centralisation and urban development.