Trikala Sanjak in the 19th century (1821-1881)

The Balkans remained under the Ottoman rule for a long time. The Turkish sovereignty of the region for approximately five hundred and fifty years stamped a lasting mark on this geography. Following the settlement of the Turks in the region, the Balkans immediately became Turkified in cultural and demographic terms. Many religious and cultural structures were built through which the Turkish-Islamic culture and civilization began to permeate into those lands. The invasion of the Balkans by the Ottoman forces under the command of Suleyman Pasha in 1354 opened the gates of the region to the Turks. Suleyman Pasha formed frontier forces consisting of a left frontier, a middle frontier and a right frontier forces in order to continue his conquests in the region. The left frontier forces were responsible for invasion and conquest of the Greek territory. During 1390s, the Ottoman troops began to march into the mainland Greece. Hacı İlbey and Evrenos Bey campaigned in the left frontier as the chief raiders. In 1393, the Ottoman troops commanded by Evrenos Bey moved into and gained domninance over the Tesalia plain located in the central Greece. The province was then granted to Evrenos Bey as a timar. That is how the state became dominant over the central Greece, Tesalia region and established the Trikala Sanjak. The sanjak peacefully survived until 1821. However, the Greek struggle for independence that began in 1821 disrupted the order of peace. Some people who lived together for centuries began to organize to establish their own sovereign states. The Greeks who lived together with the Ottoman Empire for four centuries established the independent Kingdom of Greece in 1829. The kingdom was officially recognized by Western states in 1830. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece, the chaos in the Trikala Sanjak spread further out, and acts of violence and insecurity such as banditry, border violations, and capturing Muslims appeared in the region. This situation, which lasted for half a century, ended in 1881 with the seperation of Tesalia. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review on the Greek independence movement, the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece, and the subsequent developments during the transfer of the Sanjak of Trikala to Greece. It is the main purpose of this thesis to discuss the situation of the sanjak in the 60-year time period starting with the Greek rebellion of 1821 and ending with the abandonment of sanjak to Greece in 1881.