The reflection of 1871 Provincial Regulations on Abdulhamid Period

For Ottoman Empire starting basis for the modernization of the state was laid with the proclamation of the Tanzimat in 1839 . Starting from 1840s, intensive provincial reform movements were organized in terms of provincial administrations.. Muhasıllık, tax collecting officials, and Muhasıllık Assembly could not save the empire from the bad situation it got in. With Tuna (Danube) Provincial Regulation issued in 1864, the country was divided into new administrative units as province, shire, county and village. Danube governor Mithat Pasha showed huge success in the implementation of the regulations. The regulation was aimed to be implemented in the whole empire taking this success as basis. Provincial Regulations, issued in 1871, is of huge importance in the history of administration. This regulation was a turning point for the spread of local authority outside center administration into administrative positions in an attempt to establish a contemporary administration mechanism and for the participation of public to bureaucratic process and expressing themselves better. Abdulhamid II increased the number of provinces from 25 to 29 between the years 1881-1908 in provincial administration. The extent of Municipal Law enacted in 1877 was extended in a way that it could include the provinces of the time. Though the administrative positions were higher in number compared to the past, the Ottoman provinces are much bigger than most of present day European countries with their surface area of 30 to 100 thousand sqeuare.km . KEYWORDS: 1871 Provincial Regulations, the Danube, Regulations, Provincial Councils, Abdulhamid II, Administrative Structure