The province (Sancak) of Trabzon between 1881 and 1908

The purpose of this study is to examine the economic, educational and administrative structure of the province (sancak) of Trabzon between 1881 and 1908. Trabzon is one of the most ancient settlements, and an important city in Anatolia oving in particular to its geographical position suitable for economic and military activities. İt has therefore fostered many rivalries between various states throughout the history. As of the fourteenth century, the Turks also came into the scene, and coseguently captured the city in 1461. The social and economic structure of the city of Trabzon have, however, changed considerably following the incorparation of the Black Sea region into the Ottoman realm. When the Black Seat was turned into an "Ottoman lake", the volume of international trade declined significantly. As a result of this, the economy of the city of Trabzon, which was the most active trade centre of the region, was also bazly effected. This misfortune of the Trabzon province appearsto have changed with the signing of the Küçük Kaynarca treaty between the Ottoman state and Russian Empire in 1774, when it had once again become an important comercial center. Especially from the first half of the nineteenth century onward, the port of Trabzon turned out to be the most important port of Iranian transit trade. This stuation had a positive effect on the commercial activies of Trabzon. With the development of the international trade and the capital support of the foreigners, the native Christians of the province appear to have involved more and plyed an important role in the economic activities. Neverthless, the transit trade between Trabzon and Iran hed begun to deteriorate agin in the second half of the century. The main reason for this seems to be opening of new and more suitable roads and railways in Russia. As a consequence, at the begining of the twentieth centuri Trabzon was no longer an important fort for international trade, but continued to serve in the transportation of the goods into and out of Anatolia.