Governership in the Abbasids (132-232/750-847)

Abbāsids are being the subject of many studies in terms of historical, political and socio-cultural aspects today. Qualified studies focusing on the caliphs and their activities set an example in this regard. However, the studies on the institutions of this period, in which there were important administrative developments, have a limited or superficial content. There is a similar case in the governorship, located in the center of provincial organisation. This deficiency in the literature necessitates a comprehensive study of the governorship in the Abbāsids. For this purpose, a detailed investigation of the governorship, which is the most important unit of the Abbāsid provincial administration, has been determined as the subject of the thesis. By taking the first century of the Abbāsids to the center, it is aimed to discuss the role of the governorship in political and administrative life in detail. In the research, historical sources that shed light on the period were scanned chronologically and the data obtained were evaluated systematically. Thus, it was tried to reveal the nature of the governorship with all its aspects in the political life of the period. In the first chapter of the thesis, governorship politics which had been implemented in the regions were examined as well as giving political and geographical information about the states of Abbāsids. In the second chapter, the issues taken into account in the appointment of the governors, the environments affecting the appointment and how the process works were focused. In the third chapter, the structure and functioning of the governorship in the states were discussed in detail. Thus, the position, duties and responsibilities of the governors in the states and their relationship with other officials were tried to be determined. In the fourth chapter, the relations of the governors with the political and social groups in the center and the states were examined, and the dimensions of the state-citizen relationship and the functions of the governors in this regard were discussed. In the fifth chapter, the inspections and punishments of the governors were emphasized, and it was tried to determine how the state's self-control system over the governorate works by explaining the termination of their duties. As a result, the institution of governorship in the first century of the Abbāsids was examined with all its aspects, and its functioning in a certain period of Islamic history was tried to be uncovered.