Public order and security in Urfa (1913-1918)

Urfa is a city dating back to ancient times. Urfa, which joined the Ottoman lands during the period of Yavuz Sultan Selim, was first connected to the Diyarbakır State and then to the province of Rakka. Urfa, which was connected to Aleppo in 1842, was turned into a detached sanjak due to its importance due to its geographical location on 13 April 1910. Urfa; Together with Birecik, Suruç, Harran, it is a detached sanjak that covers Rakka and Rumkale accidents for a certain period of time. Urfa; It has a cosmopolitan structure inhabited by Islam (Turkish, Kurdish, Arab), Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Latin and Assyrian people. It is a city with agriculture, animal husbandry, commerce and small-scale industry. Since 1867, Constabulary Organization started to be established in Urfa. Law enforcement agencies in Urfa varied.Law enforcement officers such as Hamidiye regiments, redif battalions, militia regiments, police, gendarmerie and guard tried to ensure the internal security of Urfa.The development process of these law enforcement officers was effective in Urfa in parallel with the development in the Ottoman State. Urfa is a sanjak whose population is mostly made up of tribes. Other tribes, especially nomadic tribes such as Aneze and Şammar, attacted each other and the people and engaged in banditry activities. Apart from the tribal attacks, many crimes such as blood feuds, railway attacks, counterfeiting, abduction, fi'l-i şenî, theft, murder and injury were encountered.Crime tables related to these crimes have been prepared. Armenians living in the Ottoman lands dreamed of establishing independent Armenians and rebelled in many places for this purpose. There were also Armenian events in Urfa in 1895 and 1915. The Armenian events that took place in 1915 turned into a great conflict. With the intervention of the army, the revolt was suppressed, the rebels were tried in the Divan-ı Harp and Urfa Armenians were deported to Zor. In addition, the American Missionary Mr. Arrested during this rebellion.Lesli committed suicide. Keywords: Urfa, independent Sanjak, Hamidiye Regiments, Guard, police, gendarme, Aneze, Shammar, crime statistics, Armenian events