Hejaz vilayet

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Hejaz Vilayet
)

Vilayet of the Hejaz
ولاية الحجاز (Arabic)
ولايت حجاز (Ottoman Turkish)
Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire
1872–1916
Flag of Hejaz
Hejazi
Area 
• 1914[3]
250,000 km2 (97,000 sq mi)
Population 
• 1914[1]
300,000
History 
1872
1908
1916
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Jeddah Eyalet
Kingdom of Hejaz
Today part ofSaudi Arabia
Jordan

The Vilayet of the Hejaz (

Vilayet of Yemen, north of the city of Al Lith.[2]

Despite its lack of natural resources, the region had great political importance as the cradle of Islam and was a source of legitimacy for the Ottomans' rule.[4] Subsidies provided by the state and zakat were the main source of income for the population of the two holy cities, but trade generated by the hajj was also an important source of revenue.[4]

The Ottoman regular force in Hejaz was constituted as a fırka (division), attached to the Seventh Army in Yemen.[5] Outside of cities and towns, Ottoman authority was weak.[6] Only Medina and Jeddah had permanent garrisons.[4]

History

Background

The Kaaba in Mecca, 1889

Sultan

Jeddah, and the Eyalet of Jeddah was later transformed into the Hejaz Vilayet, with a governor in Mecca.[2]

Saudi conquest

Since the 1750s,

Ibn Saud ordered the expulsion of all pilgrims and troops loyal to the Emir of Mecca, looting of the city later followed. It was alleged that Ibn Saud banned pilgrim caravans that were accompanied with trumpets and drums, which were contrary to Wahhabi doctrines.[11]

The Ottoman government found itself unable to confront the Wahhabis, and gave the task of defeating them to the powerful

Emirate of Mecca was restored.[14]

Vilayet period

The Arabian peninsula in 1914

In the late 1860s, a commission was sent to the Hejaz to reorganize the province, and the following decades saw the introduction of administrative reforms.

nahiyes.[15] Mecca became the center of the vilayet, with Medina and Jeddah as sanjaks.[15] The administrative structure of the Hejaz was reformed, but some changes enacted in the rest of the Empire were not implemented here.[16]

Osman Pasha, Governor of Hejaz from 1882 to 1886

The towns of Mecca and Medina were exempted from paying taxes and in fact, were given subsidies, called surre, from the Ottoman treasury that was to be distributed to the poor in Mecca and Medina.

subvention in the reign of the Abbasid caliph Al-Muqtadir in the tenth century, afterwards it became customary for other caliphs and sultans to send these subsidies. However, aside from residents of Mecca and Medina, the inhabitants of other towns and villages did not benefit as much.[18] Subsidies were also paid to notable nomadic shaikhs, who had the potential to disrupt the passage of pilgrims in the region. The entire province was also exempted from military service; attempts to overturn this exemption were blocked by the Sharif of Mecca.[17]

The Ottomans maintained a garrison force of 7,000 soldiers under the command of officers, in addition to the Sharif's own personal guard of 500.

highway robbery and murder were common on these roads.[17]

The Ottomans completed the

Sharif Hussein ibn Ali declared himself King of the Hejaz
.

Demographics

The exact population of the Hejaz is impossible to determine, particularly because of the mobility of Bedouins and pilgrims, and also because of the inability of Ottoman authorities to conduct a census in Arabia.

Asir at the end of the 19th century ranged from 400,000 to 800,000.[21]

Most of the population was not settled, and included nomads and

Bedouin tribes dominated the region, and Ottoman control over them was mostly indirect, appointing governors to Medina and Jeddah but allowing local rule elsewhere.[4]

Economy

Pilgrims often traveled in caravans, where a large number of Hejazis worked in, as seen here in 1910. The economy of Hejaz relied heavily on the Hajj.

The economy of the vilayet relied heavily on the annual

Masjid al-Nabawi as sweepers, doorkeepers, servants, prayer leaders, preachers or candle-cleaners.[23] Of these occupations, the most numerous were the pilgrimage guides. These guides had the task of organising the pilgrim's accommodation, transportation, acting as a translator and generally guiding the pilgrim through the rituals and prayers required. Aside from payment from a pilgrim, the guide would also be able to make any transactions in the name of the pilgrim.[24]

Hejaz's primary exports were

balsam, gum, nacre and Zamzam water. As there are few natural resources in the region, the vast majority of products had to be imported, a practice that continued until the early twentieth century.[25]

The mercantile centre of the region was the port city of

Yenbo on the Red Sea coastline.[22]

Due to the region's intense heat and scarcity of rainfall, the Hejaz could not support an agriculture-based economy. Agriculture was only possible in oases and on the irrigated outskirts of major towns, with dates being the primary crop grown. Semi-nomadic tribes would also engage in agriculture or would herd sheep and camels.[23]

Administrative divisions

A map showing the administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire in 1317 Hijri, 1899 Gregorian, Including the Vilayet of Hijaz and it's Sanjaks

Sanjaks of the Vilayet:[26]

  1. Sanjak of
    Mekke-i-Mükerreme
    (Mecca)
  2. Sanjak of
    Medine-i-Münevvere (Medina); became an independent sanjak in the summer of 1910.[27]
  3. Sanjak of
    Cidde
    (Jeddah)

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-615-24479-2
    .
  2. ^ a b c Numan 2005, p. 61-62.
  3. ^
    A. H. Keane
    , page 459
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7
    .
  5. ^ Numan 2005, p. 68.
  6. ^ Numan 2005, p. 22.
  7. ^ a b Numan 2005, p. 33.
  8. ^ Numan 2005, p. 35.
  9. ISBN 978-0-313-32110-8
    .
  10. ^ Numan 2005, p. 37.
  11. ^ a b Numan 2005, p. 38.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-391-00304-0
    .
  13. ^ a b Numan 2005, p. 39.
  14. ^ Numan 2005, p. 42.
  15. ^ a b c d Numan 2005, p. 71.
  16. ^ Numan 2005, p. 43.
  17. ^ a b c d Hogarth 1978, pp. 47.
  18. ^ Numan 2005, p. 18.
  19. ^ Nabataea: Hijaz Railway: History
  20. ISBN 9780814203668
    .
  21. ISBN 9780814203668
    .
  22. ^ a b c Numan 2005, p. 20.
  23. ^ a b c Numan 2005, p. 16.
  24. ^ Numan 2005, p. 17.
  25. ^ a b Numan 2005, p. 19.
  26. ^ Ceziretül Arab – Hicaz ve Yemen Vilayetleri | Tarih ve Medeniyet
  27. ISBN 978-0-203-00909-3
    .

References

External links

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