The history of the Ottoman Empire and its culture are very popular among Russians today. There is nothing surprising in this, since Russia and Turkey are close to each other both geographically and historically. Even many managerial traditions originate in both countries from one root - Byzantium, on the territory of which the Ottoman Empire is located. It is out of interest in this intimacy that the question may arise as to whether a sanjak is what it is.
The administrative division of the Ottoman Empire
Throughout its history, the empire waged bloody wars for supremacy in a particular region, which dictated measures to organize the state. Since the creation of the state, vast lands have been jointly managed by the military and civil administrations. It is in this division that lies the answer to the question of what, sanjak - what is it.
Since the Ottoman Empire was an Islamic state, and its ruler was considered the patron of all Muslims of Europe and Asia, numerous Arab borrowings were also present in the language of the empire. So, to answer the question of what “sanjak” means, you should look into the Arabic dictionary, in which this word is found in the meaning of a flag or banner.
However, there is an opinion that these are more likely Arab countries that were once under Ottoman rule, borrowed the Turkic term. In any case, the words denoting small administrative-territorial units are available in both Arabic and modern Turkish.
History of the term and phenomenon
What is it - sanjak? The answer to this question is contained in the administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of Constantinople, the new Turkic state quite quickly captured the vast territories that belonged to the Christian empire.
To manage the new lands, a system was developed that combined administrative and judicial management. The smallest administrative unit was Kadylyk, the name of which came from the Arabic word "Kady" - a judge. Thus, the ruler of the smallest unit performed mainly judicial functions.
A larger education was a sangak, which means a banner. The term "banner" was used for a reason. The first time the existence of these territorial entities was ruled by the sons of the Sultan. However, it was not the sons who actually controlled the sanjaks, but their governors, who were given a special military flag, the sanjak, for the duration of their powers.
The first years of the empire
During the first century of the Ottoman Empire, its territory expanded mainly due to the numerous Turkic states that existed on the peninsula of Asia Minor.
These small states, falling under the power of the Sultan, received the status of beyliks - small feudal possessions throughout the territory, the former sovereign rulers of which, merging into the new administrative system, received the status of vassals. When answering the question about what it is - a sanjak, it is worth paying attention to the people who headed these units.
In addition to the smallest territorial unit of the empire, the word sanjak also determined the military formation, which was led by the sanjak bei governor of the sultan. Thus, it becomes clear that the Kadylyk existed for the exercise of the judicial functions of the state, the sangak - for the military defense of the land. But the question remains about the tax liability of the population and about whom the duty to collect taxes was assigned.
Feudalism in the Empire
Since the Ottoman Empire was a feudal state, there is no need to talk about centralized tax collection in the first centuries of its existence. As well as judicial and military functions, tax collection was delegated to local rulers.
However, in order to reduce the influence of local owners and prevent centripetal tendencies, the size of feudal possessions was limited to 20,000 acres, i.e., small silver coins, which were the main means of payment for the empire.
However, after the liquidation of the Ottoman Empire and the caliphate, the former territorial division was also abolished. Speaking about what is sanjak in Turkey, referring to a modern country, it is worth noting that such a unit does not exist.
The Republic of Turkey is divided into seven large statistical regions, each of which is divided into silts, of which there are eighty-one in the modern state.
To summarize, one should answer the question of what, sanjak - what is it. In historical perspective, this is an administrative unit that occupied an intermediate position between the feudal flax, which was called timar, and the judicial district, called the “Kadylyk". Such a division was relevant only for the initial stage of the existence of the Ottoman state, since at a later time, tendencies toward greater centralization began to manifest themselves and the role of the military ruler of the sanjak significantly decreased.
In the modern world, the question that this is a sanjak is of a purely historical nature, since in modern Turkey another territorial division is used.