Nahiyah
A nāḥiyah, also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. The Ottoman nahiye, also called a bucak, was a third-level or lower administrative division, and remains as such in some successor states such as Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, with the Balkan states of Serbia and Montenegro having preserved the term for a while after liberation for the highest administrative unit as nahija. In Tajikistan and the autonomous Chinese region of Xinjiang, both from the Turco-Persian or Turkic regions of Asia, it is a second- and third-level division, respectively. A nahiyah can constitute a division of a qadaa, mintaqah or other such district-type division and is sometimes translated as "subdistrict".
Ottoman Empire
The nahiye was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire, smaller than a kaza. The head was a mütesellim who was appointed by the Pasha.The kaza was a subdivision of a sanjak and corresponded roughly to a city with its surrounding villages. Kazas, in turn, were divided into nahiyes and villages. Revisions of 1871 to the administrative law established the nahiye as an intermediate level between the kaza and the village.
Successor states in the Balkans
After achieving national liberation, the Principality of Serbia and Principality of Montenegro preserved the term as nahija.Examples
Arabic-speaking countries
| Country | Level above | Level above | Main article |
| Syria | mintaqah | district | |
| Palestine | Liwa' | governorates | Districts of Palestine |
| Iraq | Qadaa | district | Subdistricts of Iraq |
| Lebanon | |||
| Jordan | Liwa' | governorate | Nahias of Jordan |
Turkic-speaking territories
- Xinjiang, China: a subdivision of a prefectural.
- Ottoman Empire: subdistrict, commune, parish; a subdivision of a kaza.
Other
- Districts of Tajikistan: a subdivision of a province.
- Nahiye #Successor states in the Balkans
Persian language