Trebizond vilayet


The Vilayet of Trebizond was a first-level administrative division in the north-eastern part of the Ottoman Empire, corresponding to the area along the eastern Black Sea coastline and the interior highland region of the Pontic Alps.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it reportedly had an area of, while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 gave the population as 1,047,700. The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.
After the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the sanjak of Lazistan was established. Rize became the center of the district due to the cession of Batumi, the former centre of the sanjak, to Russia with kaza of Artvin. The salname of the year 1344h/1904-1905 mentioned several Armenian pharmacists. The Vilayet also counted with a considerable Pontic Greek population.
During World War I eastern half of vilayet was occupied by Russian troops by summer 1916. It was retaken by Ottomans in 1918.

Demographics

[file:Trebizond Vilayet — Memalik-i Mahruse-i Shahane-ye Mahsus Mukemmel ve Mufassal Atlas (1907).jpg|thumb|right|x150px|Map of subdivisions of Trebizond Vilayet in 1907]
The Sanjak of Trabzon had a Muslim majority since the 16th century. Western estimates given in the 19th century about the City of Trabzon estimate a Turkish majority.

Administrative divisions

The vilayet included three sanjaks and 22 kazas.
Sanjaks of the Vilayet:
  1. Trabzon Sanjak
  2. Gümüşhane Sanjak
  3. Lazistan Sanjak
  4. Canik Sanjak