Giresun

Governors    

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Author: İMLAK OMER FERIT

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Giresun, which was brought under Ottoman rule by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1461, became one of the citadels tied to the most western part of the sanjak of Trabzon.[1] After becoming a part of the Ottoman administration as a district, it took its place in the administrational structure of the Eyalet of Trabzon.[2] This was divided into various administrative divisions such as sanjak, liva and nâhiye. In the course of time under Ottoman rule, Giresun was made a vilayet (province) in the Republican period, and it expanded its historical boundaries when the district of Şebinkarahisar was annexed to it.[3]

With the Edict of Gülhane of 1839, eyâlets were replaced with vilâyets, and sanjaks were replaced with livas as sub-units of vilayets.[4] Then the Vilayet Law of 8 November 1864, which was implemented firstly in the Danube region and then all around the Ottoman Empire, imposed rules on the details of the administration of vilayet, sanjak, kaza (district) and karye (village) units, and on the authorities and responsibilities of administrators.[5]

The District Governors of Giresun who held service between the years of 1861 and 1904 according to various sources and especially to the Vilayet Salnameleri (Provincial Annuals) of Trabzon are listed below:

1. Cemal Pasha (1861-?)[6]
2. Abdullah Efendi (?)[7]
3. Şükrü Bey (1867-1869)[8]
4. Osman Bey (1869-1870)[9]
5. Muin Bey (1870-1872)[10]
6. İbrahim Bey (1872-1873)[11]
7. Osman Nuri Efendi (1873-1874)[12]
8. Pertev Efendi (1874-1875)[13]
9. Şakir Efendi (1878-?)[14]
10. Tahir Bey (1880-?)[15]
11. Mehmet Ali Efendi (1888-1889)[16]
12. Bekir Pasha (1891-1893)[17]
13. Ali Nevzat Bey (1893-1896)[18]
14. Hafız İbrahim Lütfi Efendi (1898-1899)[19]
15. Mehmet Ziya Bey (1900-1904)[20]
16. İbrahim Halil Pasha (1904-1905)[21]
17. Ali Mûnis Bey (1909-1911)[22]

Although Giresun's district governors are not mentioned in the annuals that were published in the years of 1875 and 1877[23], the importance of the district is shown by the existence of more than fifteen administrators.

 

[1] Feridun M. Emecen,  “XV-XVI. Asırlarda Giresun ve Yöresine Dâir Bazı Bilgiler”, Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi,  Aralık 1989, sayı:4, p. 157.     

[2] Karaman Oktay, (1999), Giresun Kazası (1850-1890), (Yayımlanmamış Doktora Tezi), Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Erzurum 1999, p. 73

[3] Feridun M. Emecen, “Giresun”, DVİA, Cilt 14, İstanbul 1996, pp. 79-80.

[4] İlber Ortaylı, Tanzimat Devrinde Osmanlı: Mahallî idareleri, Ankara 2011, p. 61.

[5] Musa Çadırcı, Tanzimat Sürecinde Türkiye: Anadolu Kentleri, Ankara 2011, p. 84-85.

[6] Ibid Karaman Oktay, (1999 ) p. 86

[7] Ibid Karaman Oktay, (1999 ) p. 86

[8] Ibid Karaman Oktay, (1999 ) p. 86

[9]  1286 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 39.

[10] 1287 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 36; 1288 Trabzon Vilayet Salnamesi, p. 42.

[11] 1289 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 41.

[12] 1290 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 41.

[13] 1291 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 41.

[14] 1296 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 71.

[15] 1298 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 60.

[16] 1305 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 233.

[17] 1309 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 221.

[18] 1311 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 231; 1313 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 222.

[19] 1316 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 301.

[20] 1318 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 180; 1319Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 111; 1320 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 171; 1321 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 353.

[21] 1322 Trabzon Vilâyet Salnamesi, p. 293.

[22] Ayhan Yüksel, "Salnamelere Göre Giresun Bölgesinin İdari Durumu ve İdarecileri", Giresun Tarihi Sempozyumu (24-25 Mayıs 1996) Bildiriler, Giresun Belediyesi Yay, İstanbul 1997, pp. 173-188.

[23] Davut Kılıç-İbrahim Topal, “Salnamelerde Giresun’un Sosyal ve Dini Yapısı 1869-1905”, Karadeniz (Black Sea-Черное Море), Yıl:3, Sayı:12, pp. 63-79.

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