The Authority of the Throne and the Particularity of the Land The Ottoman Administrative and Economic Governance Strategy in Kurdistan (1514-1909)

Abstract

This study, entitled (The Authority of the Throne and the Particularity of the Land: The Ottoman Administrative and Economic Governance Strategy in Kurdistan 1514-1909) examines the dialectical relationship between the Ottoman imperial center and the Kurdish peripheries from the early sixteenth century to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The research is premised on the hypothesis that Ottoman influence in Kurdistan was not built on rigid centralization, but rather on an imperial pragmatism that adapted to the rugged geographical terrain and cohesive tribal structures of the region, Utilizing a descriptive-analytical historical method, the study explores five key areas: the deconstruction of administrative frameworks (the system of Governments and Beyliks), the geo-administrative divisions of major vilayets (Diyarbekir, Van, Shahrizor, Mosul, and Baghdad), and the institutionalization of Kurdish military strength from the (Mulk-i Lashkari) system to the (Hamidiye Cavalry), Furthermore, the research investigates economic management, land tenure systems, and tax policies, demonstrating how the state's late shift toward hyper-centralization and conscription disrupted this historical equilibrium, subsequently fueling social unrest and early Kurdish national consciousness. This study was built on a solid network of historical sources and references in both Arabic and Kurdish. Foremost among these sources is the valuable reference study entitled “The Kurds and the Ottoman State” by Muhammad Zaki al-Barwari, and the in-depth documentary studies of Dr. Khalil Ali Murad, especially his book “Iraq in the Second Ottoman Era.” These works formed the cornerstone in providing the research with data and archival documents related to Ottoman administrative divisions and financial policies. In addition, it relied on major Kurdish historical books such as “Sharafnameh” by Sharafkhan al-Badlisi and “A History of the Modern Kurds” by David McDowell, and a selection of academic works and travelogues that accompanied that era.