Abstract

Erzurum province, one of the provinces far from the capital, was included in the Tanzimat in 1845. From 1839 to 1845, Halil Kâmilî Pasha, one of the governors of Erzurum province, opposed the implementation of the military provisions of the Tanzimat in this province, and resigned from his post when he could not achieve any results. Thus, the instruction prepared to be sent to him regarding the implementation of the Tanzimat provisions in all its aspects remained unaddressed. Although his successor Bekir Sami Pasha made efforts to implement the Tanzimat provisions, he was deemed unsuccessful by the Majlis-i Vâlâ and the Sadaret as a result of his inexperience in the face of the location and size of the province and the difficulties encountered in Van, Muş and Çıldır Sanjaks. Mehmet Kâmil Pasha, a member of the Majlis-i Vâlâ, was sent to Erzurum on a special mission to identify and solve the problems in the province. Mehmet Kamil Pasha took important steps in the implementation of Tanzimat provisions. Bekir Sami Pasha was dismissed due to his inexperience, and Esat Muhlis Pasha, who had previously served as governor of Erzurum, was appointed governor of Erzurum for the second time. Esat Muhlis Pasha continued the activities initiated by Mehmet Kamil Pasha and worked for the implementation of Tanzimat provisions in all aspects. The difficulties encountered especially in the Sanjaks of Van, Muş and Çıldır were not fully resolved during Esat Muhlis Pasha's term and continued to be on the agenda of his successor governors. The expectations of the reformist group at the center in the implementation of the Tanzimat provisions could not be fully met due to the attitudes of anti-reform governors and the practices of inexperienced governors.