| Eyālet-i Mōrâ | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire | |||||||||||||
| 1661–1686 1715–1821 | |||||||||||||
.svg) Flag | |||||||||||||
.png) The Morea Eyalet in 1795 | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Corinth,Nauplia,Tripolitza | ||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
| • Coordinates | 37°56′N22°56′E / 37.933°N 22.933°E /37.933; 22.933 | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| 1661 | |||||||||||||
| 1685/7 | |||||||||||||
| 1715 | |||||||||||||
| 1770 | |||||||||||||
| 1821 (De jure to 1829) | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheEyalet of the Morea (Ottoman Turkish:ایالت موره,romanized: Eyālet-i Mōrâ)[1] was a first-level province (eyalet) of theOttoman Empire, centred on thePeloponnese peninsula in southernGreece.
TheOttoman Empireoverran the Peloponnese between 1458 and 1460, conquering the last remnants of theByzantine Empire, with the exception of theVenetian strongholds,[2] which were taken gradually over decades of intermittentOttoman–Venetian Wars.Coron andModon fell in 1500, and by 1540, the Ottoman conquest of the Peloponnese had been completed with the capture ofMonemvasia andNauplion.[3][4]
Upon its conquest, the peninsula was made asanjak of theRumelia Eyalet, with its capital first atCorinth (Turk.Kordos orGördes), later inLeontari (Londari),Mystras (Mezistre orMisistire) and finally in Nauplion (Tr.Anaboli).[5] Since the 16th century, Mystras formed a separatesanjak, usually attached to theEyalet of the Archipelago rather than Rumelia.[6]
Sometime in the mid-17th century, as attested by the travellerEvliya Çelebi, the Morea became the centre of a separateeyalet, withPatras (Tr. Ballibadra) as its capital.[7] The Venetians occupied the entire peninsula during theMorean War (1684–1699), establishing the "Kingdom of the Morea" (Regno di Morea) to rule the country. Venetian rule lasted until theOttoman reconquest in 1715, which led to the re-establishment of theeyalet.[8] The capital was first at Nauplia, but after 1786 atTripolitza (Tr. Trabliçe).[5]
The Moreote Christians rose against the Ottomans with Russian aid during the so-called "Orlov Revolt" of 1770, but it was swiftly and brutally suppressed. As a result, the total population decreased during this time, while the proportion of the Muslim element in it increased. Nevertheless, the privileges granted to the Orthodox population with theTreaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji, especially the right to trade under the Russian flag, led to a considerable economic flowering of the local Greeks, which, coupled with the increased cultural contacts with Western Europe (Modern Greek Enlightenment) and the inspiring ideals of theFrench Revolution, laid the groundwork for theGreek War of Independence.[9]
During the Greek War of Independence, most of the peninsula fell to the Greek rebels in 1821–1822, butinternal conflicts among the rebels and the arrival ofIbrahim Pasha of Egypt in 1825 almost extinguished the rebellion by 1826. The intervention ofBritish,French andRussian naval troops in theBattle of Navarino forced the Ottoman and Egyptian troops to evacuate the Morea by 1 October 1828. Finally, Greece became independent from theOttoman Empire withTreaty of Adrianople.
During the second period of Ottoman rule, theeyalet was headed by theMoravalesi, who until 1780 was apasha of the first rank (with threehorsetails) and held the title ofvizier. After 1780 and until theGreek War of Independence, the province was headed by amuhassil. The pasha of the Morea was aided by a number of subordinate officials, including a Christian translator (dragoman), who was the senior Christian official of the province.[9] A provincial council, the 'Divan of the Morea' (Διβάνιον τοῦ Μορέως), advised the pasha. It was composed of two semi-annually elected primates, holding the unofficial rank ofmora ayan (μοραγιάνης), two other primates, and thedragoman. In exceptional cases of major import, local notables were also called to attend its sessions.[10]
According to Evliya, at the time of his visit theeyalet comprised thesanjaks of Misistire, Aya Maura (Lefkada),Aynabahti (Lepanto),Karli-Eli, Manya (Mani Peninsula) and Ballibadra (Patras), i.e. it encompassed also the portions of western and centralContinental Greece.[7][11]
At the beginning of the 19th century, according to the French travellerFrançois Pouqueville and the Austrian scholarJoseph von Hammer-Purgstall, theeyalet comprised the followingsanjaks:[7]
Throughout both Ottoman periods, Morea was also divided into a number of smaller districts (kazas,kadiluks orbeyliks), whose number varied but was usually between 22 and 25, and reached 27 by 1784.[4][5] In the mid-17th century, when the Morea was still asanjak, these were, according toHajji Khalifa: Kordos, Arhos (Argos), Anaboli, Firina, Ayapetri (Agios Petros), Ruya, Manya (de facto free of Ottoman control), Kalavrita (Kalavryta), Kartina (Karytaina), Londari, Andrusa (Androusa), Koron, Motun, Anavarin, Arkadya (Kyparissia), Fanar (Fanari), Holomiç (Chlemoutsi), Voştiçe (Aigio), Ballibadra/Balye Badre. In addition, Misistra, Menceşe (Monemvasia) andKalamata belonged to thesanjak of Misistire/Mezistre.[4][12]
