Bitlis Vilayet ( Bit'lisi vilayet' , Ottoman Turkish: ولایت بتليس) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire. Before the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) it had been part of the Erzurum Vilayet, it was then made a separate vilayet by the Sublime Porte. It was one of the six Armenian vilayets of the Empire.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bitlis Vilayet reportedly had an area of , while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 388,625. The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.

Bitlis vilayet

Bitlis and Muş were formerly included in the Eyalet of Erzurum. In 1875, they were detached and made a separate vilayet. The sanjak of Siirt was joined to the vilayet of Bitlis from Diyarbekir Vilayet in 1883–84.

Bitlis vilayet

Administrative divisions

Sanjaks of Bitlis Vilayet: Sanjak of Bitlis (Bitlis, Ahlat, Hizan, Mutki) Sanjak of Muş (Muş, Bulanık, Sason, Malazgirt, Varto) Sanjak of Siirt (Siirt, Eruh, Pervari, Şirvan, Kurtalan) Sanjak of Genç (Genç, Çapakçur, Kulp)

Bitlis vilayet

References

External links

Ottoman period in Armenia

Vilayets of the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia

History of Bitlis

History of Bitlis Province

History of Bingöl Province

History of Siirt Province

1875 establishments in the Ottoman Empire

1923 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire