Vilayet

A vilayet, also known by various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the late Ottoman Empire. It was introduced under the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated by the Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856. The Danube Vilayet had been specially formed in 1864 as an experiment under the leading reformer Midhat Pasha. The Vilayet Law expanded its... (Wikipedia)