The Vilayet of Baghdad (Modern Turkish: Bağdat Vilâyeti) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire in modern-day central Iraq. The capital was Baghdad. At the beginning of the 20th century it reportedly had an area of 54503 sqmi, while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 850,000. The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.

Demographics

The last Ottoman Census of 1917 stated that in Baghdad Sanjak out of the 202,000 population, 88,000 were Jews, 40 000 Kurd, 8,000 Christians, 800 Persian and rest Arab and other Muslims.

[1. Arab man from Shammar Tribe

2. Arab man from Zubaid tribe
3. Muslim lady from Baghdad | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Les///costumes///populaires///de///la///Turquie///en///1873///-///Partie///3///-///Planche///038.jpg]

History

In 1869, Midhat Pasha was inaugurated as governor of Baghdad. He extended Ottoman jurisdiction as far as the town of al-Bida, after he had established his authority in Nejd. In January 1872, Qatar was designated as a kaza under the Sanjak of Nejd. However, relations with the Ottoman authorities became hostile in both al-Bida and Nejd, leading eventually to the Battle of Al Wajbah, at which Ottomans were defeated.

Administrative divisions

Sanjaks or Districts of the vilayet:

Governors

Notable governors of the Vilayet: