Mus Province and Its Counties According to the Muş Executives’ Layiha Dated 1880

The dictionary meaning of the word layiha used in the Ottoman bureaucracy is to translate something thought into writing. In other words, from time to time state officials prepare documents related to the issues of the country and express the solutions. In the Ottoman Empire layiha was used as two different types of documents: report and draft. Layihas written by bureaucrats who have knowledge about their regions are important in terms of the economic, social and cultural status of the region with which they are dealing. Thus, the state was not only able to obtain information about the situation and needs of the people but also search for how to use its resources and find solutions to the problems in the region. Muş became a region where the majority of Turks, Armenians and Kurds lived during the Ottoman Empire. In the 1880s, while the Russian influence on Armenians in the Eastern Anatolia Region and especially in Muş was felt, it was seen that Armenians entered a process leading to the gangs. The importance of Layiha here is to give us information about Muş immediately before these developments. This layiha was sent to Istanbul on November 1, 1880 by Muş Executive (20 teşrini Evvel 296). Information about the population, geographical, economic and social conditions of Muş, roads, transportation, communication and the needs of the region were determined. Not only Muş itself but also the population, accidents, needs of the country and people in Muş were also determined and presented to the relevant authority. In addition, the security, peace, economic development, education, preparing a better future for people, the provision of people's jobs and supplies, military, judiciary, education, madrasas, foundation, public order and provincial administration to increase the income and strengthening issues in Muş and its environment are available in the content of this layiha. When the layihas about Muş were examined, it could be seen that Muş was often mentioned with Bitlis. Therefore, the layihas prepared were also on Bitlis/ Muş. Although there is also some information about Bitlis in this layiha, the subject of the article, the limitation of the subject, the analysis of the information and evaluations were carried out on Muş.

Keywords

Contemporary Age History, Layiha, Mus, Malazgirt, Varto, Bulanık, Population, Census