Vilayet of the Archipelago

Vilayet Cezayir ( Dschesair ) was the name of a province of the Ottoman Empire. Vilayet is the Turkish name for " province "; Dschazā ʾ ​​ir in Arabic is called "islands". For example, AI Dschesair the name origin of Algiers. The full name of the Vilayet Dschesair was Cezayir -i Bahr -i Sefid ( " islands of the White Sea "). With " White Sea" is meant the Aegean Sea. Established this province was in the 15th century.

The province comprised the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean Sea ( between the Chalkidiki peninsula, the Thracian coast and the Hellespont and along the coast of Asia Minor ), and was divided into five Liwas: Cyprus ( under British administration), Rhodes, Chios, Lesbos and Lemnos. She had an area of ​​14,547 km ² ( excluding Cyprus ) and had about 440,000 inhabitants. The capital was Chios. From 1660 to 1703 and in 1784 Cyprus was among the vilayet Cezayir.

The Vilayet Cezayir shelter as well as the province of Cyprus ( vilayet Kıbrıs ) the Ottoman Minister of Marine ( Kapudan Pascha).

The Vilayet Cezayir can not with today's Turkish name for Algeria (Turkish Cezayir ) be confused. The Ottoman name for the Algerian province was Cezayir -i Garp ( Western Cezayir ). The term West was no longer needed after the loss of the Aegean islands and the sinking of the vilayets Cezayir and came in elimination.