A negotiation of power during the age of reforms in the Ottoman Empire: notables, tribes and state in Mus (1820-1840)

Abstract

This article analyzes how a local notable on the eastern frontiers of the Ottoman Empire struggled for local power within the context of the early nineteenth century. Focusing on an era on the eve of the Tanzimat, this article seeks to indicate how the local dynasty of Mus - Alaaddin Pashazades - sought not only to maintain but also to strengthen their power and influence by taking advantage of their imperial and trans-imperial networks. Based on a variety of primary sources from Ottoman and British archives, this article explicates how in an age of fiscal, military, and administrative transformation, Emin Pasha from the Alaaddin Pashazades consolidated his power by skilfully manipulating inter-imperial wars, regional revolts, borderland and tribal matters with Iran, and the military reforms of the era. Providing a snapshot from an eastern sub-province of the Ottoman Empire, this article hopes to contribute to studies which deal with the multi-dimensional relations between imperial powers and provincial notables.