Sanjak of Üsküp

Sanjak of Skopje Üsküp Sancağı Скопски санџак/Skopski sandžak Üsküp Sancağı
Sanjak of the Ottoman Empire
← 1463–1913 →
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Sanjak of Skopje
Capital		Skopje
History
•	Established	1463
•	Treaty of London (1913)	May 30, 1913 1913
Today part of		Republic of Macedonia

The Sanjak of Üsküp was one of the sanjaks in the Ottoman Empire, with Üsküb (modern-day Skopje) as its administrative centre.

Origins

Skopje (Üsküb) had previously been the capital of the Serbian Empire between 1346 and 1371.

Üsküb became part of Ottoman Empire after it was captured from the District of Branković on January 6, 1392. The first Ottoman governor of Skopje was Pasha Yiğit Bey, who conquered Skopje for the Ottoman Empire. The next one was Isak-Beg who was sent to lead military actions in Serbia in spring of 1439, and was replaced by his son Isa-Beg Isaković in the position of sanjakbeg of the Sanjak of Skopje.

The sanjak was initially formed as the so-called krajište (Skopsko Krajište; lit. borderland of Skopje) that was transformed into a full sanjak in the mid-16th century.

History

The Sanjak of Üsküp had often been given to beylerbeys as arpalik. Up to the 19th century, the sanjak was part of the Eyalet of Rumelia.

Uprisings against the Ottoman government occurred in the sanjak in 1572, 1584, 1585 and 1595. During the Great Turkish War, Austrian general Silvio Piccolomini burnt down Skopje in 1689.

In 1868 the Sanjak of Skopje together with the Sanjak of Prizren, Sanjak of Dibra and Sanjak of Niš became part of the newly established Prizren Vilayet. When Kosovo Vilayet was established in 1877, the Prizren Vilayet (without several nahiyas annexed by the Serbia) and its Sanjak of Skopje became part of Kosovo Vilayet, with Skopje as its seat.

During the First Balkan War in 1912 and the beginning of 1913, the Sanjak of Skopje was occupied by the Kingdom of Serbia. On the basis of the Treaty of London signed during the London Conference in 1913, its territory became a part of Serbia.

List of governors

The earliest governors, of the so-called Skopje krajište:

• Pasha Yigit-Beg: 1392—1414
• Isak-Beg: 1414—1439
• Himmeti-Zade Nesuh-Beg: 1439—1454
• Isa-Beg Isaković: 1454—1463

Sanjakbeys:

• Mustafa Pasha Kara Mehmed-zade: July 1755—?
• Osman Pasha: September 1844—August 1845
• Mehmed Selim Pasha Eneste Haseki: August 1845—March 1848
• Hafiz Mehmed Pasha the Cherkessian: March 1848—May 1850
• Ismail Pasha Paisli: May 1850—April 1851
• Mustafa Tosun Pasha: April 1851—October 1853
• Ali Riza Mehmed Pasha: November 1853—February 1854
• Akif Pasha: 1857—?
• Mahzar Osman Pasha Arnavut: September 1858—August 1859
• Rustem Pasha Ebubekir: August 1859—March 1860
• Alyanak Mustafa Pasha: March 1860—July 1863
• Mahmud Faiz Pasha: July 1863—January 1864
• ?
• İsmail Hakkı Paşa Şehsüvarzade Leskovikli: November 1865—July 1869
• ?
• Hafuz Pasha: (fl. 1876–1900)

External links

• Macedonia and the Macedonians: a history By Andrew Rossos