Implementation of the New Order (Nizam-I Cedid) in the Province: Findings on Saruhan Sanjak
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The developments in the 18th century had caused the Ottoman State to experience a transformation in the center and provinces. After this process, especially in the provinces, the notable class became stronger and the rulers of the regions they were in. In this direction, the Karaosmanoglu family came to the fore in Saruhan Sanjak and became the most powerful notable family of the region. These developments in the provinces and the defeats of the State on the fronts led Selim III starting a new reform program. First, the leaders of the State were asked to write reform bills on what should be done. One of the most important issues in these reform bills was the necessity of a military reform. Furthermore, the authors of the bills expressed their opinions on the deterioration of the order in the provinces, the position of the notables in the province and what kind of reform should be made in the province. Although there was no consensus among the authors on how to reform the provinces, the idea of a reform in the provinces built consensus. The New Order (Nizam-I Cedid), which was started in this context, was also put into practice in the provinces after a while and barracks were established for the implementation of modern education and training, or it was requested to recruit soldiers for barracks in Istanbul. Istanbul cooperated with the notables of the region to implement the New Order in Anatolia, and it offered new economical opportunities for the regions included in the New Order. For Saruhan Sanjak, the Karaosmanoglu family was the implementer of the reform in the region. Being included in the New Order offered new economical opportunities to both the regional administrators and the rayah who would become the soldiers of the new order. This situation provided for Istanbul to benefit from the local power of the notables in the implementation of the reform, while creating for the notables both the opportunity to gain a legal status within the notables and the possibility to gain economical power.