Nazif Pasha: Jerusalem Governorship (Mutasarrıf) and Tribal Politics in the Context of the Center-Periphery Relations

Abstract

This article examines the administrative actions of Mehmed Nazif Pasha during his
first governorship of Jerusalem in 1867. Mehmed Nazif Pasha (1825–1889) held several
key positions in the Ottoman bureaucracy, including governor and minister, and began
his career under the patronage of Serdar-ı Ekrem Ömer Lütfi Pasha. He served twice as
the governor of Jerusalem, first in 1867 and again in 1872. His first governorship marked
the beginning of a process referred to as the “Jerusalem Reform,” which aimed to collect
taxes from Bedouin tribes in Gaza, Hebron (Halilurrahman), and Jerusalem. As a result
of these efforts, written pledges of loyalty were obtained from the tribes, documents that
can be seen as contractual acknowledgments of allegiance to the central authority. These
pledges were not merely symbolic but were implemented and enforced in practice. In
addition, Mehmed Nazif Pasha introduced a series of administrative and military reforms,
playing a significant role in shaping the center-periphery relations of the period. Rather
than offering a direct biography, this article investigates the measures taken by Nazif
Pasha to reinforce central control in the region, drawing primarily on archival sources.