Hejaz Vilayet

The Vilayet of the Hejaz refers to the Hejaz region of Arabia when it is administered as a first-level province (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, it reportedly has an area of ninety-six thousand five hundred square miles (two hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers).

The Hejaz includes all land from the southern border of the Vilayet of Syria, south of the city of Ma‛an, to the northern border of the Vilayet of Yemen, north of the city of Al Lith.

Despite its lack of natural resources, the region has great political importance as the cradle of Islam and is a source of legitimacy for the Ottomans' rule.

Subsidies provided by the state and zakat are the main source of income for the population of the two holy cities, but trade generated by the hajj is also an important source of revenue.

The Ottoman regular force in Hejaz is constituted as a fırka (division), attached to the Seventh Army in Yemen.

Outside of cities and towns, Ottoman authority is weak.

Only Medina and Jeddah have permanent garrisons.

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