Jerusalem, Mutasarrifate of

The Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, also known as the Sanjak of Jerusalem, is an Ottoman district with special administrative status established in 1872.[

The district encompasses Jerusalem as well as Bethlehem, Hebron, Jaffa, Gaza and Beersheba.

During the late Ottoman period, the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, together with the Sanjak of Nablus and Sanjak of Akka (Acre), forms the region that is commonly referred to as "Palestine".

It is the seventh most heavily populated region of the Ottoman Empire's thirty-six provinces.

The district had been separated from Damascus and placed directly under the Ottoman central government in Constantinople (now Istanbul in English) in 1841, and is formally created as an independent province in 1872 by Grand Vizier Mahmud Nedim Pasha.

Scholars provide a variety of reasons for the separation, including increased European interest in the region, and strengthening of the southern border of the Empire against the Khedivate of Egypt.

Initially, the Mutasarrifate of Acre and Mutasarrifate of Nablus are combined with the province of Jerusalem, with the combined province being referred to in the register of the court of Jerusalem as the "Jerusalem Eyalet", and referred to by the British consul as creation of "Palestine into a separate eyalet".

However, after less than two months, the sanjaks of Nablus and Acre are separated and added to the Vilayet of Beirut, leaving just the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem.

In 1906, the Kaza of Nazareth is added to the Jerusalem Mutasarrifate, as an exclave,[ primarily in order to allow the issuance of a single tourist permit to Christian travelers.

The area is conquered by the Allied Forces in 1917 during the Great War and a military Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (OETA South) set up to replace the Ottoman administration.

OETA South consists of the Ottoman sanjaks of Jerusalem, Nablus and Acre.

The military administration will be replaced by a British civilian administration in 1920 and the area of OETA South will  be incorporated into the British Mandate of Palestine in 1923.

The political status of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem is unique to other Ottoman province since it comes under the direct authority of the Ottoman capital Constantinople.

The inhabitants identifiy themselves primarily on religious terms, eighty-four percent being Muslim Arabs.

The district's villages are normally inhabited by farmers while its towns are populated by merchants, artisans, landowners and money-lenders.

The elite consist of the religious leadership, wealthy landlords and high-ranking civil servants.

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