ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION AND TOPONYMIC

TRADITION IN THE XANTHI AND GHENISEA

REGION, FROM THE BEGINNING OF OTTOMAN
RULE UNTIL 1928

Ioannis M. Bakirtzis & Nicolaos Th. Constantinides

From its inception, the Ottoman state always had an intense military charac-
ter strongly reflected in its ruling structure. In order to be able to understand
how the Ottoman administrative system functioned and interacted with other
social parameters, as well as how it evolved, it is essential to describe a few
basic structures of the entire system. Α sancak was a fundamental adminis-
trative division from the early Ottoman period. The word means martial flag
or labarum and, originally, a sancakbey was a high ranking officer, in charge
of a unit, that held its own and unique martial flag or labarum.1 As the empire
was expanding, more local social circumstances emerged which needed more
specific administrative handling. Even though sancak or liva was attached to
the founding causes of the Ottoman state and remained the core of the admin-
istrative rule, it was imperative that a major unit should be adopted; so eyalet
and beylerbeylik were created in order to rule over a wide range of special
privileges, provinces and principalities.2
The division of beylerbeylik was created in order to coordinate the func-
tion of the sancaks. The first beylerbeylik was the Rumeli Beylerbeyği
founded in 1361; then came the Anadolu beylerbeyliği in 1393. In charge of
such a division was a beylerbey, who had the rank of a vezir and was called
“pașa”. A beylerbeylik was situated in the center of the main sancak, while
the beylerbey was also considered to be in charge of the latter too. Yet, an
administrative division between a beylerbeylik and a sancak was also created,
that was initially called “eyalet” and later “vilayet”; the term eyalet was first
given to provinces with special privileges in Kurdistan.3
A sancak included smaller divisions called kaza or kadılık, each one with
a kadı in charge (and later a kaymakam), who represented simultaneously the
highest political, administrative, and juridical authority; he also acted as a
provincial governor, a mayor, as well as a judge and ruled at the seat of the
kaza, that was a big or a small town.4 A smaller administrative division was

1
Neoklis Sarris, Οσμανική Πραγματικότητα. Συστημική παράθεση δομών και
λειτουργιών. ΙΙ Η δοσιματική διοίκηση, Athens, 1990, p. 232.
2
Sarris, pp. 233-234.
3
Sarris, pp. 236-237, 248, 257, 259.
4
Sarris, pp. 271-272.
2 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

called nahiye and included a small town with no more than 5,000 inhabitants,
where a naib or a voyvoada was in charge.
Besides the administrative divisions, there were also settlement units in
use. Medine was a big town, şehir was an ordinary town, kale was a castle,
nefs was a middle range settlement, and kasaba was an unfortified commer-
cial town.5 There were also smaller settlement units, like a village that was
called karye, a neighbourhood called mahalle, a camp called oba, a family
called hane and an arable piece of land called mezraa. Wherever there was a
settlement or a neighbourhood with a mosque or a church, there was also a
muhtar in charge; if a settlement consisted of both Muslims and Christians,
there was dual organization of the population (i.e. a Muslim and a Christian
muhtar).6 Whenever the Ottomans took over a new territory, they would write
down all wealth sources in the tahrir defterleri, which included tax-collecting
directives. Several kanunnâme from the period of Süleyman the Magnificent
include the terms vilayet και nahiye, which refer to a certain administrative
region; so it is obvious that a sancak was a basic feudalistic unit, since a san-
cakbey was also a sipahi (an Ottoman equivalent to an estate lord), who had
to reside in a certain area and support a ready-for-war military unit. Mean-
while, a sancakbey had the privilege of possessing big estates –which re-
mained imperial lands (has)– that could be located in other regions.7 The lat-
ter has been confirmed by a bey, an estate lord, from the Xanthi region: “My
grandfather came from Ghenisea-Yenice. His house still exists. His name was
Haci Ahmet Paşa. He had a 1,600 hectare estate in the Drama district –I do
not know where exactly– and another one here in Ghenisea, which was then
700 hectares and is called Ferezler”.8
However, it is essential to mention, that the core of the Ottoman adminis-
trative and military system was the institution of the sipahi, i.e. the cavalry
warriors. There were two kinds of sipahi, the kapıkulu sipahi and the tîmârlı
sipahi. The first formed the Ottoman army cavalry. The second were Otto-
mans of Turkish origin, to whom the Sultan himself gave the usufruct (not full
ownership) of a piece of land, in order to profit from its income and in return,
was provided with fully armed horsemen warriors. There were three kinds of
lands that a sipahi may have possessed:
i. A piece of land giving revenue up to ten thousand akçe was called a
tîmâr and its possessor had to provide five cebeli (fully armed warriors); the
former sum was the equivalent of two to four times the total annual wage of a
teacher.
ii. A piece of land giving revenue up to a hundred thousand akçe was
called a zeamet and its possessor was a rank officer with the obligation to
support up to twenty warriors.

5
The last bey from Ghenisea said of his town: “Ghenisea was the kasaba in the region”. Oral
Narration Μ.H., Β-20-01. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
6
Sarris, p. 277.
7
Sarris, pp. 233-234, 257.
8
Oral Narration Μ.H., Β-20-01. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 3  

iii. A piece of land providing revenue of more than a hundred thousand

akçe was called a has and its possessor had to provide more than twenty war-
riors on demand.9
In general, all the above pieces of land belonged to the Sultan and con-
sisted of imperial lands under the general name has,10 or more specifically
under the names erazî-i emiriye (imperial lands) and erazî-i mevkufe (holy
lands).11 Thus, the sipahi institution may be summarized in Table 1 as follows.

Table 1: The Sipahi institution

Tîmârlı Sipahi
Kapıkulu Sipahi tîmâr up to 20.000 akçe up to 5 cebeli
zeamet up to 100.000 akçe up to 20 cebeli
has more than 100.000 akçe more than 20 cebeli

Yet, the aforementioned facts about the sipahi institution lead us to an-
other conclusion, the importance of providing ready-to-go men with their
horses. This fact is still traceable in local oral narrations: “In this area there
was a village named Koca Mamutlar and another named Haci Mahalle; it
might have seemed like a mahalle [neighbourhood] but it was a big village.
When they rode to the pazar of Bolustra, there would be about 40 men with
their horses...”.12
The aforementioned early Ottoman administrative system was intro-
duced to the Xanthi [/xánθi/]) region, after the Byzantine fortress of Xantheia
[/xánθia/] was conquered (most probably between 1373-1375).13 Soon after,
Yenice-i Karasu was founded (sometime after 1383)14 and all arable plain
lands in the entire district were distributed to tîmârlı sipahis. The above mili-
tary, administrative and immigration background interacted with the anthro-
pogeography and the economy of the entire area.15 So, when tobacco cultiva-
tion was introduced in the early 17th century, it used these structures, and the
first successful tobacco producers were the land possessors of the Yenice-

9
See Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Πάπυρος Λαρούς Μπριτάνικα, Athens 1993, vol. 55, p. 68,
«σπαχής».
10
Sarris, p. 215.
11
Odysseas Karayannakidis, “Καθεστώς των γαιών πλήρους ιδιοκτησίας και τίτλοι
ιδιοκτησίας στη Θάσο επί ισχύος του οθωμανικού δικαίου”, Θασιακά 9 (1994-1995),
p. 213.
12
The above story was narrated by a Turkish speaking Muslim from the village of Exoche
[/exohí/](formerly Gizelik or Karagözlü). Oral Narration S.R., G-01-07. N. T.
Constantinides Archive of Oral History. Note that Mahmutlar in the local idiom is
pronounced Mamutlar, thus being cited in the above narration.
13
Georgios Voyatzis, Η πρώιμη οθωμανοκρατία στην Θράκη, ΆΆμεσες δημογραφικές
συνέπειες. Thessaloniki 1998, pp. 132-135.
14
Dimitris Α. Mavridis – Georgios Ch. Tsigaras, Γενισέα Νέα Πόλη του Νέστου – τόπος
συνάντησης πολιτισμών, Yenisea 2010, p. 21.
15
N. Todorov, Η βαλκανική πόλη 15ος-19ος αιώνας, trans. Ε. Avdela - Γ. Papageorgiou,
Athens, 1986, p. 51.
4 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

Xanthi district.16 In this historical context, a new Ottoman urban center, Yen-
ice-i Karasu, was established on the eastern bank of the Nestos River, so as
to control and exploit all the land on the plain. Meanwhile, Xantheia main-
tained its Christian character after its surrender for three reasons:
i. The Ottoman conqueror of the region, Gazi Ahmed Evrenoş Beğ
(1288-1417) marched towards Macedonia having no interest in organizing
the administration of the annexed district.
ii. The Ottomans founded Yenice [/γenídze/] as a new town, as well as a
commercial and administrative center.
iii. Peritheorion [/perθeórion/] (or Böröve [/bǿrøve/]), which until the
first half of the 15th century remained the seat of the local Metropolite and a
fortress situated at Bistonis Lake [/vistonís/], was abandoned, while its in-
habitants migrated en masse to Xantheia reinforcing its Christian popula-
tion.17
However, two additional pieces of evidence lead to another version of
the same story:
i. During the 14th century Xantheia was a fortress or a small town; so,
any political change during the years 1370-1380 would have no dramatic
effects in the greater area.
ii. It has been recorded that, between the years 1492 and 1519, Xantheia
received immigrants; this could not but be linked to the fact that the town
belonged to a Sultan’s vakıf (pious foundation).
Both of the above pieces of evidence indicate the probability that Xan-
theia surrendered under the “justice of mercy” (aman), which is why it main-
tained its Christian character.18 As regards the founding of Yenice there is
considerable uncertainty. An oral narration recorded in 1941 cites that
Evrenos founded the town in 1381.19 Alternatively, it may have been founded
in 1383, when the Ottomans conquered the town of Serres [/séres/] and
marched towards Thessalonice [/θesaloníki/], after having established their
rule over Macedonia [/makeδonía/] and Thrace [/θráki/]. However, the first
traveller referring to Yenice is Bertrandon de la Broquière, who visited the
town in 1433.20 Yenice (which became the center of the homonymous kaza)
was situated at the junction of major roads. The town housed the seat of local
authorities such as a holy court, military commanders, and the most powerful
possessors of the district. There was a permanent market, because all agricul-

16
Ioannis Μ. Bakirtzis, Στοιχεία για την ιστορία της κωμόπολης της Γενισέας και της
επαρχίας της (kaza) κατά την οθωμανική περίοδο, Xanthi 2010, p. 93; Phokion
Kotzageorgis, “Ο καζάς Γενισέας (Yenice-i Karasu) μέσα από οθωμανικές πηγές του
15ου-16ου αι. Προβλήματα και προοπτικές της έρευνας”, Περί Θράκης 1 (2001), pp.
74-75, 77.
17
Voyatzis, pp. 133-134, 364.
18
Phokion Kotzageorgis, Μικρές πόλεις της Ελληνικής Χερσονήσου, Xanthi 2009, pp. 83,
119, 138.
19
This piece of information was given by Haci İsmail Mumcu Mehmet Efendi, who was born
in Xanthi circa 1866; in 1941 he narrated his memoirs (as well as those he recalled from his
father) to a Bulgarian reporter. Б ломорска България, брой 115 (28.10.1941 год.), стр. 4.
20
Kotzageorgis, “Ο καζάς Γενισέας (Yenice-i Karasu)”, pp. 70, 72.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 5  

tural products were gathered there and all economic activities took place
there. Thus, Yenice became literally a New Town or a New Market (Yeni-
pazar), as several travellers called it.21 In this way, Fernand Braudel has been
proved right, since he insisted that all goods, material or not, reach towns or
cities by road while every town or city consists of the movements that it ab-
sorbs and intercepts, in order to profit from them, which then sets them back
into movement.22
Yenice is identified as the modern small town of Ghenisea. In Greek
there is a transliteration variety of the Turkish name as well as of its Greek
version: The first appears in three forms depending on which syllable the ac-
cent falls: Γένιτζε [γénidze], Γενίτζε [γenídze], Γενιτζέ [γenidzé].23 The
second appears in various spellings, which all, however, have the same vocal
value [γeniséa]: Γενησαία, Γενησσαία, Γενισσαία, Γενισαία, Γεννησαία,
Γενησέα; in recent years a simpler form is more widely used: Γενισέα.
In addition to all the above, the toponym “Yenice-i Karasu” is usually in-
terpreted as “New Market” or “New Town on Nestos”.24 This reference to a
new market has been reported by travellers,25 but it can be linked to an oral
narration, that combines pieces of information from the early Ottoman con-
quest: It is said that inhabitants from the Turkish-speaking villages of the
plain would visit the weekly open-air market (pazar) held at “Karapazar or
Bolustra, when Yenice did not yet have a pazar of its own”.26 This piece of
information has been confirmed by Petros Georgantzes who reports: “Slave
trading seems to have taken place at the village now named Pezoula; that
village was then called either Tatarpazar (Market for Tatars) or Karapazar
(Market for Blacks) depending on the race of the slaves being sold”.27
The foundation of Yenice created the strategic need for an axisymmetri-
cal administrative and commercial center on the western bank of the Nestos
River. Thus, the town of Sarı Şaban [/sar ∫abán/] (identified as the small
town of present-day Chrysoupolis [/hrisúpolis/]) was founded, but there is not
sufficient evidence of the terms under which it happened. However, both

21
Mavridis–Tsigaras, p. 22.
22
Fernand Braudel, La Méditerranée et le Monde Méditerranéen a l'époque de Philippe II,
vol. 1, Paris 1987 (ed. 8ème), pp. 253-255.
23
According to the last bey of the region, the right pronunciation is the one stressing the
middle syllable: [/γenídze/]. Oral Narration Μ.H., Β-20-01. N. T. Constantinides Archive of
Oral History.
24
Kotzageorgis, Μικρές πόλεις, pp. 41-42, 69; Bakirtzis, Στοιχεία, p. 20; the name Karasu
referring to the Nestos River could be interpreted as Black Water or Black River.
25
Jovan Maria Angolelo (a Venetian who visited the town in 1470) refers to it as
“Mercanovo”, which was used probably as the Italian equivalent of Yenipazar. Τζοβάν
Μαρία Αντζολέλο, ΈΈνας Ενετός του 15ου αιώνα στην αυλή του μεγάλου Τούρκου,
Trans. Dimitris Deliolanis, Athens 1989, p. 36.
26
Karapazar can be identified as the modern village of Pezoula and Bolustra as Abdera. Oral
Narration S.R., G-01-07. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
27
Petros Α. Georgantzis, Συμβολή στην εκκλησιαστική ιστορία της Ιεράς Μητρόπολης
Ξάνθης, Xanthi 2009, p. 246; Petros Α. Georgantzis, ΆΆβδηρα Αρχαία και Βυζαντινά,
Avdira 2006, p. 382.
6 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

Yenice and Sarı Şaban contributed to the reinforcement of Ottoman rule in the
region; meanwhile a new road network as well as the existing one was se-
cured. Speaking of main roads we come upon interesting evidence that needs
to be mentioned. Before the Ottoman occupation, important roads existed,
while the remaining Roman Via Egnatia was still the prominent one. Even
though archaeological findings have not yet been located, it is accepted that
the Via Egnatia crossed the Nestos River (south of the modern bridge at
Toxotes (Okçular)-Paradeisos (İncir Dere); it then reached Xantheia and
Peritheorion, having followed a route parallel to the edge of the mountains;
three and a half centuries later, these places became ideal for tobacco cultiva-
tion and remained famous under the name of “Yaka”.
However, the Egnatia route remained a key one even during the 14th cen-
tury. At the same period there were two more important routes:
i. A road starting from Peritheorion at Bistonis Lake led to Polystellon
[/polístilon/] (ancient Abdera [/ávδira/]), an important fortress and a port.
ii. Polystellon was connected to Xantheia by another road, almost at right
angles to the former.
It seems that Yenice was founded on the latter route, thus ensuring its
demographic and commercial survival.28 After the creation of both Yenice and
Sarı Şaban, new needs led to the formation of a road network on the plain,
while the Egnatia route still remained in use. So, besides the old one, there
were two new routes connecting Kavala [/kavála/] and Komotini [/komotiní/]
(formerly Gümülcine [/gjymyldzíne/]), which were the following according to
contemporary toponyms (the former ones in parentheses):
i. The planar way, following the route Kavala-Chrysoupolis (Sarı Şaban)-
Ghenisea (Yenice)-Iasmos (Yasıköy)-Komotini (Gümülcine).
ii. The mountain edge way, following the route Kavala-Toxotes (Okçu-
lar)-Xanthi (İskeçe)-Iasmos (Yasıköy)- Komotini (Gümülcine), which was
more or less based on the former Via Egnatia.29
iii. The planar way (created during a later period) following the route
Xanthi (İskeçe)-Lagos-Komotini (Gümülcine), which connected Yenice and
the port of Lagos.
With regard to the administrative and geographic aspects, the Yenice Ka-
zası or “Yenice-i Karasu Kazası” was located in the town of the same name.
Since the exact boundaries are not known, it is believed that the above kaza
included –more or less– the area of contemporary Xanthi Prefecture in addi-
tion to other neighbouring areas that were gradually cut off to form new kaza
divisions. Moreover, according to the Ottoman administrative practice, a kaza
is the surrounding environment of a town and interacts to a great extent with

28
This point of view comes from Kotzageorgis, “Ο καζάς Γενισέας (Yenice-i Karasu)”, pp.
71, and is founded on C. Asdracha, La region des Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles. Étude
de géographie historique, Athènes 1976, pp. 25, 29; See also Braudel, pp. 253-255.
29
Important information about this route has been published by Chrysostomos Dadiras, “Η
Εγνατία οδός στην περιοχή της Θράκης”, Περί Θράκης 3 (2003), pp. 106-107.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 7  

all sectors of daily life. According to this concept, during the early Ottoman
period, the Yenice Kazası developed around the town of Yenice.
During the first two centuries of Ottoman rule, Yenice Kazası extended
from Bistonis Lake to the east (almost along the contemporary boundaries
between Xanthi and Rhodhope ([/roδópi/]) Prefectures); to the west, it in-
cluded present-day Chrysoupolis Sub-prefecture in Kavala Prefecture; to the
north, it stretched into what is now Bulgarian territory. The first administra-
tive reform seems to have occurred at the end of the 16th century. Initially, the
western regions of Yenice Kazası became the Çağlayık Kazası (Çağlayık
[/t∫aγla k/], which is the present-day village of Διπόταμος [/δípotamos/] in
Kavala Prefecture). Sometime later, another region was cut off in the north, in
order to form the Ahi Çelebi Kazası [/ahí t∫elebí/], which in fact is the region
of the modern (Bulgarian) town of Smolyan (Смолян) then called Pasmaklı.30
As has already been shown, until the end of the 16th century Xantheia had
an increasing Christian population. However, after its annexation to the Otto-
man state, it had to adopt a name close to the Turkish phonetic system. It
would be interesting to follow the evolution of Xanthi’s naming – in Greek as
well as in Turkish– since place-names constitute “history’s unwritten monu-
ments” or “anaglyphical inscriptions on the ground” that tend to be valuable
historic and folkloristic material.31 So, from the Byzantine Ξάνθεια
[/ksánθia/] to the final Turkish İskeçe [/iskét∫e/] it was quite a complicated
process, while opinions vary on the matter:
i. Local historiography has accepted that the term Eskice is the folk
etymology form of the Turkish lexeme eski (=old) which eventually became
İskeçe. According to this view, there was a juxtaposition between the bipolar
Eskice = Old Town (i.e. the Byzantine-Christian Xantheia) and Yenice = New
Town (the Ottoman-Muslim Yenice-i Karasu).32
ii. A more recent point of view (still under research) connects the
toponym to tribal names of Yorukic groups that settled in Yenice Kazası, one
of which was called Eskice.33
iii. However, the majority of researchers tend to draw the conclusion that
the Ottoman term İskeçe is derived from the phonetic evolution of the Byzan-
tine lexeme Xantheia.34
The last opinion is based on the fact that (in almost all cases), after the
Ottomans conquered a territory, Byzantine urban centers kept their former
toponyms, even though they had been slightly altered in phonetic terms, e.g.:
Constaninoupolis-İstanbul, Thessalonice-Selânik, Polystellon-Bolustra, Kou-
moutzina-Gümülcine, Trikala-Tırhala, Didymoteixon-Dimetoka, Serres-Siroz,
Drama-Dırama, etc. This evolution appeared as obligatory because names had

30
Kotzageorgis, Μικρές πόλεις, pp. 42-44.
31
Dimitrios S. Loukatos, Εισαγωγή στην Ελληνική Λαογραφία. Athens 1978, p. 159.
32
Kotzageorgis, Μικρές πόλεις, p. 84.
33
Bakirtzis, pp. 24-25, founded on F.W.Hasluck, Christianity and Islam under the Sultans, ed.
Margaret M. Hasluck, vol. I, Oxford 1929, pp. 127-128.
34
Voyatzis, pp. 133-134, 364; Kotzageorgis, Μικρές πόλεις, pp. 84 -86.
8 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

to become phonetically more intimate and easier to pronounce by both Otto-

man people and bureaucracts.
In terms of the morphology of Ottoman toponyms, there are a variety of
forms concerning Xanthi:
i. According to one opinion, the forms İsketye, Ksansi, Eskice, İskece and
Eskya have been recorded.35
ii. According to another view based on a more systematic study of Otto-
man archives, the following forms have been recorded (in parentheses the
year first mentioned): Eksya or Ιksya (~1460), Ιqsatye (~1490), İsketye
(1519), İskete (1567 and 1693), İskeçe (1692 and 1708), İsketçe (1796). The
bureaucrats of the Ottoman capital must have imposed the evolution and ac-
ceptance of the form İskeçe at the end of the 17th century, because it was pho-
netically more familiar to them and easier to pronounce. That is the reason,
why it has survived ever since among the Turkish-speaking people of the
area.36 In addition to the above a Yorukic tribal group with a similar name
(Eskice) had remained in the region.
To better understand the phonetic evolution of the above toponymic
forms, it is essential to take into consideration the following particularities of
the Turkish language:
i. Since two consonants at the beginning of a word are difficult to pro-
nounce together, a euphonic [/‫�أ‬/] (named elif) appears, that is (in this case)
equivalent to either an [/i/] or an [/e/].37 In this manner, all language-loans
transferred to Turkish, which commence with a two-consonant complex [/st-
/], [/sk-/], [/sp-/], adopt an [/i/] as a prefix, e.g.: iskorpit = a kind of fish
(called σκορπίνα [/skorpína/] or σκορπίδι [/skorpíδi/] in Greek); ispirtο =
alcohol or spirit (from the Italian spirto); istasyon = station (from the French
station).
ii. The complex [/x/] functions like a two-consonant phoneme [/k/+/s/],
rather than a combined complex one [/x/]. That is why it may easily turn into
a [/sk/] complex, e.g.: İskender = Alexander.
iii. The (also difficult to pronounce) two-consonant complex [/nth/=/νθ/]
is simplified to a [/th/=/θ/], which however does not exist in Turkish and ends
up as a simple [/t/].
iv. The Greek terminal phoneme [/a/], which is rounder than the corre-
sponding Turkish one, is usually transliterated as the Turkish phoneme [/e/].
vi. The complex [/ty/ = /tΥ/], that consists of the consonant [/t/] in com-
bination with the semi-vowel [/Υ/], may be palatalized and turn into the com-
plex [/t∫/=/ç/].
As a conclusion of all the above, the most probable route from the Byz-
antine toponym Ξάνθεια to the Turkish İskeçe might have been the
following:

35
Voyatzis, pp. 133-134.
36
Kotzageorgis, Μικρές πόλεις, pp. 84–86; Efstratios Zegkinis – Pavlos Hidiroglou,
Τουρκική Γραμματική, Thessaloniki 1995, pp. 15-35.
37
That is why we come across the dual form Eskice / İskeçe.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 9  

Ξάνθεια-Xantheia[/ksánθia/]>*Ξάθεια[/ksáθia/]>*Ksaθya>*Qsaθya>*Qsatya>
*Iqsatya>Eksya//Iksya//Iqsatye>*İksatye>*İksetye>İsketye>İskete>İsketçe>İskeçe
Note: All non-documented forms are marked by (*); evolution of lexemes is
marked by (>); parallel appearance of two or more forms is marked by (//).

Meanwhile, the Byzantine toponym Ξάνθεια [/ksánθia/] (Xantheia) fol-

lowed its own phonetic evolution in Greek to end up as the form Ξάνθη
[/ksánθi/] (Xanthi). Between the years 1580-1590 Philemon is recorded as
Metropolite of Xantheia, or Metropolite of Peritheorion and Xantheia, while
he is last mentioned in 1592. Several years later, a codex dated 1602 mentions
Metropolis of Xanthi or Metropolis of Xanthi and Peritheorion, a title in use
ever since.38 The stabilization of the form Xanthi within the above ecclesiasti-
cal title means that the transformation had been effected in a previous time;
because of its broad colloquial use the vernacular form eventually had to be
adopted by the hierarchy.
During the 17th century and specifically in 1620, it is known that Kavala
Sancağı included Kavala Kazası and Yenice Kazası, while Gümülcine Kazası
was not included since it belonged to another Sancak.39 During the 18th cen-
tury, Yenice-i Karasu Kazası lost a big part of its territory; in the west, Sarı
Şaban Kazası and, in the north, Darı Dere Kazası were created. Thus, Yenice
Kazası was left inside the approximate modern boundaries of Xanthi Prefec-
ture.40
During the 19th century, three major reformative efforts took place in the
Ottoman Empire, because both organization and administration had been de-
generated by corruption, while ethnic ideas and movements demanded a more
progressive political and administrative system. Reforms were shaped as po-
litical and social modernization and were steered by both Ottoman and for-
eign influences. These three efforts are known as the Hatt-ı Hümâyûn-ı Gül-
hâne or Hatt-ı Şerif-i Gülhâne announced on the 3rd November 1839, the Isla-
hât Fermanı issued on the 18th February 1856, and the Constitution –
Meşrutiyet granted by Abd-ül Hamîd ΙΙ on the 23th December 1876. Mean-
while, there were also reforms concerning the Ottoman administrative system.
A first attempt took place in 1840. A second was made in 1842. A more in-
tensive effort was made, when Vilayet Nizanamesi (Regulation Concerning
Vilayet Divisions) was temporary applied on the 8th November 1864 and put
into broad use on the 16th October 1867. The Regulation Concerning the
Vilayet General Administration (Vilayet Nizamnamesi) (issued on the 22nd
October 1871) planned a final reform; in 1876 some minor adaptations im-
proved this regulation and it remained in force till the Balkan Wars. Since

38
Georgantzis, Συμβολή, pp. 160, 228, 279-281, 282, 286.
39
Sarris, pp. 237, 272-276.
40
Kotzageorgis, Μικρές πόλεις, pp. 42-44.
10 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

administrative divisions and titles changed from period to period, it would be

helpful to summarize them in the following Table 2.41

Table 2: The Ottoman administrative division during the 19th century

No. up to 1840 1840-1842 1842-1864 1864-1871 1871-1912
1 eyalet / beylerbeylik Eyalet Eyalet Vilayet vilayet
vâli / beylerbey Vâli Vâli Vâli vâli
2 sancak / (liva) Sancak Sancak Sancak liva
sancakbey Muhassıl Kaymakam Mutasarrıf mutasarrıf
3 kaza / kadılık Kaza Kaza Kaza kaza
kadı Kadı kaza müdürü Kaymakam kaymakam
4 nahiye Nahiye Nahiye Nahiye nahiye
naib /voyvoda Naib Müdür Müdür müdür
Note: Each point includes two cells. The upper one shows an administrative divi-
sion (in left alignment). The lower one shows the corresponding person in charge
(in right alignment).

The above 19th century reforms also affected the administrative frame-
work and triggered changes in Yenice Kazası and its surrounding district. It
is, however, quite difficult to reproduce Xanthi’s administrative reform, be-
cause available sources are either scarce or do not agree with each other. So,
until the administrative reform of the year 1864, both Yenice Kazası and
Gümülcine Kazası belonged to Dırama Sancağı, which was then part of
Thessalonice Eyalet or General Administration of Thessalonice (Selânik
Eyaleti).
In the same period the General Administration of Edirne was situated to
the east of Selânik Eyaleti. According to a Greek source of 1866, it was called
“Βιλαγιέτ Εδίρνε” [/vilaγét eδírne/]. The same source –a document by the
Greek Consul at Edirne– informs us that Edirne Vilayet included “the
Province (Kaza) of Gümülcine, which until recently belonged to the General
Administration of Thessolonice”.42
Several years later, on the 30th April 1870, the “Ενιαύσιος ΈΈκθεσις
περί Αδριανουπόλεως” or “Annual Report on Adrianopolis” by the Greek
Consulate in Edirne gives a complete picture of the administrative form in the
above vilayet, which then included the provinces of Edirne (formerly
Adrianoupolis [/aδrianúpolis/]), Filibe (formerly Philippoupolis
[/filipúpolis/]), (formerly Sylimnos [/sílimnos/]), Gelibolu (formerly Cal-
lipolis [/kalípolis/]) and Tekirdağ (formerly Raidestos [/reδestós/]).43 Obvi-
ously, Gümülcine Kazası then belonged to the General Administration of
Edirne.

41
Sarris, pp. 291-296, 305-307.
42
Κalliopi Papathanasi-Mousiopoulou, Σελίδες ιστορίας Θράκης 1870-1886, Athens 1984,
p. 25.
43
Petros Α. Georgantzis, Προξενικά Αρχεία Θράκης, vol. Ι, Xanthi 1998, p. 202. (Φ
1871/58, 2β-3. 59, 1. 60, 1. 61, 1.Υποφ. 58,3).
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 11  

Yet, the year 1870 is a milestone for Yenice Kazası, since a fire de-
stroyed the homonymous town. It was the end of the summer, when strong
winds blow; the fire spread rapidly and almost the entire town was turned
into ashes. This random incident in combination with the fact that Xanthi was
a developing town (having recovered from the disastrous 1829 twin earth-
quakes), as well as the fact that tobacco cultivation was a rising wealth
source, led local authorities to transfer their administrative center to Xanthi,
where the climate is healthier. An elegant testimony informs us about the
time of the fall of Yenice and the rise of Xanthi; it was after 1840 that the
latter started to look like a small town, when the merchants’ esnaf (trade un-
ion of its time) set up a post office at their own expense. At that time in Xan-
thi “lived permanently Rengat Bey, who had a nice house with a garden”,
while other rich beys started moving there after 1866. Along with wealthy,
government employees who also spent their summers in Xanthi. Soon after
“Xanthi became a beautiful town; it was pleasant to see while passing by
train”. 44 However, it is a fact that there was a demand to transfer the admin-
istrative center of the Yenice Kazası. On the 1st December 1860, the “Local
Council” (İdare meclisi) of Yenice Karasu Kazası sent a unanimous decision
to the Governor (Vâli) of Thessalonice requesting the transfer of the seat. As
an initial argument they claimed that Yenice had an awful climate (floods in
winter and droughts in the summer); as a second argument they insisted that
Xanthi is situated in the spatial center of the Kaza.45 In other words, they
proved that the center had already moved (itself) from the plain towards the
mountains, because tobacco cultivation was increasing there; thus the town of
Xanthi became the geographical center of the province, since it lay at equal
distances from all remote areas of the district.
The administrative reforms of the above period took place for an addi-
tional reason, i.e. due to hostilities between local powerful men, who ran the
tobacco trade. Constantinos Bakalopoulos referring to this fact indicates that:
“The same time, circa 1860, the powerful beys of the Drama Sancak [to
which Yenice Kazası then belonged] controlled almost the entire tobacco
trade, and no one would dare doubt the price given for every special quality
of tobacco. Their power was such that they represented the local Turkish
authorities and took advantage of the central government; in general, they
gained profits from the state’s disability”.46 It is said that even the fire in
Yenice occurred as a result of the hostility between two local powerful men:
Halil Paşa of Xanthi and Haci Emin Ağa of Yenice.47 The rivalry between
local land possessors and the destruction of the Kaza’s seat still remain vivid
in the collective memory of the people in the region, since it was an impor-

44
Бъломорска България, брой 115 (28.10.1941 год.), 4.
45
Phokion Κotzageorgis, “Απόπειρα μεταφοράς της έδρας του καζά Γενιτζέ Καρασού
(1860-1861)”, Περί Θράκης 5 (2005-2006), pp. 98-99.
46
Κonstantinos Αp. Vakalopoulos, Οικονομική λειτουργία του Μακεδονικού και
Θρακικού, Thessaloniki 1980, p. 102.
47
Λεύκωμα Θράκης– Μακεδονίας, Komotini 1932, p. 264.
12 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

tant incident. An oral narration mentions “Memet Pasa [Mehmet Paşa], who
owned a chifliki [çiftik] named “Sobas” [Su Obası, may we suppose?] near
Mandra village... This pasa went around in a payton, a carriage, with double
horses, while two Negro horsemen rode ahead, two at each side and two
followed. People said that he set fire to Ghenisea, so as to punish those who
had prevented the railway from passing near the town”.
In addition the same narration mentions that Yenice had been burned
twice, but does not clarify when each case of arson took place.48 Only one
written source refers to a fire that happened in 1843.49 Haci İsmail Mumcu
Mehmet Efendi’s narration, according to whom Xanthi started developing
after 1840, favours this opinion. Nevertheless, whether Yenice was burned
once or twice, the fact has been vividly recorded by the collective memory of
the region’s inhabitants, who kept on referring to the incident for decades
after. Many years later oral narrations kept on mentioning the Yenice fire: “It
is said that Halil Paşa burned Ghenisea and blackmailed many merchants to
move to Xanthi, where he was a notable and a master”.50
According to a document issued by the Greek Vice Consulate in Kavala
dated 17th February 1871, it is revealed that a Kaymakam, who was under the
jurisdiction of the Drama Mutassarıfı, governed Yenice Kazası.51 On the 18th
September 1872, a document from the Greek Consulate in Thessalonice sug-
gested that a General Agent should be either appointed in Yenice or Xanthi, a
fact which shows that both centres were of equal significance.52 Two years
later, on the 15th January 1874, a document from the Greek Ministry of For-
eign Affairs mentions Yenice Karasu Province without stating which the ad-
ministration’s seat was.53 However, by this time, i.e. 1872, tobacco from the
above region had become the most valuable and widely known in the entire
Ottoman Empire.54
The next source might clarify the administrative situation. On the 5th May
1877, the Greek Vice Consul in Kavala sent a report to the Greek Ministry of
Foreign Affairs stating the following: “Xanthi had been the capital of a first-
class province. It had 8,592 inhabitants. It was the seat of a kaymakam, of a
kadi, and of two administrative councils, i.e. two tribunals (one political and
one penal), which had the jurisdiction of a court of the first instance. There

48
Oral Narration C.P., E-05-01. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
49
«Yenitze is now only a name, the town having been deserted on account of its unhealthy
position after a great fire in 1843, when the inhabitants migrated to Xanthi (Turkish
Eskedge) which, from a small village lying in a gorge at the foot of the mountains,
developed into an important town (15,000 population), on the line from Salonica to
Constantinople, and is now the tobacco center of that district». The above have been
published by C. L. Constantinides, Turkish Tobacco. A manual for planters, dealers and
manufacturers, London 1912, p. 44.
50
P. Kontas, “Στα χρυσό κάμπο της Ξάνθης. Εντυπώσεις του κ. Πασχάλη Κόντα”,
Προοδευτική, φ. 1021(14.05.1956), p. 4.
51
Thomas Εxarchou, Ξάνθη 1861-1911 Στοιχεία Ιστορίας, Xanthi 2005, p. 17.
52
Georgantzis, Προξενικά Αρχεία Θράκης, vol. I, p. 443 (Φ 1871/136,2).
53
Georgantzis, Προξενικά Αρχεία Θράκης, vol. I, p. 452 (Φ 1879/136,2).
54
Εxarchou, pp. 17-18.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 13  

was also a commercial court. The Town Hall was situated in the center of the
town. In addition there was a customs service, a second-class tax service. The
province belonged to the Thracian area. It was separated from Macedonia by
the Nestos River. It was under the jurisdiction of Drama Mutesaraflik [Muta-
sarrıflık]”.55 All the above mean that since a kaymakam and a kadi had their
seat in Xanthi, the homonymous town was therefore no longer the seat of the
Yenice Kazası. It seems, however, that for a further period of time the Kaza
kept its old name, even though the seat had been moved to Xanthi.
Nevertheless, all the above sources show that the transfer of the Kaza’s
seat must have taken place between 1872 and 1879. It is, however, sure that
these changes were stabilized by the administrative reforms that followed the
Russian-Turkish war of 1878-1879. The significance of this war was catalytic,
since the loss of provinces annexed by Bulgaria provided the initiative for
administrative reform in the European territory of the Ottoman Empire. There
is also an additional parameter, which left an active tradition still traceable in
modern times: Since Xanthi (İskeçe) and Komotini (Gümülcine) remained
under the jurisdiction of Thessalonice (Selânik) Vilayet for a long time, peo-
ple tended to think that the above provinces were part of Macedonia. That is
the reason why sometimes the name Macedonian Tobacco also applies to the
famous Xanthi Basma.56
Another document by the Greek Consulate in Adrianopolis, dated 6th June
1879, informs us that from Edirne Vilayet the provinces of Philippoupolis and
Sylemnou formed Eastern Rumelia; it also mentions that Gümülcine Sancak
was cut off from Selânik Vilayet and annexed to Edirne Vilayet, while Xanthi
remained part of the former vilayet.57 Almost one month later, on 11th July
1879, a document issued by the Greek Consular Agent in Xanthi reports that
the district was annexed to Edirne Vilayet.58
Thus, the loss of territory in the northern Thracian area, which was the
consequence of border-changes, resulted in administrative reforms being in-
troduced in the south Thracian area. One of those reforms was the transfer of
the Yenice Karasu Kazası from the Selânik to Edirne Administration. With
this event, the transfer of the Kaza’s seat to Xanthi was secured. Meanwhile,
according to Haci İsmail Mumcu Mehmet Efendi’s oral narration, in 1880,
when “Edirne Vâli visited Xanthi, he ordered a new Governor’s House to be
built in the center of the town”.59 That very same building housed the Xanthi
Court of the First Instance from 1934 onwards and it was torn down in 1969,
when the Central Square of Xanthi was reshaped into its modern form. Eld-
erly people in Xanthi recount a witty incident that took place when President
Mustafa Celal Bayar visited the town on the 2nd December 1952. He asked to

55
Mousiopoulou, Σελίδες ιστορίας, p. 29.
56
«Τί γράφουν οι ξένοι δια τα ελληνικά καπνά»: Ο ΚΑΠΝΟΣ, no. 85 (20.1.1950), p. 1.
57
Georgantzis, Προξενικά Αρχεία, pp. 455-456 (Φ 1879/35. 1,2,3α).
58
Georgantzis, Προξενικά Αρχεία p. 460 (Φ 1879/39,5).
59
Бѣломорска България, брой 115 (28.10.1941 год.), 4.
14 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

visit the former Governor’s House, saying that he had served there as a young
clerk. He also indicated a certain window hinge, pointing out that it was still
broken, as it was in his time!60 The aforementioned administrative reforms
had been consolidated by 1888-1889, when a Greek commercial guide stated
that Xanthi was a Kaza belonging to Gümülcine (Komotini) Sancağı.61 This
division remained unchanged until the Balkan Wars, since it is also mentioned
by Nicholaos Iggleses in his guide for the year 1911.62
During this period, the road network in Yenice – Xanthi Kazası was
slightly different from that of previous years. Of course, there was still a road
that had evolved from the former Via Egnatia, which followed a route parallel
to the edge of the Rhodhope Mountains and crossed the Tobacco Districts of
Yaka and Sovan Yaka.63 In addition to the above, another road was created at
the end of the 19th century, since Lagos port became significant, due to to-
bacco exports from the Xanthi and Komotini area; a new road on the plain
was planned following the route Xanthi – Lagos – Komotini, even though the
most important road remained the route connecting Yenice to Sarı Şaban and
Kavala. There were also branches leading off these routes to other regions.
Thus, the road from Yenice to Sarı Şaban near the village of Olbhio [/ólvio/]
(formerly Nohudlu) forked, the main section continuing to Sarı Şaban, the
branch leading to Eulalo [/évlalo/] (formerly İnanlı) and Heliopetra
[/iliópetra/] (formerly Günüklü). The latter is still called Pazar Yolu,64 because
in those days the weekly market took place in Yenice, but was abolished by
the Bulgarians in 1913.65 After that, the weekly market in Xanthi became a
dominant one and has remained an institution in the greater area ever since.
The road from Yenice to Sarı Şaban (especially the part Yenice – Nestos
River) was very important for tobacco transport; yet it was a most unsafe
route, since travellers had to face various dangerous situations; these dangers
are revealed through agrarian toponyms, while they are handed down to us in
legends, thus providing rich folkloristic material. The aforementioned road
was named Kervan Yolu or Kavala Yolu66 and ”... after it led out of Ghenisea,
it started going uphill towards Giona [/gióna/] (formerly Güneyler) and
Kypsele [/kipséli/]. There, there were two hilltops named Sinek Olmaz, which
meant that the place was so barren that not even a fly or a mosquito could
survive, and Simitçi Tepe, maybe because someone had been selling ring-

60
Oral Narration E.X., E-08-02. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
61
Exarchou, pp. 62-63.
62
Nikolaos G. Inglessis, Οδηγός της Ελλάδος, 1911, p. 137.
63
Tobacco cultivation, commerce and taxation formed a special part of the area, the “Tobacco
Districts”, which people still refer to. In the Xanthi region there were 11 districts, listed
below according to the produced quality: Yaka, Küçük Yaka, Orta Kolu, Cebel Dere Kolu,
Cebel Meşe Kolu, Cebel Ahriyan Kolu, Xanthi Ova, Ova Bayir Kolu, Su Yalesi, Sovan Yaka,
Ova Sukolu.
64
Oral Narration A.R., B-17-01. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History; Pazar Yolu =
the road to the pazar.
65
Oral Narration C.P., E-05-02. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
66
Kervan Yolu = Caravan Road. Oral Narration S.R., G-01-07. N. T. Constantinides Archive
of Oral History.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 15  

shaped rolls of bread (called simit) to passing travellers”.67 Continuing on

there was “Kartal Tepe, which was named after its abundance of eagles or
hawks”, while further on, on the plain, there was “Deve Baran or Manda
Boğan”, which was “a place, after Çikur Çayır and towards Ghenisea, where
camels loaded with either grapes or tobacco would get stuck in the mud and
whine. Others say that buffaloes would get stuck and drown”, the buffaloes
that drew carts loaded with tobacco. Should a traveller and means of transport
succeed in overcoming all the above misfortunes, they would approach the
modern village of Kypsele, where “after the hills of Kypsele, towards
Dhekarcho [/δékarho/] (formerly Beğ Onbaşı) at the first turn to the left, there
was something like a ravine and yet like a jungle, which was called Can Kur-
taran Tepe”.68
These agrarian toponyms reveal two serious issues: the first refers to to-
bacco transport by road and the second has to do with public safety. As re-
gards the former, in those days transport was provided by camel caravans and
buffalo driven carts; a British traveller, Edward Daniel Clarke LL. D. Clarke,
whose book was published in 1816, mentions that "we overtook a large cara-
van of tobacco: it was being conveyed in twenty or thirty wagons, drawn by
buffaloes, and going to Constantinople”, somewhere near “Yenĩga”, where
the ‘’inhabitants are all Turks, who trade in tobacco”.69 As regards the latter,
the bandit phenomenon was a serious threat against public safety, when the
“gold-mine” of tobacco production needed a means of mass transportation. In
a place somewhere between Yenice and Can Kurtaran Tepe bandit groups
thrived and they are mentioned in local legends and traditions.
According to an oral narration by a tobacco grower and sheep breeder, at
the aforementioned passages “there were thieves, eskya, that would come out
of the woods, raid caravans for money, take the women, tie men’s hands be-
hind their backs, put them on the carts to take them back home. And those
who dared to be brave would have their heads cut off, or were tied to a
horse’s tail and dragged far away. So, those that could make it to this hilltop
[tepe] would save [kurtaran] their soul [can]”. That area was a place of resi-
dence where “bandits kept something like a camp (with huts similar to those
that Sarakatsans built), at a place called Deli Dautu. At that camp lived about
80 bandits with their families”.70 According to the same tradition, that danger-

67
In the local dialect a sivri sinek is a mosquito, while a fly is called kara sinek. Oral
Narration C.P., E-05-01. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
68
Kartal = eagle (or hawk in the local dialect). Deve Bağıran (or Deve Baran in the local
dialect = a place where camels whine. Manda Boğan = a place where buffaloes suffocate or
drown (in the mud), Çukur Çayır = a meadow in a ravine, Can Kurtaran Tepe = a salvation
hill (i.e. where someone has saved his soul). Oral Narration S.R., G-01-07. N. T.
Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
69
Edward Daniel Clarke LL. D., Travels in various countries of Europe, Asia and Africa, Part
the Second Greece Egypt and the Holy Land, Section the Third. London, T. Cadell and W.
Davis, 1816, pp. 423, 425.
70
The toponym Deli Davutu (or Deli Dautu in the local language) was given in honour of the
notorious bandit, who “was the oldest eskya recalled”. They say that he “lived almost 300
16 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

ous situation was overturned by a 22 year old girl, who fought like a brave
man and tricked the most savage bandit leader into surrendering himself; after
blackmailing him by saying that she would reveal his defeat by a girl, he
promised her to have bridges built wherever needed. In this way 40 stone-
built bridges were constructed in the area (between Yenice and Can Kurtaran
Tepe) that was called “Kız Köprüler” to honour the heroine.71
Finally, the road continued towards the Nestos River and somewhere near
the present-day village of Olbhio there still exists a bridge, which remains
almost intact apart from a few cement repairs, while on the west bank there is
a part of the road covered by marble stones. This bridge was called in the
local dialect “Arap Köprüsü, because until recent years there were Arabic
letters inscribed on one of its sides”.72 Then the road reached the Nestos River
near the present-day village of Kyrnos [/kírnos/] (formerly Kırköy), which
could be crossed with a ferry, called “σάλι” [/sáli/] in Greek or “kayık” in
Turkish. The above oral narrations revealing aspects of local history and folk
civilization help us trace (in an elementary manner) some basic points of the
road network, which served to transport people, merchandize and tobacco at
the end of the 19th century.
The above narratives also show the importance of the administrative re-
forms that took place in the 19th century with regard to the tobacco phenome-
non, a product that was then formalized as Xanthi Tobacco rather than Yenice
Tobacco. Besides the formal name of the product, because of its tobacco pro-
duction Xanthi had became an urban center with a cosmopolitan social life; it
was also ahead of Yenice, since the climate in Xanthi is more favourable for
tobacco processing and storing, while summers are cooler and milder than
those on the plain. Since it is well known that the transport and processing of
tobacco is carried out during the hot summer months, then it is obvious that
the transfer of the kaza seat was accomplished due to one additional reason,
tobacco handling. However, the mortal blow (that led Yenice to its final de-
cline) came between 1891 and 1896, when Xanthi was connected to the rail-
way line.
After the Balkan Wars and the Bucharest Treaty (28th July / 10th August
1913) the region of Xanthi experienced a paradoxical situation.73 The border-
line between Greece and Bulgaria, instead of following the natural route taken
by the Nestos River, was drawn in another more artificial direction; thus
Greece annexed the tobacco-producing region of Stauroupolis [/stavrúpolis/],

years ago and he had 50 soldiers under his command”. Oral Narration S.R., G-01-07. N. T.
Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
71
Kız Köprüler = Girl’s Bridges. Oral Narration S.R., G-01-07. N. T. Constantinides Archive
of Oral History; these bridges were in use until the mid 1950s, when massive works leveled
vast areas in order to turn them into big plots of land. Thus, a piece of local history was
sacrificed in the name of agricultural development.
72
Arab Köprüsü = Bridge of the Negro (or the Arab). Oral Narration S.R., G-01-07. N. T.
Constantinides Archive of Oral History; the above story was narrated by a Turkish speaking
Muslim from the village of Exoche, but was also confirmed by a Greek speaking Christian
from Ghenisea, Oral Narration C.P., E-05-01. N. T. Constantinides Archive of Oral History.
73
A double date is given according to the Julian/Gregorian or Old/ New Calendar.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 17  

which was then attached to Drama Prefecture, while, as regards tobacco mat-
ters, it remained part of the Tobacco District of Kavala’s Cebel [/dzebél/].
Thus, between the years 1913-1918 the Kingdom of Bulgaria occupied the
major part of southwestern Thrace, while the administrative structure of that
period is noted in Table 3.74

Table 3: Bulgarian administrative divisions in the Xanthi region (1913-1919)

Prefecture of Gümüljina (Komotini)
Окраг Гюмюлжина
Sub-prefecture of Xanthi
Околия Ксантий
Municipality of the Community of Community of Community of
town of Xanthi Atmajan village Balaban village Balustren vil-
Ксантийска (Gerakas) (Baniano) lage (Abdera)
градска Атмажанска Балабанлийска Балустренска
селска селска селска
Community of Community of Community of Community of
Gökçiler village Enidjen village İnanli village (Eu- Yasö Üren
(Selero) (Ghenisea) lalo) Инанлийска village
Гьокчилерска Енидженска селска (Horaio)
селска селска Яс -Юренъ
селска
Community of Mu- Community of Community of Community of
safaklı village (Phe- Mustafaçev vil- Okçilar village Kireciler vil-
lone) lage (Myke) (Toxotai) lage (Chrysa)
Мусафаклийса Мустафачевска Окчиларска Кирецилерска
селск а селска селска. селска
Community of Community of Community of Community of
Uyurlu village Çelalperdin vil- Koyun Kyoy vil- Yasöy Kyoy
(Kalotycho) lage (Tsalapetei- lage (Kimmeria) village (Ias-
Уюрлуска селска nos) Коюн-Кйоийска mos) Яс -
Челалпердиска селска Кйоийска
селска селска
Province of Pasmaklı (Smolyan-Смолян)
Околия Пасмакли
Community of Kozluja village (Kotyle) - Козлужаска селска
Province of Darı Dere (Zlatograd-Златоград)
Околия Даръ Дере
Community of Șahin village (Echinos) Community of Lıja village
Шахинска селска (Thermai)
Лъжа селска
Note: Modern toponyms are given in parentheses ( ).

During the same period, Greece had to institute an administrative frame-

work, in order to rule the acquired territories, the ones known ever since by

74
Ivan Altinoff, La Thrace Interalliée. Sofia: Union des savantes, écrivains et artistes
Bulgares – Imprimerie de la coup, 1921, pp. 167-168.
18 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

the name “New Lands” (Νέαι Χώραι [/née hóre/] in Greek). This framework
was composed of three basic legislations:
i. Law No. 4134 issued in 1913 and entitled “Concerning the administra-
tion of military occupied lands”;75 it was according to this legislative act that
Greece ruled the New Lands for a decade, until they were incorporated into
the main government organization.
ii. A second legislative tool was Law No. 4057 issued in 1912 and enti-
tled “Concerning the institution of municipalities and communities”,76 which
was implemented in the New Lands by two legislations:
1. Law No. 1051 issued in 1917 and entitled “Concerning the institution
and administration of municipalities and communities in the New Lands”.77
2. Law No. 1076 issued in 1917 and entitled “Concerning the completion
and alternation of various provisions in law 4057 and law 641 under the title
‘Concerning the institution of municipalities and communities’ ”.78
iii. A third legislative tool was Law No. 1149 issued in 1918 and entitled
“Concerning the General Administration in the New Lands”.79 The above leg-
islation imposed the institution of the General Administration and the person
in charge had the title “Minister General Administrator”. This institution ex-
isted in Thrace until 1955 (when all general administrations in Greece were
abolished) and it was the main one of the aforementioned three legislations
that helped incorporate and rule the provinces acquired between the years
1912-1922; in regards to geographical terms a general administration could be
compared to the institution of a eyalet or a vilayet, while a prefecture to a
kaza.
Greek administration was organized in the New Lands as well as in a part
of contemporary Xanthi Prefecture, in accordance to the legal framework de-
scribed above. The tobacco-producing region of Stauroupolis (then part of the
General Administration of Eastern Macedonia) was organized into four com-
munities (as noted in the following Table 4): On the 20th November 1919, the
communities of Stauroupolis (formerly Yeniköy), Kozloutsa (formerly Ko-
zluca / present-day Ano Karyophyto) and Sarntitsa (formerly Sarnıç / present-
day Kromniko) were established and they then became part of Drama Prefec-
ture and Drama Sub-prefecture; by the same legislative act the community of
Mountzinos (Muncinos / present-day Lekane) was also established, but it was
then part of Drama Prefecture and Kavala Sub-prefecture.80 The fact that

75
Law 49034, “Περί διοικήσεως των στρατιωτικώς κατεχομένων χωρών”, Εφημερίς
της Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 41Α (02.03.1913), pp. 121-124.
76
Law No. 4507, “Περί συστάσεως δήμων και κοινοτήτων”, Εφημερίς της
Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 58Α (14.02.1912), pp. 347-373.
77
Law No. 1051 “Περί συστάσεως και διοικήσεως δήμων και κοινοτήτων εν ταις Νέαις
Χώραις”, Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 259Α (13.11.1917), pp. 1077-1080.
78
Law No. 1076 “Περί συμπληρώσεως και τροποποιήσεως διατάξεών τινων των νόμων
ΔΝΖ΄ και 641 «περί συστάσεως δήμων και κοινοτήτων»”, Εφημερίς της
Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 273Α (25.11.1917), pp. 1185-1188.
79
Law No. 1149, “Περί Γενικών Διοικήσεων, εν ταις Νέαις Χώραις”, Εφημερίς της
Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 34Α (12.02.1918), pp. 187-189.
80
Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 251Α (20.11.1919), pp. 1723-1725.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 19  

Kavala Sub-prefecture was subject to Drama Prefecture might have been a

remnant of the preceding Ottoman administrative structure.

Table 4: The first Greek communities in the Xanthi Region (1919)

Drama Prefecture
Drama Sub-prefecture Kavala Sub-
prefecture
Community Community Community of Community of
of Stauroupolis of Kozloutsa Sarntitsa Mountzinos

At this point it is essential to clarify that municipalities and communities

in the New Lands were established by respecting the estate and agrarian
boundaries of each settlement, as they had been in force for decades. It seems
that the Greek administrative system had to take local traditions and customs
into serious consideration, because it incorporated the traditional local own-
ership particularities that “existed from old times”,81 which were located in
every “specified land periphery”82 and within “indisputably situated bounda-
ries”.83 During the short period of the Interallied Thrace regime (known as
Thrace Interalliée) that commenced on the 4th October 1919, French General
Charles Antoine Charpy was placed in charge and was appointed as “Admin-
istrator of Western Thrace and Representative of the Commander in Chief of
Allied Forces in the East”. French Commander in Chief, Franchet d’ Esperey,
was in charge of all allied forces in the East; he was based in Constantinople,
which at the time was under Allied control.84
The Greek Government sent Charisios Vamvakas as Le Represéntant
Hellénique in Interallied Thrace; he was an experienced former deputy of the
Ottoman Parliament and was soon accepted as Délegué du Gouvernement
Hellénique.85
Soon after, on the 14th May 1920 the Allied Forces handed over the ad-
ministration of southwestern Thrace and the transition was completed within
two days with admirable order.86 C. Vamvakas was then appointed as the first
General Administrator of Western Thrace on the 21st May 1920.87 Mean-
while, the Thracian Matter faced a multitude of turns. On the 30th June / 13th

81
Law No. 1076 as above, where article 1 mentions: «...εις α έκπαλαι ανήκεν η περιουσία
αύτη».
82
Law No. 1051 as above, where article 7 mentions: «ΈΈκαστος δήμος ή κοινότητα
έχουσιν εδαφικώς καθωρισμένην εδαφικήν περιφέρειαν....».
83
Law No. 4057 as above, where article 9 mentions: «Αι δημοτικαί και κοινοτικαί
περιφέρειαι καθορίζονται συμφώνως προς τα ήδη αναμφισβήτως κείμενα όρια».
84
Κostas Geragas, Αναμνήσεις εκ Θράκης 1920-1922, Katerini 2005, p. 59.
85
Kalliopi Papathanasi - Mousiopoulou, Η απελευθέρωση της Δυτικής Θράκης, Athens
1975, pp. 15, 35, 39.
86
Mousiopoulou, Η απελευθέρωση, p. 253.
87
Mousiopoulou, Η απελευθέρωση, p. 15; Kalliopi Papathanasi-Mousiopoulou, Ελληνικά
Προξενεία στη Θράκη Β΄, Athens 1977, p. 143; Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 110Γ
(23.05.1920).
20 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

July 1920 the newly appointed High Commissioner of Eastern Thrace, Anto-
nios Sachtoures, arrived in Dede-ağaç [/dedé-aγát∫/] (present-day Alexan-
droupolis [/alexandrúpolis/]). On the 6th / 19th July 1920, Greek forces (or-
dered by the Allies) crossed the Ebhros [/évros/] River (or Meriç nehri) and
started marching to the east.88 Finally, the High Commission of Eastern
Thrace and the General Administration of Western Thrace were merged; a
decree on 2nd September 1920 appointed A. Sachtoures as the General Ad-
ministrator of Thrace, while C. Vamvakas turned over the General Admini-
stration of Western Thrace in order to take over the General Administration
of Eastern Macedonia.89
One of the first actions of the General Administration of Thrace was the
renaming of all settlements; this action was a rather political act, because it
took place very hastily. The formal Gazette of the General Administration
(that was printed in Adrianoupolis / Edirne) published Decision No. 109298
in its 2nd Volume, Issue No. 1, by which the toponymic changes were rati-
fied.90 Since a lot of everyday administrative needs had been accumulated
that had to be taken care of immediately, Law No. 2782 was issued in 1922
and entitled “Concerning the Administration of Thrace”;91 Law No. 2783 was
issued on the very same day entitled “Concerning immigration in Thrace and
the restoration of its inhabitants”,92 in order to resettle all repatriated natives,
who had abandoned their homes during the period 1913-1919.
Rhodhope Prefecture then included the Sub-prefectures of Komotini and
Xanthi; the former also included a part of Darı Dere Kazası and the latter also
a part of Ahi Çelebi Kazası.93 In this manner, during this period the Sub-
prefecture of Xanthi was expanded almost according to the previous bounda-
ries of the former Yenice / İskeçe Kazası; in addition, it then included the
Community of Iasmos (part of modern day Komotini Prefecture), but it did
not include the region of Stauroupolis that was then still part of Drama Pre-
fecture.
The administrative, political and juridical organization in the General
Administration of Thrace changed immensely after the Greek defeat in Asia
Minor and the Moudania Armistice (28th September / 11th October 1922), the
Greek evacuation of Eastern Thrace (12th / 25th October 1922) and the great
wave of refugees that followed. Finally, the term General Administration of
Thrace referred to Southeastern Thrace, which included two prefectures (of
Rhodhope and Ebhros), while the Sub-prefecture of Xanthi remained as it
was. Soon after the Decree issued in 1923 and entitled “Concerning the ad-

88
Geragas, p. 7, 14, 16.
89
Geragas, p. 56; Mousiopoulou, Η απελευθέρωση, pp. 119.
90
Nikolaos Th. Konstantinidis, Ξανά στο φως αναδιφώντας την Θράκη του Φωτίου
Αποστολίδη. Xanthi, Teleia & Pavla, 2005, p. 78.
91
Law No. 2782, “Περί Διοικήσεως της Θράκης”, Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, vol.
84Α (04.06.1922), pp. 359-361.
92
Law No. 2783, “Περί εποικισμού εν Θράκη και αποκαταστάσεως των κατοίκων
αυτής”, Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 84Α (04.06.1922), pp. 361-363.
93
Geragas, p. 58.
 ADMINSITRATIVE DIVISION IN THE XANTHI-GHENISEA REGION 21  

ministrative division of Western Thrace into two prefectures” clarified the

boundaries between the Sub-prefectures of Komotini and Xanthi. It was then
that Xanthi lost the Community of Iasmos which was attached to Komotini,
but gained the Communities of Stauroupolis, Kozloutsa and Sarntitsa.94 The
last territorial expansion took place on the 18th August 1928, when the Sub-
prefecture of Xanthi annexed the Community of Paschalia [/pashaliá/] (for-
merly Bayramlı), which included 8 villages and had been separated from the
Community of Mountzinos in 1921.95 All four communities were then part of
Drama Prefecture.
Xanthi Sub-prefecture may have been shaped according to its contempo-
rary geographical boundaries by 1928, but there still remained two adminis-
trative issues to be solved:
i. The first concerned the justice department, since there was the
Stauroupolis Magistrate’s Court (belonging to the Drama Court of the First
Instance) and the Xanthi Magistrate’s Court (belonging to the Komotini
Court of the First Instance). In 1933, Law No. 5857 entitled “Concerning the
establishment of a Court of the First Instance in Xanthi” established the Xan-
thi Court of the First Instance (in effect from 1st January 1934) that took un-
der its jurisdiction the aforementioned two Magistrate’s Courts.96
ii. The second was a public demand that lasted a little longer. It was only
in 1944 that Xanthi Sub-prefecture was recognized as Xanthi Prefecture, an
arrangement that has lasted ever since.97
Societies and civilizations are known as spatial phenomena, because they
occupy space as regions on the earth’s surface.98 Since political power de-
pends on a social as well as a spatial basis, it is obvious that social procedures

94
Νομοθετικόν Διάταγμα “Περί διαιρέσεως διοικητικώς εις δύο Νομούς της Δυτικής
Θράκης”, Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 349Α (03.12.1923), pp. 2527-2531.
95
Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, τ. 164Α (16.08.1928), p. 1290; Εφημερίς της
Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 2 (03.01.1921), p. 5.
96
Law No. 5857, «Περί συστάσεως Δικαστηρίων Πρωτοδικών εν Ξάνθη», Εφημερίς
της Κυβερνήσεως, Τεύχος Πρώτον, 310 / 16 Οκτωβρίου 1933, pp. 1831-1832.
97
Εφημερίς της Κυβερνήσεως, vol. 35Α (21.12.1944), p. 118.
98
Bill Hillier– Julienne Hanson, The Social Logic of Space, Cambridge 1984, p. 26.
22 IOANNIS M. BAKIRTZIS & NICOLAOS TH. CONSTANTINIDES

include spatial founding procedures of social phenomena.99 It also seems that

administrative phenomena are part of any social and cultural life, which
every political power depends on. In brief, a periphery reflects all spatial
functions, in which social relations are imprinted within historic frameworks;
this fact becomes a dynamic historical aspect of the structures in a given so-
ciety. As regards Xanthi’s administrative division, it seem that former plan-
ning still remains in use and the boundaries of both Xanthi Prefecture and its
broader periphery seem to be imprinted on the ground (like toponyms), in a
way that “history’s unwritten monuments” remain “anaglyphical inscriptions
on the ground”.

99
Ilias Georgantas–Yannis Psyharis, “Νέες μορφές περιφερειακή διοίκησης και
διαχείρισης δημοσίων πόρων”, Δομές κα σχέσεις εξουσίας στη σημερινή Ελλάδα,
Athens 2000, p. 767.