The Greek Community of Izmir/Smyrna in an Age of Transition: The Relationship between Ottoman Centre-Local Governance and the Izmir/Smyrna Greeks, 1840-1866

Abstract

In the process of the economic development of Izmir, and the give and take of centre-periphery negotiations, the central authority attempted to re-integrate Izmir into its administrative and political structure in the nineteenth century, in accordance with the centralising or modernising Tanzimat reforms. However, Tanzimat reforms did not disturb the social cohesion of Izmir, which the city reproduced, with its local character and some peculiar dynamics, over the centuries. This paper concerns the impact of modernisingand centralisingstate regulations on the Greek community of Izmir and the relationship between local governance and Izmir Greeks. Some Ottoman-Turkish documents and Greek newspapers of the time are used as first hand sources. Within the given period on which this article is focused (1840-1866), Izmir was neither a province nor had a municipality. In the absence of modern urban administrative developments, Izmir Greeks constructed their own ways of communication with the central and local authorities.