Abstract:

The modern provinces were established in the Ottoman Empire with the 1864 and 1867 Regulations of the Province. In this connection Shkodra was converted into a modern province in 1867/68. Some changes were made in the administrative division and the boundary of the new province. The boundary of the province became smaller due to the territorial loss after the Ottoman-Rusian War . As a result, its administrative division was revised and divided into two sanjaks, Shkodra and Drac. However the establishment and practice of the modern provincial administration in Shkodra was not easy because of the socio-cultural situation of the region. Especially, the tribal traditions and lifestyle were still alive in the sanjak of Shkodra in the north of the province. It was difficult for these communities to adopt to the modern centralist provincial order. Any clash with the local people could have weakened the Ottoman sovereignty in the region. Therefore the Ottoman government had to accept the old tribal structures and formations in the modern provincial system. In spite of these, the Ottoman State tried to serve the province of Shkodra by establishing the modern administrative system

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