ABSTRACT
Neither the distant power of the central state nor the immediate infl uence of local notables was unfamiliar to Tokat’s populace during the later Tanzimat years. What was novel was the reconstitution of these powers into parallel structures of local government under the umbrella of a newly expanded central state bureaucracy. Judicial and administrative reforms in Tokat merged central, provincial, and local streams of government and couched them in the state’s newly adopted rhetoric of public welfare. From their joint appointments on advisory councils, many state bureaucrats, notables, and commercial leaders met and dispensed advice and rulings about local matters of law, taxation, and infrastructure.
