ABSTRACT
The province of Elâzig (shortened form of Mamûret ül-Azîz) covered the districts of Harput (Kharpût), Mezre, Malatya (Malâtiya) and Hozat (Khozât). In the days of Sultan Abdül’aziz (1861–76) Mezre became an important governmental and military centre, and was called Mamûret ül-Azîz (‘the town rendered prosperous by Azîz’) by the ‘vali’ Ismâ’îl Paşa in honour of the Sultan. After the proclamation of the ‘vilâyet nizamnamesi’ (province regulations), together with Harput it formed a ‘mutasarriflik’, first attached to Diyarbakir and then independent (1875), until 1296H/1878-9 when it was re-organized as a separate province. ( 1 )
