At the beginning of the 20th century, Erzurum Vilayet reportedly had an area of 29,614 square miles (76,700 km2), while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 645,702.[3] The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.[3] It was one of the six Armenian vilayets in the eastern part of Anatolia, and, prior to World War I, many Armenians lived there. Also there lived small communities of Georgians, Pontic Greeks and Caucasus Greeks, and other ethnic groups, both Muslim and Christian (mainly Armenian Apostolic).
History
The Erzurum Eyalet was one of the first Ottoman provinces to become a vilayet after an administrative reform in 1865, and by 1867 it had been reformed into the Erzurum Vilayet.[4]
In 1875 it was divided in six vilayets: Erzurum, Van, Hakkari, Bitlis, Hozat (Dersim) and Kars-Çildir. In 1888 by an imperial order Hakkari was joined to the vilayet of Van, and Hozat to Mamuret ul-Aziz.[5]
In 1893, there were in total 19 Kaza (districts). In all kaza's Muslims (Sunni and Alevi) were the majority.[8] Lowest percentage of Muslims (64%) was in the kaza of Hınıs.[8] Most of the Protestants and Catholics were Armenian.
Population of the Sanjaks, in thousands, according to the Ottoman census of 1893[8]