Rumelia Eyalet

Eyalet of Rumelia Eyalet-i Rumeli
1365–1867
The Rumelia Eyalet in 1609
Status	Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire
Capital	Edirne (1362–1530) Sofia (1530–1836) Monastir (1836–1867) 41°1′N 21°20′E / 41.017°N 21.333°E / 41.017; 21.333
History
• Established	1365
• Disestablished	1867
Area
1844[1]	124,630 km2 (48,120 sq mi)
Population
• 1844[1]	2,700,000
Preceded by Succeeded by Byzantine Empire Second Bulgarian Empire Despotate of Serbia Despotate of Dobruja Lordship of Prilep Gazaria (Genoese colonies) Principality of Theodoro Kingdom of Bosnia League of Lezhe Venetian Albania Latinokratia Kingdom of Hungary Eyalet of the Archipelago Kefe Eyalet Bosnia Eyalet Ioannina Eyalet Principality of Serbia Salonica Eyalet Adrianople Eyalet Silistra Eyalet Niš Eyalet Vidin Eyalet Habsburg Monarchy

The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia (Ottoman Turkish: ایالت روم ایلی, romanized: Eyālet-i Rūm-ėli),^[2] known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli until 1591,^[3] was a first-level province (beylerbeylik or eyalet) of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans ("Rumelia"). For most of its history, it was the largest and most important province of the Empire, containing key cities such as Edirne, Yanina (Ioannina), Sofia, Filibe (Plovdiv), Manastır/Monastir (Bitola), Üsküp (Skopje), and the major seaport of Selânik/Salonica (Thessaloniki). It was also among the oldest Ottoman eyalets, lasting more than 500 years with several territorial restructurings over the long course of its existence.

The capital was in Adrianople (Edirne), Sofia, and finally Monastir (Bitola). Its reported area in an 1862 almanac was 48,119 square miles (124,630 km²).^[4]