Ottoman Ayan
The Ottoman ayan (singlular: ayn) were local notables or dynasts that maintained different extents of administrative control over swaths of land in the Ottoman Empire from the 16th to the early 19th centuries. These dynasts held significant autonomy from the central Ottoman government but did not challenge the state. Though the title could only be earned by Muslims, their leadership was secular. This elite class consisted of, “Wealthy merchants, heads of Janissary garrisons, leaders of important craft guilds, those who had bought the right to collect taxes for the government in Istanbul, and those who supervised the distributions of wealth generated by, and the maintenance of, pious endowments.” Ultimately, their presence was a part of a greater decentralizing trend experienced in the Ottoman Empire beginning in the 16th century, one which would come to define the Empire’s structure until its fall in the early 20th century.
Territorial evolution of the Ottoman Empire
The origins of the Ottomans can be traced back to the late 11th century when a few small Muslim emirates of Turkic origins and nomadic nature—called Beyliks—started to be found in different parts of Anatolia. Their main role was to defend Seljuk border areas with the Byzantine Empire —a role reinforced by the migration of many Turks to Asia Minor. However, in 1073 and following the victory of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, Beyliks sought an opportunity to override the Seljuk authority and declare their own sovereignty openly.