Nahiyah

Administrative division in some Arab and Central Asian territories

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A nāḥiyah (Arabic: نَاحَيِة [ˈnaːħijah], plural nawāḥī نَوَاحِي [naˈwaːħiː]), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division while in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Xinjiang, and the former Ottoman Empire, where it was also called a bucak, it is a third-level or lower division. It can constitute a division of a qadaa, mintaqah or other such district-type division and is sometimes translated as "subdistrict".

## Ottoman Empire[edit]

The nahiye (Ottoman Turkish: ناحیه) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire, smaller than a kaza. The head was a mütesellim (governor) who was appointed by the Pasha.

The kaza was a subdivision of a sanjak[1] and corresponded roughly to a city with its surrounding villages. Kazas, in turn, were divided into nahiyes (each governed by a müdür) and villages (karye, each governed by a muhtar).[2] Revisions of 1871 to the administrative law established the nahiye (still governed by a müdür) as an intermediate level between the kaza and the village.[2]

The term was adopted by the Principality of Serbia (1817–1833) and Principality of Montenegro (1852–1910), as nahija (Serbian Cyrillic: нахија).

## Examples[edit]

### Arabic-speaking countries[edit]

Country  | Level above (Arabic)  | Level above (English)  | Main article

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Syria | mintaqah (formerly qadaa)  | district |
Palestine | Liwa' | governorates | Districts of Palestine
Iraq | Qadaa | district | Subdistricts of Iraq
Lebanon |  |  |
Jordan | Liwa' | governorate | Nahias of Jordan

### Turkic-speaking territories[edit]

* Xinjiang, China: a subdivision of a prefectural.
* Ottoman Empire: subdistrict, commune, parish; a subdivision of a kaza (قضاء).

### Other[edit]

* Districts of Tajikistan: a subdivision of a province.
* Donji Milanovac, a town in Serbia

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Arabic terms for administrative divisions

First-level|

* Muhafazah (محافظة governorate)
* Wilayah (ولاية province)
* Mintaqah (منطقة region)
* Mudiriyah (مديرية directorate)
* Imarah (إمارة emirate)
* Baladiyah (بلدية municipality)
* Shabiyah (شعبية "popularate")

Second / third-level|

* Mintaqah (منطقة region)
* Qadaa (قضاء district)
* Nahiyah (ناحية subdistrict)
* Markaz (مركز district)
* Mutamadiyah (معتمدية "delegation")
* Daerah/Daïra (دائرة circle)
* Liwa (لواء banner / sanjak)

City / township-level|

* Amanah (أمانة municipality)
* Baladiyah (بلدية municipality)
* Ḥai (حي neighborhood / quarter)
* Mahallah (محلة)
* Qarya (قرية)
* Sheyakhah (شياخة "neighborhood subdivision")
* Majlis Mahalliyy (مجلس محلي local council)
* Majlis ʾIqlimiyy (مجلس اقليمي regional council)

English translations given are those most commonly used.

## References[edit]

1. ^ Selçuk Akşin Somel. "Kazâ". The A to Z of the Ottoman Empire. Volume 152 of A to Z Guides. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. p. 151. ISBN 9780810875791
2. ^ a b Gökhan Çetinsaya. The Ottoman Administration of Iraq, 1890–1908. SOAS/Routledge Studies on the Middle East. Routledge, 2006. p. 8-9. ISBN 9780203481325

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