Jews in the State Agencies and Offices of the Bosnian Vilayat from 1868 to 1878 (A Framework of Understanding Issues of Minorities in the Ottoman Empire in the Second Half of the 19^th Century)

This paper deals with the data on the participation of Jews in state agencies and offices of the Bosnian Vilayat from 1868 to 1878. The aim is to provide a general framework for understanding of problems and questions of “minorities” in the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 19^th century. Detailed information about the participation of Jews in Ottoman administration in the Vilāyet-i Bosna is taken mostly from the Bosnian Salnames (the official annual reports of Diwan of Vilayat Bosnia) and the official newspapers of Vilayat Government and other magazines published during that time, such as Bosna, Sarajevski cvjetnik, Vjestnik and Neretva. This paper draws attention to the fact that the law regulations on equal representation of all minorities in local authorities were applied to all residents in the Empire at that time. It is especially noteworthy when studying and interpreting various events and situations in the Balkans in the second half of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.