Şam'da eğitim sorunu ve Tanzimat'ın Suriye'de geçerli kılınması meselesi (1861) (The issue of education in Damascus and the application of the Tanzimat in Syria (1861))

This article examines two documents which represent a historical moment in the foundation of Ottoman government education in Damascus. These documents originate from the Sublime Council (Meclis-i Vâlâ) and addressed to the governor of Damascus as well as to the Ministry of Finances and to Keçecizâde Fuad Pasha. They entail the setting up of a local educational administration, to be directed by Mahmud Hamza Efendi, an ulema of Damascus, as well as the supervision of local pious foundations (vakf). The document texts reveal the main factors and worries of the Sublime Porte to invest in education at the aftermath of the civil war in Mount Lebanon (1858-60) as well as the massacre of Damascus (1860).