Beylerbey

Beylerbey (from Beylerbeyi, Osmanli Turkish for "Bey of Beys", circa "Commander of Commanders" or "Lord of Lords"), originally Beglerbeg(i) in older Turkic, is the Ottoman title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators (all military officers, at high levels generally pashas), in western terms a Governor-general, with authority over the Governors (often styled wali) of several vilayet), always (if not yet made) a Pasha, second ?only to the Grand Vizier.

Initially it was used for very large parts of the empire later the title (with many different spelling variants) was used in varous much smaller Ottoman eyalets for centuries.

Beylerbeyi is also the name of a neighborhood of Istanbul, on the Asian side of the city.

Sources and references

(incomplete)
*RoyalArk- OttomanTurkey-Glossary

See also

* Beqlare-beq, its non-equivalent cognate in Mongolian
* Bey, his jurisdiction Beylik
* Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire