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wilaya
Sign in to saveAlso known as wilāya, wilayah, wilāyah, wilayat, wilāyāt, wilāyat, vilayet
A wilaya or wilayah (, plural ; ; ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "w-l-y", "to govern": a wāli—"governor"—governs a wilāya, "that which is governed". Under the Caliphate, the term referred to any constituent near-sovereign state.
A wilaya is an administrative division in Arabic-speaking countries, typically translated as a state, province, or governorate. The term comes from Arabic roots meaning "to govern," reflecting how a governor (wāli) administers a wilaya as a distinct territorial unit—a system that historically originated under the Caliphate as a way to organize near-sovereign regions.
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~5 min read
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Use in specific countries
- North Africa and West Asia
- China
- Kenya and Tanzania
- Southeast Asia
- Ottoman Empire
- Islamic State
- Al-Shabaab
- Central Asia and Caucasus
- South Asia
- See also
- References
A wilaya or wilayah (, plural ; ; ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "w-l-y", "to govern": a wāli—"governor"—governs a wilāya, "that which is governed". Under the Caliphate, the term referred to any constituent near-sovereign state.
== Use in specific countries == In Arabic, wilaya is used to refer to the states of the United States, and the United States of America as a whole is called (), literally meaning "the American United States".