At the beginning of the 20th century, it reportedly had an area of 62,180 square kilometres (24,009 sq mi), while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 1,000,000.

[5] The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.

[6] The new provincial law was implemented in Damascus in 1865, and the reformed province was named Suriyya/Suriye, reflecting a growing historical consciousness among the local intellectuals.

[7] In 1884, the governor of Damascus made a proposal to establish a new vilayet of southern Syria, though nothing came out of this.

[7] As of 1897, the Vilayet Syria was divided into four sanjaks: Damascus, Hama, Hauran and Karak.