abstract:Sanjaks (, }} "Prefectures") were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag (derived from root word -sanc, "to immerse sth" for a flag is used by immersing to ground) .
For good measure, Turkey also wants Syria to renounce its claims on the southern province of Hatay (the former sanjak of Alexandretta, which the French handed to Turkey in 1939).