Ottoman Empire Research Articles

Transformation of Silifke—A Historic Town in Anatolia in the Ottoman Period

Transformation of Silifke—A Historic Town in Anatolia in the Ottoman Period

TURKIC SOURCES ABOUT THE PROTECTORATE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE IN KASHGARIA (SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY)

The article, based on information from the works of East Turkestan historians, examines the relationship of the Ottoman Empire with the state of Yakup Beg, which arose in Kashgaria in the second half of the 19th century. The purpose of the study is to conduct an in-depth study and conduct a source study, textual analysis of information from East Turkistan historians, which contain important and valuable information about the connections of the Ottoman Empire with Kashgaria and its neighbouring regions of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.). The study is based on conclusions formed during a comparative analysis of information from Turkic written sources with archival materials and data from unique scientific literature. In the course of preparing the article, to determine the completeness and reliability of the information provided, comparative-contrastive, comparative-historical and problem-chronological methods, methods of analysis, collection, and synthesis of information were also used. This technique was used to compare essential documents on the records management of the Ottoman and Russian Empires of the period under study, stored in the archives and funds of various countries, with information from local East Turkestan historians. It should be noted that relations between the two states developed in the context of the “Great Game” policy of the great powers towards Central Asia. The works of local East Turkestan historians provide extensive information on events related to the relationship between the Zhetyshar state (the state of Yakup-bek) and the Ottoman Sultanate. The authors describe these events with tremendous verve and enthusiasm. The unity of the Turkic-speaking peoples, who for centuries nourished each other with great faith and hope, is reflected in the works of historians.

“Kings more than Men, Men less then Beasts”: a discussion of the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire in Fulke Greville’s Treatises

“Kings more than Men, Men less then Beasts”: a discussion of the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire in Fulke Greville’s Treatises

Land, indigeneity and archaeological ruins in Ottoman Palestine: the people of Beit Jibrin and the Palestine Exploration Fund

ABSTRACT Palestinian nationalism and visions of Palestine as a nation have, since the loss in 1948 of 78% of Mandate Palestine to the newly founded State of Israel, focused on notions of rootedness and connection to the land. However, as a result of the disruptions to Palestinian culture stemming from the refugee lives of a large proportion of the population, and the loss or fragmentation of many personal and institutional archives, sources for the quotidian details of rural life and how the relationship between land and people played out in different parts of historic Palestine are often scarce. This article experiments with the use of accounts by Western archaeologists as potential repositories of such information. This derives, the author argues, not just from the descriptive features of such writings, which they share with other commonly used sources such as travelogues and the memoirs of missionaries and other temporary residents, but also from the nature of archaeology itself as an activity which intimately, if at times controversially and destructively, engages with land and soil, and in which local people were often hired to carry out excavation on their own lands. While fully acknowledging the many issues raised by the use of imperial documents to consider the lives of indigenous and subaltern peoples, I seek to employ techniques such as reading against the grain to investigate how such archives can contribute granularity and detail to our understandings of rural life in Palestine at the end of the Ottoman period.

Emergence of chambers in the Turkish history: the case of Dersaadet Chamber of Commerce (DCC) as a public-agent meta-organization, 1882–1929

Purpose Building on previous historical works, this study aims to develop a framework to represent chambers as meta-organizations and present the case of Dersaadet Chamber of Commerce (DCC), based on this framework, during its emergence and evolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Design/methodology/approach In the study, a historical narrative was constructed from primary and secondary data. To complement data collected from the archives a systematic content analysis was used to explore the discourse of the chamber within its serial magazine. Findings It was found that the first chamber of the Ottoman Empire, DCC, was established according to the public law model as an extension of the economic context and the guild order, and it was observed that it increasingly conformed to this model between 1882 and 1929. Originality/value In this study, chamber models are examined for the first time according to the designated features of meta-organizational forms, built on the historical work on chambers. The case of DCC suggested that it adopted a public law model and displayed much continuity, even when significant transitions were observed during the modernization process from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic.

(Re)shaping Ottoman women: the construction of female subjectivities through educational discourse in women’s magazines (1869–1908)

ABSTRACT This paper explores how female subjectivities were constructed in the educational discourse in women’s magazines published in the Ottoman language from the first magazine that was published in 1869 until the promulgation of the Second Constitution Period in 1908 in the Ottoman Empire. The study draws on the concept of Occidentalism defined by Meltem Ahıska, as well as on Deniz Kandiyoti’s concept of patriarchal bargain. These concepts are used to identify and explain central tensions emerging in the Occidentalist fantasy in the educational discourse. I argue that, in the writings on women in women’s magazines of the late Ottoman period, we can see, first, the early traces of the Occidentalist fantasy and, second, how it is channelised to shape Ottoman women’s subjectivities within at least three tensions. I also argue that the ambivalent attitudes of the authors in these Occidentalist tensions operated as strategies for patriarchal bargaining for Ottoman women. Thus, this paper contributes to the understanding of the construction of womanhood in the late Ottoman period by showing the complexity embedded in the transnational spread and transformation of educational ideas related to women’s education.

Dolimandro’s ‘Turkish Knife’: Geopolitics and Narrative Style in Mary Wroth’s Urania

Abstract This essay examines Lady Mary Wroth’s engagement with early seventeenth-century Anglo-Ottoman relations in The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania. The Urania follows a group of rulers who create an international Christian coalition in what was historically part of the Ottoman Empire. Besides Bernadette Andrea, no other critic has seriously considered the Urania’s allusions to Ottoman peoples, places, and objects. I propose that Wroth’s prose, filled with interpretive cruxes resulting from syntactical and pronominal ambiguities, resonates with England’s ambiguously identificatory relationship with the Ottoman Empire to create a geopolitically inflected narrative style. Following critical work on early modern race as a measure of ‘proximity’, I identify English desires both to identify with and differentiate themselves from the Ottoman Empire within literary and diplomatic discourses. I demonstrate how members of the Sidney-Herbert circle negotiated overlaps in English and Ottoman political, legal, religious, and racial identity markers. I then argue that these overlaps synergize with Wroth’s use of what I term syntactical and pronominal ‘severalty’ of character voices, particularly those of her narrator and characters identified with Ottoman regions. I conclude by demonstrating how Wroth experiments with her narrative style to imagine a Christian empire that surpasses Ottoman authority. In identifying a dialectic between contemporary Anglo-Ottoman relations and Wroth’s narrative style, this essay expands critical approaches to the politics of the Urania beyond more global narratological analysis.

Aesthetic and functional analysis of mosque entrance areas in Ottoman and Safavid Empires: a comparative study

Aesthetic and functional analysis of mosque entrance areas in Ottoman and Safavid Empires: a comparative study

Ottoman heritage in Serbia on a cultural route: students’ attitudes

Cultural heritage is an important part of the cultural identity of any nation. The care of cultural heritage includes the protection and preservation of the material heritage of the majority nation and the heritage of all other ethnic communities that have left their cultural traces in the area under consideration. The protection of cultural heritage reflects the maturity of a society. That’s why the approach to the protection of cultural monuments should not be selective, narrow and strictly national, but comprehensive, preserving the cultural values of earlier eras and peoples as a general civilisational asset. The research aims to reveal how today’s youth perceive the Ottoman heritage in Serbia, their emotional relationship with it, and whether they recognise the Ottoman heritage as a possible resource for tourism in Serbia. The results indicate that the student population perceives the positive aspects of the Ottoman era in this region, as reflected in the legacy of Oriental culture and the multi-ethnic and multicultural order, to a large extent. Architectural heritage, gastronomy and intangible heritage (language and literature, legends, music, dances, traditions) are largely recognised as representative of the Ottoman cultural heritage and foreign influences on national culture. Their potential for tourism has also been recognised. However, the possible obstacles in the development process of the cultural route are foreseen in strong nationalism and negative collective memory, which were identified as key barriers.

Similar Narration of the Other: Lârî’s Narration of the Battle of Çaldıran under Ottoman’s Influence (1514)

The Battle of Çaldıran in 1514, which took place between the Ottoman Empire under Sulṭān Selīm (d. 926/1520) and the Safavid Empire under Shāh Ismāʿīl (d. 930/1524), is a key historical moment. Its interpretation, however, differs markedly between Ottoman and Safavid historical accounts. Ottoman narratives herald it as a resounding triumph, while Safavid accounts portray it as Sulṭān Selīm’s failed attempt to completely subjugate their empire. This study examines the instrumental role of Lārī, a Safavid expatriate living in the Ottoman Empire, in the production of his historical treatise ‘Mir’atü’l-advār ve Mirkātü’l-Ahbār’. It argues that Lārī, animated by loyalty to the Ottoman perspective and antipathy towards the Safavids, deliberately endorsed the Ottoman version, despite his intimate acquaintance with Safavid sources. His chronicles portray the Safavids as deviating from Islamic principles, thereby sanctioning Sulṭān Selīm’s military incursion. This study emphasizes that the sixteenth-century rivalry between the Ottomans and the Safavids gave rise to different paradigms of behavior, shaped by different ambitions such as the pursuit of material gain, social status and prestige. In this context, Lārī serves as a prominent case in point.

Mental Health and Healing Practices in the Ottoman Empire: A Historical and Psychological Analysis

This study conducts a comparative analysis of mental health care within the Ottoman Empire and its impact on current psychological understandings and treatments, highlighting the significant role of cultural and historical contexts in shaping mental health practices. It demonstrates the ongoing relevance of the Ottoman Empire's holistic and integrative approaches, emphasizing compassionate, comprehensive care that incorporates a wide array of therapeutic modalities, such as herbal remedies and spiritual healing. These methods illustrate the importance of addressing the complex nature of mental well-being. The research addresses the difficulties of applying historical mental health practices to contemporary settings, advocating for a method that honors cultural and societal variances. Insights from Ottoman mental health and healing practices provide essential lessons for today, endorsing a more empathetic, patient-focused, and culturally inclusive mental health care system. The enduring influence of Ottoman methods invites further investigation into historical mental health strategies, pointing to future research opportunities, including the integration of traditional healing into modern care models and the creation of fair mental health systems. This analysis underlines the importance of historical perspectives in enhancing contemporary mental health care, proposing an approach that respects the past while catering to the diverse needs of the global community today.

An “Earthly” Manifestation of Power: The Architectural and Urban Contexts of Iznik Tiles Produced under the Patronage of the Ottoman Palace

ABSTRACT Çini-making, which is an Ottoman underglaze ceramics tradition included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, was used extensively in the monumental architecture of the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, including mosques built by the Ottoman sultans and their family members. Iznik tiles reveal undeciphered relationships between Ottoman patronage and monumental architecture, and unwritten architectural rules and norms concerning tile designs. To contribute to the conservation, interpretation, and presentation of the mosque spaces, it is important to understand the tangible and intangible cultural qualities of Iznik tiles. This study examines the cultural qualities of Iznik tiles by analysing the historical and architectural qualities of the five selected sultanic mosques and by integrating the literature and field surveys through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) modelling and database. We aim to analyse and develop an evaluation model to investigate the cultural qualities of Iznik tiles on regional, urban, and architectural scales using GIS.

Drivers of socio-spatial change in Istanbul: Historical and longitudinal analysis of 5 cases from Bakırköy

This article aims to reveal the social and spatial change in Bakırköy through time and to identify the drivers behind this transformation. Bakırköy has been chosen as it hosted the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires, leading to its multicultural and layered structure. It has been influenced by the dominant features of each era, shaping socio-economic changes, spatial transformations, and urban planning practices over the historical process. The interaction of these socio-spatial elements within Bakırköy encompasses broad themes such as social differentiation, economic change, and urban governance, thereby presenting case studies to examine the dynamics of urban areas in Istanbul. The research has been conducted at two levels. First, spatial changes were examined through relevant documents, literature, and historical maps. The periods were determined as the state-led development period (1923-1950), liberalization period (1950-1980), neoliberal transformation period (1980-2000), and globalization period (post-2000), with the pre-1923 period being considered separately. Subsequently, five case studies were selected to represent different functional land use at the local level. The first case study involves an area known as the İskender Çelebi Farm in the 17th century, which was chosen to represent the transformation from a food production area to industrial production in the 18th century and has become a mass housing area in the 20th century, now known as the Ataköy districts. The second and third case studies represent the transformation from industrial production areas in the 19th and early 20th centuries to residential, tourism, and shopping areas. The fourth case study focuses on the coastal strip, which was used as a public space for ‘sea baths’ in the 19th century and today exists as luxury housing projects under private ownership. The fifth case study involves an area that served as an airport in the early 20th century and is currently planned for a hospital and green spaces, although it remains a public service.Through these cases, which demonstrate the shift from the productional use of space to consumption, the study seeks to answer the following questions: First, how do demographic and economic changes play a significant role in the differentiation of urban space, and in a related context, what is the local-scale impact of changing policies on the functional change of the selected cases? The findings reveal that industrial investments, supported by transportation investments, choose their locations in the changing/transforming economic order. The decentralization of industry and the privatization or transformation of public investments into consumption-focused urban areas through public-private partnerships have also been observed. The study aims to prove that this change in space lays the groundwork for social differentiation.

Sacred Landscapes of Greater Syria: Joseph Besson’s 1660 Jesuit Perspective

Abstract Joseph Besson’s 1660 account of Jesuit missions in Syria offers a rare glimpse into the region’s cultural landscape from the perspective of French Jesuits living among diverse communities of Jews, Christians (Greek-Orthodox and Catholic), and Muslims. Drawing on unpublished Jesuit relations from 1625 to 1659 and an unsigned map of Syria, this article explores Besson’s portrayal of Greater Syria, a region encompassing modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and western Jordan, within the Ottoman empire. A detailed analysis reveals that the map is likely an original Jesuit creation, highlighting how Jesuit spirituality influenced their interpretation of physical spaces. Furthermore, the study illuminates the Jesuits’ role in shaping European views of the Orient and the Holy Land, contributing to the early development of Orientalism.

Analysis of the State Archives Republican Archives Documents on Tuberculosis and Fight Against Tuberculosis in the Early Republican Period in Turkiye

Purpose: To share information obtained as a result of examination of archival documents related to tuberculosis and the fight against tuberculosis between 1923-1938. Method: Study, which is a qualitative research, was designed as a document analysis. Previous publications on subject were examined. State Archives Republican Archives Catalogue was scanned. Documents found were analysed. Selected documents were included in study. Study covers the period of Atatürk (1923-1938). Results: In early Republican period, Turkiye gave importance to fight against tuberculosis together with infectious diseases such as malaria, trachoma and syphilis. successful works initiated in Ottoman period were continued and additional works were initiated according to new practices and principles. Tuberculosis and fight against tuberculosis were discussed in "National Turkish Medical Congresses". In following period, main theme of the 11th Congress would be tuberculosis. The Ministry of Health has defined a concept for the fight against infectious diseases and implemented it. Guideline on fight against tuberculosis has started to be published. New dispensaries and sanatoriums were built. Efforts were made to increase existing bed capacity. use of BCG vaccine was introduced. New facilities were built at "Central Institute of Hygine" to start vaccine production. Participation in international exhibitions and congresses was ensured. Arrangements were made regarding the staff and salaries of doctors and nurses, and new civil servant positions were created for the fight against tuberculosis. Conclusion: It would not be wrong to say that works carried out in early Republican period were a stepping stone for the great successes to be achieved in the fight against tuberculosis in future.

Divided Selves in Exile: Third Space in Louis de Bernières’ Birds Without Wings

Set in the early 20th century, Louis de Bernieres’ novel Birds Without Wings focuses on the divided identities negatively influenced by wars, exile, and migration in southwestern Anatolia just before the decline of the Ottoman Empire and foundation of Republican Turkey. Based on the decision of population exchange, a great number of non-Muslim people were deported to a foreign land (Greece), away from the newly defined borders of the new Turkish Republic. In his novel Birds Without Wings, Louis de Bernières scrutinizes this social phenomenon and questions the significance and validity of the notions such as race, religion, ethnicity or language in the nation building process. The author deplores the loss of multicultural lifestyle in a utopian, idyllic Anatolian town with the displacement of Greek and Armenian residents. The multicultural structure of society penetrates into the formal and narrative features of the novel, such as multiplicities in viewpoints, a mixture of genres, different languages and the use of nicknames for protagonists. Intercultural encounter provokes hybridity and leads to the emergence of multiplicities in society. However, the exchange of population puts an end to the long-established multicultural society structure, a dynamic cultural exchange and negotiation. The use of multiple voices, multiple characters, narrative techniques, and multiple languages in fact celebrates the hybridity and plurality of worlds throughout the novel. Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of the in-between third space challenges the formation of cultural identity in hybrid societies, simultaneously embracing multiplicities, pluralities, and hybridity. The writer signals to the existence of such a harmonious heterogenous society in Anatolia in the past time and laments for the loss of such an idyllic lifestyle reigned by mutual love, respect, tolerance and cooperation. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate how Bhabha’s conceptualisation of “third space” finds a place in the lives of divided selves in Louis de Bernières’ Birds Without Wings and to demonstrate how it deconstructs the binary thought and essentialist identity in intercultural encounters.

The Changing Nature of Policing Studies in Türkiye

The landscape of police studies in Türkiye is deeply entwined with its historical context, shaped by the presence of law enforcement organizations dating back to the Ottoman Empire. The growth of academic research in Türkiye has mirrored the expansion of universities and scholars throughout its history. Recent data from 2022-2023 indicates a remarkable surge in higher education institutions, students, and faculty members, resulting in a wide array of research areas, encompassing roughly 250 diverse subjects, including policing. Nevertheless, the evolution of police studies in Türkiye is not solely a consequence of academic growth. Political history, particularly the military coups until the early 1990s, may have restricted research and led to self-censorship. This study aims to examine the evolution of police studies in Türkiye by analyzing 381 articles published between 1943 and 2022, drawing from a Turkish-source database like Dergipark. The analysis employs a frequency analysis methodology using the SPSS program. The study's ultimate objective is to provide a foundation for future international comparative studies, addressing areas necessitating development within Turkish police studies, while also identifying deficiencies, limitations, methods, and analyses. In the contemporary context, research related to policing extends beyond the humanities and social sciences, embracing diverse fields such as health, technology, and sports. According to the results, policing studies have undergone a profound transformation, shifting from a narrow focus on security and legal concerns to comprehensive exploration of contemporary societal issues. This evolution has been fueled by academic enthusiasm, fostering interdisciplinary research in Türkiye over the past two decades. Türkiye, in particular, has witnessed a growing interest in the concept of policing, extending its influence into fields such as history, political science, sociology, psychology, sports, and medicine.

Moral Crisis in the Ottoman Empire: Society, Politics, and Gender during WWI

Moral Crisis in the Ottoman Empire: Society, Politics, and Gender during WWI

Back to the future: a belated history of ‘new’ science in the Ottoman Empire

Abstract What happens when fragmentary and too much information is flowing across the world? This article sketches the emergence of one such informational flow through the ubiquitous concept of ‘new medicine’ in the seventeenth-century Ottoman Empire in a historiographical corrective. Rather than presenting it as a unified category, I argue that Ottoman physicians used ‘new’ as a loose, multivalent and discursive term whose potentiality lay in its malleability for future use. Ready to bear any contingent meaning at a certain point in the future, the ‘new’ became a strategic tool to cope with the uncertainties evoked by early modern globalization and local epistemic crisis. It also helped Ottoman scholars and physicians develop a tentative design for how much information, and of what sort, was just enough for the learned and laypeople to know during precarious times. I further discuss the fact that since the Ottoman motivation for the usage of the notion of the ‘new’ is without a decisive motive, it still haunts our historiographical debates about what was truly new about Ottoman science.

The Rise of the Western Armenian Diaspora in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire: From Refugee Crisis to Renaissance, written by Henry R. Shapiro

The Rise of the Western Armenian Diaspora in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire: From Refugee Crisis to Renaissance, written by Henry R. Shapiro