Ottoman archives
| Ottoman Archives | |
|---|---|
| Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri | |
| Location | Kağıthane, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
The Ottoman archives are a collection of historical sources related to the
The main collection, in the Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri (The Prime Minister's Ottoman Archives) in Istanbul, holds the central State Archives (Devlet arşivleri).
After more than a century in the center of the old city, the Ottoman state archives were relocated in 2013 to the Kağıthane district of Istanbul.
History
The present collection contains a few documents from the earliest period up to the reign of
With the establishment of the Republic, the Hazine-i Evrak was transformed into Başvekalet Arşiv Umum Müdürlüğü (The General Directorate of the Prime Ministry) and eventually the Başbakanlık Arşiv Genel Müdürlüğü. During this period, the records of various nineteenth-century Ottoman offices and administrative authorities were added to the collections.[citation needed]
Concurrent with these changes and additions, Turkish scholars took the first steps to classify and catalog the various collections beginning in the 1910s. These early efforts produced a number of classified collections (tasnif) which are still cited according to the name of the scholar who created the catalog. Today the work of cataloging the vast collection continues.[1]
After more than a century in the center of the old city, the Ottoman archives were relocated in 2013 to the Kağıthane district of Istanbul.[citation needed]
The archives and the Armenian genocide
The Ottoman Archives not only contain information about the
The European Parliament stressed in a resolution voted on 15 April 2015, that Turkey should use the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian genocide as an important opportunity to recognize the Armenian genocide and open its archives.[7]
The
According to Sabancı University Professor Halil Berktay, there were two serious efforts to purge the archives of any incriminating documents on the Armenian question. The first took place in 1918, presumably before the Allied forces occupied Istanbul. Berktay and others point to testimony in the 1919 Turkish Military Tribunals indicating that important documents had been "stolen" from the archives. Berktay believes a second purge was executed in conjunction with Ozal's efforts to open the archives by a group of retired diplomats and generals led by former Ambassador Muharrem Nuri Birgi.[9]
Gallery
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Plans for Abdul Hamid Bridge, Istanbul -
Fatih's promise to protect Christians -
Handwriting samples of Sultans Mustafa IV (top) and Selim III (bottom)
See also
References
- ^ a b Christopher Markiewicz and Nir Shafir, “The Ottoman State Archives”, Hazine, 10 October 2013
- ^ Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Masters, Prime Minister's Ottoman Archives, Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, Facts On File, Inc. 2009
- ^ a b Sarafian, Ara (Spring 1999). "The Ottoman Archives Debate and the Armenian Genocide" (PDF). Armenian Forum. 2 (1): 34–44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ^ Gingeras, Ryan (2009). Sorrowful Shores: Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire, 1912-1923. New York: Oxford University Press. p. vii.
- ^ Theriault, Henry C. (2003). "Denial and Free Speech: The Case of the Armenian Genocide," in Looking Backward, Moving Forward: Confronting the Armenian Genocide, ed. Richard G. Hovannisian. New Brunswick, NJ: Transactions Publishers, p. 256, note 30.
- The Young Turks Crime against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire(Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity)
- ^ Armenian genocide centenary: MEPs urge Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations. European Parliament. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015
- ^ Viewing cable 04ISTANBUL1074, ARMENIAN "GENOCIDE" AND THE OTTOMAN ARCHIVES. WikiLeaks. Retrieved 10 April 2015
- ISBN 978-1-351-14112-3.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-1-101-57523-9.
External links
