Tahrir Documents is a collection of pamphlets, newsletters, signs, poems, and other texts gathered in and around Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, between March 2011 and May 2012. The physical documents are housed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Special Collections at the Charles E. Young Research Library. However, all documents are available online at www.TahrirDocuments.org as scanned PDF files with accompanying English translations. The archive seeks to create a record of the print culture of the Egyptian uprising against Hosni Mubarak and its aftermath.
Tahrir Square, January 25, 2012: an archive in the making
History
Tahrir Documents was founded in 2011 through the efforts of a group of American graduate students in Cairo and explicitly states its lack of affiliation “with any political organization, Egyptian or otherwise.” Generally speaking, documents were gathered once a week on Fridays, when they were distributed to crowds in Tahrir Square. They were then scanned and translated by volunteers, primarily Egyptians and Americans, a number of whom were students of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA). The founders of Tahrir Documents intended the archive to illustrate the richness and diversity of print culture in Tahrir Square at a time when media discourse on the “Egyptian Revolution” gave primacy to the impact of online social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Further, translating these documents into English represented an attempt to give the diverse and polyvalent texts available in Tahrir Square a wider English-speaking readership. Efforts to collect and translate documents continued through May 2012, at which point no further documents were added to the collection.
Collection
The collection includes a wide range of documents collected in and around Tahrir Square from spring 2011 to spring 2012, including newsletters and broadsheets, pamphlets, announcements, advertisements, and poetry. The archive also includes a small number of largely text-based signs held by protestors at Tahrir Square. Though most of the documents are stand-alone pieces, there are several newsletters of which multiple issues were collected and translated. Each document exists in the original along with a full English language translation. The date of collection and of translation are included on the Tahrir Documents website.
The Tahrir Documents website includes 567 documents. In this respect it differs from other efforts to document and archive the Egyptian uprising of 2011 and the events that followed, such as University on the Square, R-Shief, or the Committee to Document the 25th January Revolution, which include a much wider range of material (electronic media, photographs, oral histories, music, and so on). The archive’s self-imposed limits are generally speaking a boon for researchers in that they result in a relatively coherent collection—one knows, for example, that all of these documents were produced in Egypt and were physically present in the space of Tahrir Square on the date collected—but the archive’s discontinuation in May 2012 can be frustrating in light of subsequent events in Egypt.
The Research Experience
All documents in the collection are digitized and available online, making them easily available to researchers throughout the world. Scans or photographs of the original documents are posted with translations on the Tahrir Documents website and can be downloaded by users. Documents are posted in chronological order according to translation date and are also divided into seven main categories according to subject: Revolution, Politics, Solidarity, Culture, Constitution, Regime, and Religion. Each category includes a number of sub-categories, and documents are frequently listed under multiple categories or sub-categories. Most useful, perhaps, is the ability to search the full texts of translations for the entire collection. Unfortunately, it is not possible to conduct searches in Arabic. As the documents were translated by a large group of volunteers, some inconsistencies in translation or transliteration do at times crop up; for the most part, however, this is not a huge hurdle (most names and places are transliterated in modified International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies style, for example). In general, the interface is easy to use and accessing the documents poses no difficulties.
Broadly speaking, these documents would be of interest to researchers of post–January 2011 Egypt, especially the political culture of Tahrir Square. Those whose focus extends to Arab political culture more generally will also find rich primary material, as the documents include political tracts, manifestos, and explanatory notes from political currents ranging from salafi to revolutionary socialist. Indeed, given the location where these documents were collected, it is not surprising that the vast majority are explicitly political in content; however, the location-specific—rather than subject-specific—method of collection has resulted in the inclusion of some surprising and unusual pieces. Those more interested in Egyptian popular culture, for example, will also find poems, fiction, and advertisements collected here.
Sample document on TahrirDocuments.org
Access
The Tahrir Documents web site is easily accessible. Those who want to access the original documents must go to the Department of Special Collections at the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA. Visitors have to register and documents are delivered in one to two days. The Department of Special Collections is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except during holidays; non-UCLA visitors must be over eighteen years old and present a government-issued photo identification to obtain an access-only card from the circulation desk at the Young Research Library.
Upcoming News and Rumors
The online component of Tahrir Documents will officially migrate to a UCLA library website in the coming months. This transition will bring with it a new interface and metadata, which should allow for new ways of searching and filtering results.
The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay, formerly Hilâl-i Ahmer) is a charity organization founded during the late Ottoman period on the model of the Red Cross societies. Its activities in the areas of medicine, care for prisoners of war, and other social services, particularly during the World War I period and the early years of the Turkish Republic, make the archives of this organization a vital resource for historians interested in medicine, public health, war, and charity alike during this formative period. Recently, its archives in Ankara have been made public through a searchable online catalog, opening an exciting new field of research for Ottoman and Turkish historians.
Source: kızılay.org
History
The Ottoman Red Crescent was founded in 1868 partly in response to the experience of the Crimean War, in which disease overshadowed battle as the main cause of death and suffering among Ottoman soldiers. It was the first Red Crescent society of its kind and one of the most important charity organizations in the Muslim world. Its role in battlefield care made it integral to late Ottoman war efforts. The Red Crescent also played a critical role in the development of the young Turkish Republic’s health institutions.
In 2006, a major overhaul of these archives was initiated to make them available to researchers. This includes a cataloging effort similar to the organization of the Ottoman State Archives (Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi), wherein each document is cataloged, described, and shortly thereafter digitized. Most of the documents pertaining to the 1868-1911 period have been cataloged and efforts continue for later periods.
Red Crescent Relief Efforts in Jerusalem c1917 (source: US Library of Congress)
Collection
The Red Crescent archives contain a variety of documents pertaining to health and health services in the Ottoman Empire and Republican Turkey. For the Ottoman period (including World War I), these documents almost exclusively concern budget and funding issues along with services pertaining to war, particularly the 1877-78 Russo-Ottoman War (93 Harbi), the Italian invasion of Libya, the Balkan Wars, and of course, the First World War. There is very little overlap between the collections of the Ottoman archives and the Red Crescent.
In addition to offering a glimpse at late Ottoman medical institutions, social historians of the Ottoman Empire will also be drawn to documentation regarding Ottoman prisoners of war, which includes letters about and by Ottoman soldiers. The Red Crescent boasts over 300,000 POW cards from all sides of the conflict containing the names and origins of prisoners, their place of capture, and sometimes other biographical or health information. The collection also contain letters and requests from prisoners of war during the conflict. In this regard, researchers of other regions such as Europe or South Asia will find these archives useful as the Red Crescent was the intermediary between the Allies and Allied prisoners held in Ottoman territories.
During the Republican period and even during the War of Independence, the Red Crescent took on an increasingly national character and expanded its function to issues of health in the cities and countryside. Though it has not been well-studied, the contents of the collection indicate that the Red Crescent was part and parcel of early Republican health services in rural settings, where relatively few institutions had been established by the Ottoman state. Here, there is somewhat more overlap with the collections of the Başbakanlık Republican Archives, though the Red Crescent may prove to be much richer than the former in the area of health as its catalog grows.
In addition to archival documents, there is also a decent collection of visual materials such as photographs and postcards.
The collections include several varieties of documents, including hospital reports, health statistics, personal letters, account books, and reports by health inspectors. Due to the organization of the digital catalog, researchers cannot access files or folders in their sequential order. The archive’s online search function only provides individual files with no connection to surrounding material. In order to identify documents of a particular variety or source, researchers will need to identify particular boxes of interest or the names of particular officials or organizations associated with the research topic and search using these terms (more on this below).
The contents of the Red Crescent’s collections are largely unexplored by researchers and not fully known to the organization itself. According to the archive’s website, there are some 1500 boxes and 550 bound notebooks in Ottoman and French from the period beginning with the organizations founding until the language reforms in 1928. However, it is our experience that the contents are a bit more varied than this. For example, this sample document that we have provided originates from the Egyptian Red Crescent and is entirely in Arabic.
Researchers will need a command of modern Turkish to be effective, though of course, most of the documents from the Ottoman period are in Ottoman Turkish.
The original documents are stored at the archives, but researchers will not be issued original documents. Rather, researchers must consult materials in the digital environment unless they have not been digitized. (Source: kizilay.org)
The Research Experience:
For researchers, the main question regarding the Red Crescent archives is whether or not to go to the physical archives itself. The archive is located in the Etimesgut neighborhood of the Ankara suburbs, and while researchers are free to work there, there is no proper workspace. Moreover, researchers will be expected to order documents through the website and receive photocopies by mail regardless of whether they go there or not. Thus, it is possible for the entire process to be handled through correspondence. Here, we will make the argument for a visit to the archives in person and explain in which situations this is necessary.
Since this archive is relatively hard to use and access, a trip to Red Crescent Archives is probably not worth your time unless you are working on specific issues related to health, medicine, prisoners, or war, though it is always worth searching the catalog to see what might be available remotely.
There are several factors that will encourage committed scholars to make a visit arising from the limitations of the catalog. Many of the descriptions are short or obscure. Some, for example, only mention the individual who composed them, making them utterly impossible to find via keyword search unless one knows to search for that individual. Moreover, the one sentence description may prove inadequate in determining whether or not to purchase the fairly pricy photocopies (more on this below). Going to the archive in person will allow you to see entire folders (which represent the original file boxes) of the documents, which usually have a shared theme or point of origin. This also enables you to get a closer look at the actual contents of documents before ordering them and gives you access to some paper documents that have not yet been digitized. If you are already in Turkey, a visit to the archive will ultimately save you a great deal of time and money, and it will surely yield better research results.
Red Crescent Library and Museum (from kızılay.org)
Access
The archive is open weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00 and closes for a one-hour lunch break at noon. Researchers are asked to contact the archivists before coming, as completing the application and request process by email will expedite the research process (information here). A passport is sufficient to gain access, but bring a second form of ID to leave with the guards. Laptops are forbidden as is photography. Spoken Turkish is absolutely essential to use the archive effectively, even though some documents pertaining to foreign POWs will be in English and French. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, and you will likely be the only researcher there on any given day. Wheelchair access may be an issue as the reading room is on the second floor.
Reproductions
The archive’s reproduction fees are relatively expensive, as revenue generated from photocopies are considered a donation to the society. Photocopies cost 50 kuruş per pose, while scans of all documents cost 10 TL per pose. The archive does not fulfill reproduction requests on site, so researchers must provide a mailing address in order to receive copies or scans. Requests are fulfilled promptly and copies are generally obtained within one or two weeks.
Transportation and Food
Although there is a neighborhood in the heart of Ankara named Kızılay, researchers will be disappointed to find the site of the Red Crescent archives is in a much more remote location in Etimesgut, a northern suburb of Ankara accessible mainly by minibus. It occupies two buildings at the back of a large site operated by the Red Crescent, so it will be normal to be a little disoriented during the first visit. There is essentially nowhere to eat near the site. There is a serviceable cafeteria used by the employees, who will likely offer you to accompany them to lunch if you are just there for a day or two. In general though, we recommend researchers pack a lunch.
Miscellaneous
The library staff will give researchers a short tour of the modest museum and library at the archives upon their visit. This museum contains some important visual materials, artifacts, and books and publications by and about the organization that may be consulted by researchers. If you are doing extensive research at the Red Crescent, particularly on the institution itself, inquire about the contents of the museum as it may contain some very interesting materials.
Future Developments
As the digitization and cataloging process is ongoing, it is always worth checking in periodically to see if anything on your topic has been added.
(Editors’ Note: This is the first of a series of essays that explore different methods and techniques for conducting research and that delve deeper into the histories and ethics of the archives themselves.)
How Digitization has Transformed Manuscript Research: New Methods for Early Modern Islamic Intellectual History
Scholars often treat manuscript libraries only as repositories of unpublished primary sources. We show up at a library, request a manuscript or two, and leave shortly thereafter with a digital or paper copy in hand or we sit at a desk for hours each day, transcribing a manuscript word by word. In most traditional manuscript libraries, this method made sense. Librarians might only pull manuscripts once a day, or even once a week, bringing only a couple of manuscripts at a time. In such conditions, the most efficient course of action is to peruse a library’s catalog, request a few key manuscripts, and read them closely.
Today, however, the mass digitization of manuscripts is blurring the long held boundaries between manuscript libraries and archives and altering the act of research in the process. Scholars often view the changes that digitization entails in a negative light as the physical document is increasingly removed from the hands of the researcher. Here, though, I would like to take a different approach and explore the true possibilities provided by digitization as scholars are able to ask new questions, discover unknown texts, and gain a different understanding of intellectual life in the early modern Islamic world in particular. My belief is that a fundamental shift has occurred now that researchers can view twenty, fifty, or even one hundred manuscripts a day rather than two to three. In what follows, I examine some of the techniques we can use and the insights we can gain when given the opportunity to look at thousands of manuscripts during a research period. Others, of course, have written about the new possibilities for historical scholarship offered by the digitization of archival material, often focusing on the chance for group projects by geographically dispersed researchers. Research with digital manuscripts, though, is still largely an individual affair that requires spending many a long hour laboring away in a dimly lit library, one’s face illuminated only by the glow of a computer monitor. The conclusions below might seem obvious to those researchers already at work in digitized manuscript libraries, but I think it is worth discussing openly the impact of these technologies on the way we research. I hope that my remarks will not only open a discussion among researchers but also inform librarians and archivists as they continue to digitize their collections.
Bookcase by Manolo Valdes
Medieval Precedents and Early Modern Challenges
Our current model of manuscript research is largely the result of the preoccupation of earlier generations of scholars with the medieval Islamic period (c. 800-1200). Until recently, scholars saw this period as an ideal golden age, a time when Islamic thought reached its intellectual climax in all fields. The number of surviving manuscripts was relatively small and those texts that had survived are often only found in renditions from the early modern period (1400-1800). For scholars who studied the medieval period with a “golden-age” mindset, the exercise at hand was to take the few remaining copies of a medieval text and prepare a critical edition in order to rid the text of the corrupting accretions of the ensuing centuries. The desired result was an ur-text in the form of a printed book, reflecting the original intentions of the properly ascribed author that scholars could then use for further analysis. We bear the legacy of this model today whether we use the fruits of these scholars’ labor in research libraries or continue to create critical editions or catalogs ourselves.
When we attempt to study the relatively neglected early modern period (1400-1800) a new set of challenges emerges. The quantity of material overwhelms scholars. There is simply more: more authors, more manuscripts, more copyists, more readers, more marginal notes. Librarians estimate that two to three million Arabic-script manuscripts currently exist in the world, the vast majority copied in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, today stowed away in public or private collections. On top of this, many of the authors and the titles are largely unknown to most scholars. Those texts and authors, like Evliya Çelebi or Mustafa Ali, that are traditionally well-known to scholars of the Ottoman Empire only comprise a tiny sliver of this vast corpus of materials. In reality, I would estimate, albeit unscientifically, that we only know of 10-15% of the works and authors of the early modern period, and even these we often know superficially. What little secondary literature that exists can likewise mislead us as to which treatises and authors were actually popular and widely read in the period. It is my personal belief that this relative surfeit of material is due to a gradual expansion of manuscript production and a transformation in reading practices although such claims are relatively under-researched.
Using a Library as an Archive
By changing the manuscript library into an archive, digitization provides us one set of tools to tackle this vast corpus of material and to explore this altered world of early modern readership. To explain what I mean by this phrase let me briefly generalize about the traditional manner of working in manuscript libraries (although I readily recognize that the line separating manuscript libraries and archives is rather artificial). In a traditional manuscript library, you are limited to requesting only a few volumes a day. Often you are allowed only to look at one volume at a time. Since it is tedious to request repeatedly the same manuscript, which might take a few days to arrive, you take careful notes on the manuscript before returning it. The process as a whole takes quite a bit of time and so you limit yourself to those manuscripts that are directly relevant to the research project, already listed in the catalog, rather than discovering the plethora of new material. A digitized library, on the other hand, allows one to view numerous manuscripts, each copy connected to another author or work, and therefore to jump from one to another within seconds. In this sense, the manuscript library becomes a sort of archive as researchers can quickly begin to dredge numerous unknown authors and works from the depths of the library in the same way that researchers working with documents can slowly piece them together to create a larger picture.
The key to such research is a good electronic catalog that keeps texts organized by their original volume. Most works written in the Islamic world before the twentieth century, save extremely long ones, were not individual volumes or codices. Instead, they were grouped together into miscellanies called mecmua (tr.)/majmu‘as (ar.). Even early printed works from the nineteenth century often follow this format. The main value of a mecmua is that it is a collection of texts, meaning that each text often has some sort of association with the other. Mecmuas are compiled through different means. Sometimes a scribe would copy them as a series. Other times they exist as one person’s personal notes, with additions by later readers. Alternatively, a later reader can take a number of unbound works and bind them into a single volume. On rare occasions, the collected texts were simply randomly assembled. These mecmuas can be the collected essays of one specific author or a collection on a theme, such as one particular legal question, or they can be a group of similarly minded texts and authors. By looking at mecmuas, even simply through a catalog that lists them together, you can start to understand which texts were read with one another, that is, you begin to discover the intertextuality of a scholarly world and thus enter the minds of early modern people. In this fashion, you can begin to break out of the straightjacket of well-known texts and discover those thousands of (relatively) unknown authors.
My personal method, which is only one of many possibilities, is to start my research with the names of a few authors or treatises. Even a few keywords will do. Let us use dreams as an example. You type “rüya” or “rü’ya” or “ruya” into the computer catalog and fifty or so results are returned. To gain more results, you type in “rü’y” or “rüy.” You start examining the search results, one by one, taking notes of authors and titles. You look at the works in mecmuas, paying attention to those other texts compiled alongside. Often the process brings up other texts on dreams that do not necessarily have the word “dream” in the title. This then gives you more titles and author names to search. You can then take each of these authors and search them by name. Some are minor characters with only a few other treatises, others are famous authors with hundreds of treatises, yet others are false attributions. You can then look at the other treatises by each author to see if they also deal with dreams and to get a sense of the other issues that were important to them. Slowly you develop a sense of what genres dealt with dreams and visions and the important personalities that are commonly cited. You find that there are dream interpretation manuals, treatises on the veracity of dreams, and a whole line of debate on visions of the Prophet Muhammad. You can gauge which are medieval copies of old treatises, new copies of medieval treatises, or relatively new works made in the early modern period.
Even works that are titled incorrectly or vaguely, like “a treatise on dreams,” can be valuable. The false attribution is helpful in and of itself as it is often the result of a mental connection made by a reader centuries ago, picked up by an unsuspecting cataloger. Vague titles that refer to a work generically or topically rather than by its actual name can often point to a more well-known treatise whose title never contained the word “dream.” Alternatively, it could be a piece that circulated anonymously and that readers or scribes attributed to various famous figures. After surveying the texts in this fashion, you can start to ascertain the correct titles and authors, often simply overlooked by catalogers, or by comparing the texts to other versions.
Once you find an author of interest, start by listing all of his works and every copy of each of his works. Then as you start to scan through them, look again at the mecmua in which each text is located and take note of recurrent treatises or those that pique your interest. When you look at the treatise, make sure to look at the colophon and note the copy date and the copyist as well as any marginal notes and the notes’ authors. If the author or a later reader has written a table of contents, see what they emphasize and how they organize the material. Then you look at the mecmua as a whole, attempting to see if it was copied by the same scribe or sewn together at a later date. (If the same scribe wrote a mecmua then you can use the neighboring works in the mecmua that possess copy dates to estimate the copy date of other treatises.) If the digital copy is of sufficient quality, examine the paper type, the binding, and the sewing to gauge the overall value of the book—whether it was an expensive or cheap volume. Look at ownership statements and library endowment stamps and compare them to the reference lists. Each offers a valuable piece of information. Then you can search the names of the copyist and owners, sometimes coming up with their own works or other copies. Each time you find an intriguing treatise or author, follow that lead to see what associations you can build up. With authors who possess relatively modest oeuvres, with perhaps five to fifteen in a library, you can complete this process fairly quickly. Authors with hundreds of copies of their works will need days of scrutiny.
In the process of all this surveying you not only gain a sense of a field of literature and its authors, you also come across a great deal of minor but important minutiae hidden away in the pages of the manuscripts. You encounter favorite poems, rants, announcements of births, descriptions of historical events, legal rulings, medicinal recipes, lists of books and more. You can use these seemingly trivial asides to find new figures or to contextualize a text, assuming you can pin this material to the correct period, as any later reader could have added these bits. Catalogers often skip the personal notes and thoughts of readers and copyists since they do not necessarily have a discrete author or title, though they are often some of the most valuable sections of manuscripts. You also find many cataloging mistakes, whole treatises skipped over in haste or simply ignored because they did not appear to be worthwhile and “complete” texts. Often the most obscurely or generically labeled treatise is the most interesting, something that a cataloger overlooked because it was too hard to properly identify and describe.
Digitization as Opportunity
In short, the method I outlined above starts with a few figures and slowly establishes a network of people, places, and titles. Each new discovery becomes a new node in this world of early modern thought that can lead us to even more authors and titles. In some sense, you are creating a personal catalog or map, but rather than organizing material by alphabetical author or generalized topic, this catalog connects the writers, readers, and books of a period. Once you achieve a grasp of a period as a whole, you can then focus on particular works and read them closely. The intention of such research is never to replace the close examination of a text but rather to chart the relatively unknown intellectual world of early modern Islamic societies so you can accurately choose the most relevant texts to read.
Of course, you can do such work with the physical manuscripts, but digitization makes it practical and efficient. When you can look at twenty, fifty, one hundred manuscripts in the same day, side by side, following whatever lead you might come across, research that might have taken five years can be done in a year. Moreover, a good digital catalog allows you to search across multiple manuscripts for pieces of titles or author names in a keystroke rather than flipping through the indices of multiple volumes.
There are downsides to the digitization of manuscripts. Scholars often lament, and rightfully so, the inability to interact tactilely with a physical copy, to sense its dimensions and quality with more than just a doubly distant pair of eyes. Employees digitizing the manuscripts often forget to photograph the bindings and covers. The best manuscript libraries allow researchers to access the originals if necessary, though many do not. Some libraries combine the worst of both worlds, forcing researchers to wait for days to read a few digital copies at a time as well as refusing them the privilege of viewing the actual manuscript. Finally, a library is only as good as its catalog. If catalogs, whether paper or electronic, do not accurately list basic information or do not display the mecmua as a whole, and instead treat every treatise as an independent work, then research becomes even more difficult and inefficient. Finally, the true benefits of working with digital manuscripts only become apparent when you have tens of thousands of manuscripts to browse. Only then can you easily track down all the different copies of a treatise and see, within a few seconds, what else the author may have written. For the moment, I am of the opinion that there is only one possible location for such research—Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul—although its catalog leaves much to be desired. The other major libraries, like Dar al-Kutub in Cairo, are a long way off from complete digitization.
Despite these frustrations, I still think that the digitization of manuscripts provides unique solutions to the problem of studying early modern intellectual history in particular. We can discover many of the poorly known authors and treatises of a period (that is, poorly known to us) in an efficient manner without having to rely on sheer chance. In this sense, it might have less to offer to those researchers studying medieval Islamic societies as the vast majority of mecmuas are from the early modern period. Perhaps most importantly of all, it allows us to address that most elusive question of readership and reception. Only when we can quickly go through twenty or thirty manuscripts in a few hours, looking at comments, ownership marks and more can you start making sense of the circulation and reception of these texts. We can pay attention to the short, sundry pamphlet-like literature that was so prevalent in the early modern period, rather than focus on one grand, though seldom-read text. Digitization allows us to access the expanded world of early modern readership. No longer chained to one ur-text, we can compare the many variants and changes of a text. By paying attention to this material world of manuscript reception, we might be able to find a new path between seeing these texts either purely as repositories of facts or as representations. In this sense, although digitization has distanced researchers from the material text itself, it has simultaneously refocused our attention on the manuscript as a medium worthy of study and respect.
(Many thanks to the friends and colleagues who commented on earlier draft. Readers’ comments and thoughts are welcome and encouraged.)
The National Archives is the official state repository for the United Kingdom and is situated in Kew Gardens, London. Among the archive’s 11 million records, comprising hundreds of millions of documents, are vast numbers of items relating to the history of interactions between the peoples of the British Isles and the Middle East from the Crusades to colonial rule. As well as documents in European languages, The National Archives contains a significant collection of documents in Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and Persian.
The National Archives (United Kingdom). Photo courtesy of Michael Talbot.
History
The National Archives holds records of the English and subsequently the British state dating back to the eleventh century. Often still known by one of its former names, the Public Record Office (PRO), the archive owes its current form to a law passed in 1838 aimed at gathering the scattered and often poorly-kept documents of the British government and judicial system. The current collection represents the merger by 2006 of four major holders of British archival records: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office (founded in 1786); the Public Record Office (1838); the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (1869); and the Office of Public Sector Information (2005). These collections in their sum cover almost every conceivable aspect of the United Kingdom’s foreign, domestic, military, and civil history. In addition, it holds a number of papers and manuscripts donated by private individuals. The Public Record Office moved from its original location in the City of London to the current building in Kew Gardens in 1977, and following the formation of The National Archives, all relevant documents were moved there, aside from a substantial portion kept in offsite storage in a former salt mine in Cheshire. Once the preserve of specialist academic researchers, the National Archives is today hugely popular with amateur historians and genealogists.
Collection
The material available for historians of the Middle East is extensive. A huge variety of manuscripts, correspondence, financial records, printed texts, registers, and memoranda shed light onto British trade, diplomacy, warfare, and colonialism in the Middle East. As well as English-language documents, there are a significant number of items in French, Italian, and Latin. Moreover, there is a collection of generally unexamined documents in Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and Persian interspersed amongst the registers, and sometimes separated into different files. Due to the scale and variety of the archive, only the main relevant collections for Middle East researchers will be discussed here.
The classifications to be consulted largely depend on time period and area of research. For mediaevalists, there are around 300 cataloged records relating to the Crusades and early trade with the Middle East and Levant in the Chancery (C), and Special Collection (SC) series, with documents dating from as early as the 1210s.
Records relating to the Ottoman Empire and North Africa begin to appear in significant numbers from the early sixteenth century with the beginnings of a significant trade, and especially after the formal establishment of relations between England and the Ottoman Empire in 1580. Several hundred volumes and loose documents relating to trade and diplomacy between the 1570s and 1770s are held in the State Papers (SP), with diplomatic correspondence in SP97 and mercantile records in SP105 and SP110. These include a number of records in Ottoman Turkish, or their translations in Italian. There are a number of extracted documents relating to this period under the series Extracted Documents (EXT), including maps and original letters from Ottoman sultans to British monarchs. Further records on trade and piracy can be found in the Admiralty collection (ADM). Some references to early political and commercial interests in Iran can also be found in that series.
Administrative reform from the 1780s saw the creation of new government ministries including the Foreign Office. This reform, coinciding with the beginnings of methodical archiving, meant that the number of documents produced and archived increased dramatically from the beginning of the nineteenth century. Documents relating to the Ottoman Empire between 1779 until 1906 are generally held in FO78, comprising an astonishing 5,491 thick volumes of correspondence, intelligence, and administrative documents relating to diplomacy and trade produced and received by the embassy in Istanbul and the consular establishments in the Balkans, Anatolia, the Levant, and North Africa. Some consular establishments have their own separate codes (e.g. Aleppo is FO861). The FO series continues into the post-Ottoman period, covering British diplomatic establishments across the Middle East into the 1970s. For instance, FO141 contains 1,521 volumes of correspondence of the British embassy and consulates in Egypt between 1815 and 1973. It is also in this later period that a large amount of material can be found relating to Iran, following the establishment of formal relations in 1807. The main consular posts have their own codes, although some 734 volumes of general correspondence between 1807 and 1905 can be found in FO60. These series contain a number of Persian documents within the registers.
The records of the Colonial Office (CO) are the main resource for researchers interested in British colonial rule in the Middle East. For instance, CO730 contains 178 volumes relating to the Iraq Mandate, and CO733 comprises 495 volumes concerning the Palestine Mandate. There are a large number of sources on British oil interests in Iran and the Persian Gulf in the Ministry of Power’s series (POWE), as well as in the diplomatic correspondence. Additional sources on colonialism can be found in a whole host of other series, including the Board of Trade (BT) and War Office (WO). The private papers of major and minor colonial officials and administrators are available in paper or on microfilm, such as those of Earl Kitchener (PRO30/57). There are a number of records relating to a number of locally recruited military, police, and colonial forces, from the Macedonian Mule Corps (WO405) to the Aden Police (CO1037).
There are a number of introductory subject guides available on The National Archives website. However, for most academic researchers, learning to use the archive’s catalog effectively is the key to research success.
Research Experience
Catalogs and Searches: The Research and Enquiries Room on the first floor hosts a large number of computer terminals, and also offers free wi-fi. The archive’s new catalog, Discovery, enables a variety of search techniques. As well as simple keyword searches, results can be narrowed down by series code, date, and subject area. The browsing function is very helpful for researchers getting to grips with their series of records.
Although the catalog is remarkably comprehensive, most of the descriptions are rather general, giving little sense of the content, particularly those marked ‘general correspondence’. Some early modern and a smaller number of later series do contain document-by-document descriptions, but these are comparatively few in number. For those researching more specialised topics, this can mean labor-intensive searching over a large number of records. For those in search of Arabic or Ottoman Turkish documents, these are often kept in their original setting in the correspondence registers, but on occasion they have been extracted into separate files without any context.
The relative comprehensiveness of the catalog does not necessarily equate to a completeness of records. For instance, there has long been a suspicion that documents relating to atrocities committed by the British or under British supervision in the colonies, including their possessions in the Middle East, have been withheld from the public. This suspicion proved to be well-founded, and in 2013 after a legal challenge, a significant amount of material was released from a secret Foreign Office archive at Hanslope Park, including some relating to Aden, Cyprus, and Palestine. Doubtless there are still more records hidden away.
Digitized Documents: Some 5% of documents in The National Archives have been digitized, and the number is gradually increasing. Many of the more popular series relating to military or family history are only available in digital format. A significant number of the archive’s microfilmed series have been digitized and are available to download for free, including a number of series of interest for Middle East researchers, such as the records of the Arab Bureau (FO882).
Original Documents: Up to six files may be ordered from an off-site location via The National Archives website. Next-day advanced requests must be submitted by 17:00 the day before the planned visit. In the archives themselves, orders can be made from the computer terminals in the Research and Enquiries Room and in the reading rooms. It is necessary to reserve a seat in order to request documents, and documents will be delivered into a cabinet marked with the seat number.
The majority of research takes place in the first floor reading room, and researchers can select seats in group areas, quiet areas, and light areas for better photography. It is advisable for those intending to take photographs to arrive at the archive at a relatively early hour, as those seats are in great demand. Some older and oversized documents will be delivered to the second floor reading room.
Most orders take less than an hour to be completed, and in practice even in busy periods it can take as little as half an hour between ordering the document and receiving it. Up to twenty-one documents can be ordered per day. For researchers requiring bulk orders, at least two days’ notice is required and the completion of an online form. It is best to discuss this order with staff at the first floor reading room’s help desk before it is placed.
Library: The National Archives Research Library, situated on the first floor, contains some 65,000 volumes on a variety of subjects, and its holdings include works on Middle Eastern history, bibliographies, and subject guides. The catalog can be searched by subject or through keywords.
Help and staff: The National Archives is incredibly user-friendly. There is a ‘Start Here’ desk on the first floor before entering the reading rooms to help orientate new researchers. On the same floor, there are two help desks: a red desk that specializes in military and family history, and the blue desk that offers advice on political, economic, social, and colonial history. There are a number of computer terminals through which the archive’s online and digitized resources can be accessed.
The staff are generally friendly. However, whilst keen to help, the advice they can offer on specialist research is often limited. Security is strict when entering and leaving the reading rooms. This is aimed at ensuring that no documents are removed, and no prohibited items, such as pens, are brought in. Laptops must be opened, and stationary and cables must be kept in clear plastic bags, which may be searched. Inside the reading rooms, security guards make regular patrols to ensure that documents are being handled in an appropriate manner. Guides on how to handle the documents and other rules of the reading room are prominently displayed by the computer terminals and on the desks.
Access
The National Archives is open Tuesdays to Saturdays. The opening hours are between 09:00 and 19:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays with last document orders at 17:00, and between 09:00 and 17:00 on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with last document orders at 16:15. The archives are closed on public holidays, full details of which can be found on the website.
It is necessary to have a reader’s ticket to view original documents. To obtain a reader’s ticket, new researchers must go to the registration room on the second floor to fill in an online form, and bring two forms of identification, one that provides proof of name with a signature, and another that shows proof of address. Acceptable forms of documentation are listed on the website. Digitized material and the library collection can be viewed without a reader’s ticket.
All public areas in The National Archives are fully wheelchair accessible. A number of dedicated computer terminals exist for partially sighted researchers.
Reproductions
Researchers can take their own photographs of documents for free, and are encouraged to do so. Flash photography is strictly forbidden. There are a number of seats in the first floor reading room with camera stands. Some kinds of document cannot be photographed, including those that are fragile or non-public records, but this will be made clear on ordering.
Printed copies of microfilm documents can be made for 25p per page. There are a number of machines on the first floor through which cash can be added to the reader’s ticket for such copying, and the staff will help first-timers through the self-service printing process. The archive offers its own paper and digital copying services. Prices vary, and it is necessary to submit a form online to receive a quote. Orders are usually fulfilled in less than two weeks, although this varies depending on the type and quantity of document being ordered.
Transportation, food, and other facilities
The National Archives is situated in Kew Gardens, some ten miles / sixteen kilometers from Central London. The easiest way to access the archives is by the London Underground. The walk from the station to the archives is well signposted, and takes less than ten minutes. Kew Gardens Underground Station is served by the District Line and London Overground. For researchers staying in Central London, the District Line is by far the easier option, and the journey takes around forty-five minutes. The Transport for London Journey Planner is very helpful in planning routes to the archives from anywhere in London.
The archive contains a café and restaurant on the ground floor, which is reasonably priced for the area. Most teas are around £1.50 and coffees over £2. Lunch with soup, a main dish, and desert costs around £10. Vegetarian options are available. There are also are a number of cafés, restaurants, and pubs around the station.
The ground floor also hosts a number of other facilities, including a free cloakroom with lockers. There is an interesting museum that houses a number of archival treasures, as well as a bookshop.
Outside the archive is a large pond frequented by ducks, moorhens, geese, swans, and herons. Outdoor seating is available around the pond, making for very pleasant breaks when the weather permits.
Written by Michael Talbot, Teaching Fellow in Ottoman history, University of St. Andrews
Cite this: Michael Talbot, “The National Archives (United Kingdom)”, HAZİNE, 1 November 2013, https://hazine.info/2013/11/01/the-national-archives-united-kingdom/
Last week HAZİNE posted a list of libraries with open-access digitized manuscripts. This week we would like to present a list of institutions and websites with freely accessible archival material. As with the manuscript list, we will continue to add and modify this page.
Screenshot of Genizah document at Cambridge University Digital Library.
Asnad.org at Philips-Üniversität Marburg has collated and presented in digital format more than 1,000 Persian documents related to the history of Persian lands between the ninth and nineteenth centuries. Most of these documents are reproductions of documents published in academic publications. In addition to the images of the documents, the site offers full bibliographic information on the document’s location and previous citation in scholarly volumes.
Cambridge University’s Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection, along with the Mosseri Genizah Collection are available through the university’s library website. The Cairo Genizah, in addition to preserving a vast collection of medieval Jewish manuscripts, contains thousands of documents relevant to the social and economic history of the Mediterranean and the Middle East from the tenth to thirteenth century. In addition to the large archive digitized at Cambridge, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the John Rylands Library in Manchester, and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America also have significant portions of the Cairo Genizah.
The General State Archives has an extensive online catalog with a number of documents digitized and freely available for viewing. The archive contains a number of Ottoman era court registers and cadastral surveys in addition to all of the archival material accumulated since the foundation of the Kingdom of Greece.
There are a number of collections at the National Archives which are digitized and available for download. Several of these collections may be of interest to scholars of the Middle East, especially the correspondence of the Arab Bureau between 1911 and 1920 (FO 882).
Through Access Archival Databases, the National Archives has made available online transcriptions of a number of collections, some of which will be of interest to historians of post-1945 Middle East. For instance, see the Central Foreign Policy Files which include State Department electronic telegrams between 1 January 1973 and 31 December 1976.
The Venetian archives have made freely available online one of its most important collections of Ottoman documents, Miscellanea documenti turchi. For background on this collection, as well as details on how to navigate the archive’s site, see HAZİNE’s review.
The Venetian State Archives (Archivio di Stato di Venezia) has made freely available online one of its most important collections of Ottoman documents. The Venetian State Archives is one of the most important repositories in Europe of archival material related to Ottoman history. While the majority of material related to the Ottoman Empire is only accessible through research on site in Venice, through the auspices of Progetto Divenire, the archive has digitized and made available online a number of its collections, including an important collection of documents concerning relations with the Ottoman Empire (Miscellanea documenti turchi).
Detail of the Ottoman Ahdname of 1050/1641 (n. 1470, Miscellenea documenti turchi).
History
The collection now labeled Miscellenea documenti turchi contains some of the most important documents related to the political and diplomatic relations between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. While there are other collections within the Venetian Archives which preserve important material pertaining to the relations between these two states, many of the most important imperial letters (name-i hümayun) and treaties (ahdname) issued by Ottoman sultans are preserved among the twenty boxes of documents which comprise Miscellanea documenti turchi. For this reason, many of these documents have been examined and published by prominent Orientalists and Ottomanists of the twentieth century, including Luigi Bonelli, Lajos Fekete, Alessio Bombaci, M. Tayyıp Gökbilgin, Maria Francesca Tiepolo, and Şerafettin Turan. Beginning in the 1940s, Alessio Bombaci was tasked with organizing and cataloging the collection. Although Bombaci developed an inventory of the collection’s fifteenth- and sixteenth-century holdings, he never produced a formal catalog as the difficulties of carrying out the work in the midst of the Second World War proved too great. In the 1980s, Maria Pia Pedani resumed the work of describing the collection and creating a catalog. This work was published in 1994 in a volume entitled I “Documenti turchi” dell’Archivio di Stato di Venezia. In 2006, the Venetian State Archives, in collaboration with the National Council for Research in Florence (Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche di Firenze), began digitizing this collection through Progetto Divenire. Today all of the documents of the Miscellanea documenti turchi are freely available online.
Collection
The collection contains 2,022 documents related to the Republic of Venice’s relations with the Ottoman Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. The collection is ordered chronologically with a small number of undated documents added to the end of the collection’s series. Documents n.1-1997 are ordered chronologically and include material produced between 859/1454 and 1252/1837. The majority of these documents are from the tenth/sixteenth century (n. 73-1117), although the collection has considerable material from the eleventh/seventeenth century as well (n. 1118- 1609).
The range of material varies from elaborately produced imperial documents such as official royal correspondence (name-i hümayun) and treaties (ahdname) to short letters and reports written by provincial Ottoman officials, especially in the Balkans. The documenti turchi includes such important rescripts as Selim I’s victory announcement (fethname) in the wake of the Ottoman capture of Kemah and the defeat of ‘Ala al-dawla Dulgadir in 921/1515 (n. 165) and the peace treaty offered by Selim II in 980/1573 which ended hostilities between the Ottomans and Venetians after the battle of Lepanto and the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus (n. 818). For the seventeenth century, the collection has a large number of documents concerning Crete (n. 1334 contains many documents) as well as the Treaty of Karlowitz together with the Ottoman capitulations with the Republic of Venice (n. 1610, dated 1112/1701). In total, the collection has twenty-one treaties with Venice issued by Ottoman sultans.
While the collection’s material is mostly in Ottoman Turkish, there are a fair number of documents issued in other languages including Greek, Italian, and Arabic. Most of the documents are accompanied with contemporary Italian translations or summaries. Particularly interesting is the fair amount of Ottoman imperial correspondence composed in Greek which bears the sultan’s insignia (tuğra). The creation of Ottoman documents in Greek by the central chancery was a relatively common occurrence in the fifteenth century. This is reflected in the holdings of Miscellanea documenti turchi, where all of the Ottoman documents produced during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II (d. 886/1481) were prepared in Greek. The collection’s last rescript issued by a sultan and composed in Greek is Sultan Süleyman’s victory announcement issued for the Hungarian campaign and siege of Vienna in 935/1529 (n. 250).
The collection includes more quotidian material as well. There are many examples of testimony (hüccet)endorsed by Ottoman provincial judges. Moreover there are several surprising inclusions in the collection. For instance, the last document in the series explains the rules of Persian grammar in Arabic verse (n. 2022).
Research Experience
The collection is available at the archive’s website. While the site is in Italian, its simple and logical layout allows users with little knowledge of Italian to navigate it without too much difficulty. Users may browse the documents in order by clicking on the link to any of the individually numbered documents. More importantly, the archive’s website provides an advanced search option (ricerca avanzata, located in the menu bar). Within the advanced search option, select the collection (documenti turchi) and the search criteria under the heading ‘criteria directory’ (elenco criteri). Search criteria range from name of sender or recipient to document origin, destination, type, date, language, and even physical dimensions. In the box below labeled imposta il contenuto da cercare, you may enter your search term. Make certain to select Miscellanea documenti turchi under the reproduced series field (serie riprodotte) before you request the search (effetua la ricerca). The search engine enables users to enter multiple search terms.
Once you have located a document to view, click on its link. The archive’s website is often slow and as the document files are very detailed, this step may take a few seconds. This will bring up the document’s page. In order to access the catalog information as well as view the digitized document, click on the document link on the right-hand side of the page under the heading schede. In order to view the document in a large format in a separate window, click on the screen icon on the upper right of the document viewer. The catalog information for each document is quite detailed and includes information on the document’s sender, recipient, date, location, as well as a short description of the document’s contents.
The open-access digitization of this important collection is a welcome development in our field. Many libraries and archives around the world are turning to digitization as a way to preserve their collections while also make them available to a wider community of scholars and researchers. In an upcoming post, Nir Shafir will examine the implications of these developments for conducting research.
Catalogs and Useful Resources
Archivio di Stato di Venezia. I “documenti turchi” dell’Archivio di Stato di Venezia: inventario della miscellanea a cura di Maria Pia Pedani Fabris; con l’edizione dei regesti di Alessio Bombaci. Rome: Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, Uficio centrale per i beni archivistici, 1994.
Inventory of the lettere e scritture Turchesche in the Venetian State Archives. Edited by Maria Pia Pedani; based on materials compiled by Alessio Bombaci. Ledien; Boston: Brill, 2010.
Miscellanea documenti turchi: The open-access digitized documents of the Miscellenea documenti turchi at the Venetian State Archives
Süleymaniye Library (Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi) is the largest manuscript library in Turkey and preserves one of the world’s most extensive collections of Islamic manuscripts. Since its establishment in 1918, the library’s vast collection of manuscripts has made it one of the most important centers for researchers working on all periods and regions of the Islamic world. The library is located within the Süleymaniye Mosque complex in the Fatih district of Istanbul.
A view of Süleymaniye Camii from the courtyard of the reading room.
History
The library is situated in two of the medreses built in the mid-sixteenth century as part of the mosque complex commissioned by Sultan Süleyman and designed by the Ottoman architect Sinan. The libraries of the mosque and medrese have existed since the complex’s establishment, but only in the early twentieth century did they become a public research library. The establishment of the Süleymaniye Umumi Kütüphanesi was an outgrowth of the First World War. Established in 1918, it consolidated the collections of the medrese and mosque along with manuscripts from the provinces that had been transferred to Istanbul for safekeeping for the duration of the war. With the closing of traditional institutions of religious learning in 1924, the library’s collection was supplemented by the considerable holdings of various mosques, Sufi lodges, and medreses in Istanbul. Since that time, the library’s collection has grown through the further consolidation of the manuscript libraries of Turkey and today the library continues to add new works primarily through private donations. Between 2002 and 2011 the library digitized its entire collection of manuscripts, which are now all accessible from computer stations in the reading room, but not online. Today this work continues with respect to the library’s printed works.
Collection
As one of the largest collections of Islamic manuscripts in the world, Süleymaniye Library provides researchers enough material to research for a lifetime. Currently, the collection consists of approximately 100,000 manuscript volumes and 50,000 printed books. It is impossible to describe thematically the extent of the collections, but one can say that they touch heavily upon topics such as law and jurisprudence, belle lettres, morality texts and sermons, sciences such as logic, rhetoric and grammar, as well as a wide array of other bodies of knowledge. In many ways, the books reflect the diverse and varied interests of the generations of scholars who spent their lives in the medreses, libraries, and palaces of Istanbul and beyond. It is a treasure trove not just for Ottomanists, but also for researchers working on all periods of Islamic history both within the Ottoman Empire and beyond. Manuscripts range in copy date from the eleventh century to the twentieth century, with the majority produced in the seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries. In terms of a rough estimate, we believe that perhaps sixty percent of the manuscripts are in Arabic, thirty percent in Turkish, ten percent in Persian and a smattering of manuscripts in other languages. Süleymaniye Library also holds an extensive collection of printed material in Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, and Persian as well as in European languages. In addition, the private notes and archives of some twentieth-century historians, like Süheyl Ünver, are also kept in the library. Finally, the collection contains significant examples of hat, levha, and ebru.
All of the manuscripts and many of the printed works are digitized. All books are viewed through the library’s computer terminals but one may request special permission in order to view the physical manuscript. Materials are organized according to the original collections to which they belonged, i.e. the mosque, dervish lodge or private library from which they came. The main catalog is electronic and only accessible at the library. However, the researchers can access a partial electronic catalog of Süleymaniye Library’s materials through the Türkiye Kütüphaneleri Veri Tabanı at ISAM. (See our review of ISAM.) Researchers can still consult the earlier card catalog, the Union Catalogue of Manuscripts in Turkey, and photocopies of the nineteenth-century catalogs, both printed and hand-written in rıka script—all available in the library’s reading room. While the electronic catalog is much more efficient, the older catalogs provide different information on the manuscripts often excluded in later catalogs. While such information is usually useful, it is not necessarily more or less reliable than later catalogs. For those who prefer reading in the Arabic alphabet, in 2010 a three-volume catalog in Arabic of the original Süleymaniye collection’s holdings was published. Of course, this Arabic-language catalog only covers a small portion of the library’s overall collection. The library’s computer catalog also includes the collections of other manuscript libraries in Istanbul. Some of these can be viewed electronically at Süleymaniye (Nuruosmaniye, etc.) while others must be consulted—whether digitally or physically—at their respective libraries (Beyazıt and Millet). For other collections, such as Kandilli Rasathane or Edirne Selimiye, the library provides an incomplete list of digitized manuscripts in the computer catalog.
Research Experience
Süleymaniye Library’s computer catalog is a wonderful resource on its own but requires some practice to master. First, users should know that they can only enter their queries using the conventions of modern Turkish transliteration rather than traditional Arabic transliteration or the original Arabic (e.g. şeyhülislam rather than shaykh al-islam or شيخ الاسلام). Researchers can search by author name, title, date, subject, etc. though one must keep in mind that the catalog is not entirely reliable. Titles and names are often transliterated in multiple ways, texts are routinely mislabeled, and many texts and marginal works are left out of the catalog if the cataloger decided that it was not important. Copy dates are usually accurate and present on perhaps one fourth of the texts in the catalog, though if one examines the undated texts, about half of those will actually have copy dates as well. Of course, readers, commentators, and copyists throughout the centuries did not give a text the exact same title and so researchers should be prepared for variant author names and titles. Finally, the vast majority of titles that are displayed in the search results are actually in mecmuas (compendia or miscellanies). Researchers must access these by first looking up the manuscript volume containing the text by the accession number (demirbaş) and then going to the first work in the mecmua to open the digital copy. While these obstacles might be discouraging, they also provide researchers opportunities to discover many unexpected treatises.
The quality of the digitized manuscripts varies widely. Süleymaniye was one of the first libraries in the world to begin a systematic digitization of its collections and therefore many of the electronic copies have significant quality problems. In the initial stage of digitalization, the library digitized manuscripts in an ad hoc manner, using researchers’ cameras and whatever equipment that was available at hand. Most of the problems in the digital copies are the result of poor lighting or image quality and affect a researcher’s ability to comfortably read the text, such as: poor resolution and image quality that make it impossible to read small text and notes; text on the margins and spine being cut off or poorly photographed; pages being blurred due to movement. Other problems, such as the exclusion of a manuscript’s bindings, sides, and blank pages within the volume render the digital copies of a manuscript of limited value to researchers interested in the codicological aspects of the volume. Those manuscripts that were digitized at a later date are of much higher quality and include photographs of the binding, etc. Since Süleymaniye houses such a large collection of manuscripts, it is often possible to see other copies of the same work. Researchers who need to consult the physical manuscript can request access from the director.
The library’s current reading room is a bit underwhelming as it consists only of twelve computers and a few books on the shelves of a poorly lit room. The computers are a bit buggy and tend to start displaying portions of the screen in black after a while. Researchers can fix this by logging out and reopening the catalog, though they will most likely lose any open documents in the process. If one’s computer does not work or refuses to log-in, try using another one first. Given the small number of computers, the reading room can become crowded, especially in the afternoon, but is generally empty during the mornings and evenings. Turkish students also tend to use the library desks to study for their standardized exams at certain times of the year. The librarians are helpful and are happy to show researchers how to use the catalog, but only read and speak Turkish. Turkish tourists often come in and start pulling books from the shelves in the mistaken belief that the reference books are the manuscripts and groups of Arab tourists also wander in to try to conduct genealogical research or read random works. Most researchers only stay for a few hours, so the long-term users often befriend each other.
The library also has a rather extensive reference collection on the shelves. This consists of the most important bio-bibliographcial works, encyclopedias, and dictionaries for conducting research. The reference section’s collection of bio-bibliographical works is relatively extensive and includes copies of Haji Khalifa/Katip Çelebi, Brockelman, and Sezgin; a notable lacunae in this regard is the absence of any bio-bibliographical work of Persian literature, such as Storey or Munzavi. Arabic, Ottoman, and Persian dictionaries as well as catalogs of other manuscript libraries and topical catalogs. Sets of the Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed.; Diyanet Vakfı Islam Ansiklopedisi; and Islam Ansiklopedisi (Milli Eǧitim Basımevi) are also available for consultation. Biographical dictionaries for the Ottoman period are on the shelves along with other classic reference works on the Ottoman period (in Turkish mostly). Some of the books may be in the depository and therefore need to be specially requested.
One of the main courtyards of Süleymaniye Library
Accessibility
The great advantage to researching at Süleymaniye Library is its working hours. While the library’s official hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 – 17:00 excluding holidays, researchers may make free use of all of the resources of the library’s reading room between 9:00 – 23:00 every day of the year, including all holidays. Copies can only be obtained during official hours, however. Researchers in wheelchairs might have trouble accessing the current reading room as there are some steep marble stairs at the entry. If they can get into the reading room, they should be able to use the computer terminals without any issues.
Researchers must provide an official government ID in order to enter the reading room. For Turks, this means their national identity card and for foreigners their passport or residency permit (ikamet tezkeresi). Researchers do not need to register in order to conduct research and the library is the most open and friendly research institution in Istanbul.
Transport and Food
Süleymaniye Library is most easily reached by tramway, bus, or foot. If you take the tramway, get off at the Beyazıt stop and then walk to Beyazıt Square. Take the street that is to the left of the monumental Istanbul Üniversitesi gate and follow it until it ends. Bear right, walk 30 meters and the library is on one’s left. Coming from Taksim Square, one can take any bus that passes through Aksaray. Make sure to get off at the Müze stop (the one next to the aqueduct, before Aksaray) and make your way through Unkapanı until you reach Süleymaniye Library from behind. (This route is poorly lit and may not be safe for women walking alone at night.) You can also walk up to Süleymaniye from Eminönü by following the signs after the bazaar ends. Needless to say, the library is directly across from the mosque.
There are a number of eating options around Süleymaniye Library. The most famous are the kuru fasulye restaurants in front of the library building, though one can also find pide, mantı, and other options close by. There are a variety of tea gardens nearby, including one in a historic courtyard. Dostan provides homemade mantı and pizzas and such.
Reproductions
All reproductions are provided as PDFs on a CD. The cost per exposure (i.e. a photograph of two pages) is fifty kuruş for Turkish citizens and one lira for non-citizens as of October 2013. The librarians can provide CDs within a few minutes or an hour, depending on the number of reproduction requests they are processing. Librarians take time off for lunch and Friday prayers, so researchers should wait patiently if the librarians are not present. Researchers should check the contents of the CDs and load them onto more secure devices as soon as possible. Occasionally the CDs are written with corrupt data which prohibit their transfer to other devices. If this happens, ask the staff for a new copy on a different CD.
Miscellaneous
Süleymaniye Library also offers classes on traditional Islamic subjects, like calligraphy, tafsir, etc.
Future Plans and Rumors
The Süleymaniye Library is currently undergoing a major renovation. When completed sometime in 2014, the reading room will be greatly expanded and modern offices installed in many of the old buildings. Plans for the renovation also include a new exhibition space, which should minimize the interruptions of tourists in the reading room.
Contact Information
Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi
Ayşe Kadın Hamam Sok. No:35 Fatih İstanbul
Telephone: 212 520 64 60
Süleymaniye Library does not have an official website. The collections are not listed on the official Yazmalar website but a partial catalog can be accessed through the İSAM Türkiye Kütüphaneleri Veri Tabanı. It is best to simply show up in person if you need to conduct business with the library.
The Archive and Library of the Topkapı Palace Museum (Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi) contain some of the most important documents and manuscripts pertaining to Ottoman and Islamic history. The Library (TSMK) and Archive (TSMA) are both located on the grounds of Topkapı Palace in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul.
Bağdat Pavilion, the original home of the Bağdat collection of the Topkapı Library.
History
Since the establishment of the palace in the fifteenth century, archival records and books have always been stored on the palace grounds. The initial storage of these materials varied over time until the establishment of the Topkapı Palace Museum in 1924. Since then, the archival materials and books of the palace have been gathered and stored in two locations on the palace grounds.
The palace archive preserves some of the oldest and most important archival records concerning the history of the Ottoman dynasty. In the earliest centuries of the dynasty’s existence, the palace (dergah-i padişahi) functioned as a movable institution constituted around the sovereign. As such, the palace’s property (including written records) often travelled with the sultan. With the establishment of Topkapı Palace at the end of the fifteenth century, the palace as institution began to assume a greater sedentary character and the records of the institution, as maintained by the Imperial Treasury (Hizane-i ‘Amire) were permanently stored on the palace’s grounds. In subsequent centuries the vast majority of these archival records were transferred to various offices of state outside of the palace. The process accelerated in the eighteenth century, so that by the time of the mid nineteenth-century establishment of a state archive (Hazine-yi Evrak), the majority of archival material was located offsite. It is this material which constitutes the historical core collections of the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office (Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi). Today it is often difficult to discern why the material that remained at Topkapı was never transferred to various offices of state in the eighteenth century. One possible explanation is to consider the Topkapı Palace archive as the family archive of the Ottoman dynasty. In many respects this approach makes sense when we consider the large numbers of documents related to members of the ruling family and palace officials. Those records which seem more unrelated to the business of the dynasty may make some sense if we consider the ruling family’s acquisition of its servants’ property upon their death (muhallefat).
The palace’s book collection likely developed along similar lines. From the earliest periods of the dynasty’s history, learned men donated and dedicated their works to the Ottoman sultans. These works were supplemented by acquisitions from conquest and the deaths of the dynasty’s servants (whose books subsequently became the property of the ruling family). Initially these books were stored at a number of locations throughout the palace grounds. In the eighteenth century, Sultan Ahmed III established a library in the interior courtyard of the palace for the benefit of his family and the palace servants. Collection headings such as Bağdat, Revan, and III. Ahmet all refer to the original location of these works in the palace grounds.
With the establishment of Topkapı Palace Museum in 1924, the archival and library collections of the palace were entrusted to the museum. In 1925, the Ağalar Camii of the interior courtyard was converted to the New Library (Yeni Kütüphane) and the books of the various sections of the palace were moved to the new facility. In 1966, the books of the Ahmet III Library were added to the Topkapı Library in Ağalar Camii. Between 2006 and 2013 the library was closed for a number of significant renovations to Ağalar Camii. These included the construction of a new climate-controlled book depot and the restoration of the İznik tiles which decorate the walls of the library’s reading room. In August 2013, the library was re-opened and made accessible for researchers. Currently, the archive remains closed, but its staff assures us that the archive will also open in a short time.
Collections
Archive
The Topkapı collection is an indispensable source for historians concerned with Ottoman history prior to the nineteenth century. With few exceptions, the archival collection of the Topkapı Palace Museum contains the only extant official records of the Ottoman dynasty for the first two hundred years of its existence.
The archive consists of two classifications of documents: registers (defter), which range from a single sheet to several hundred pages, and loose papers (evrak), which include everything from elaborately produced letters from foreign sovereigns to scribbles on scraps of paper produced by low level palace officials. With approximately 153,000 loose papers and 10,775 registers, TSMA is the largest Ottoman archive after the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office (BOA). Researchers should note that the defters of the palace archive are digitally available at BOA.
In 1937 the museum invited the Hungarian historian and archivist Lajos Fekete to survey the palace archive and make recommendations for the collection’s classification. With his recommendations, the museum staff produced a two volume guide to the collection organized alphabetically according to the subject of the document (usually the document’s creator or addressee). Unfortunately this published guide only covered the archive’s collection up through the letter H. Between 1949 and 1951 M. Çağatay Uluçay described the remainder of the collection in five handwritten notebooks which were kept at the archive for researchers’ use. Beginning in 1957 İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı and subsequently Şefi Ülkü Altındağ produced a catalog of the 153,000 loose papers of the archive on small notecards. These notecards and the published and unpublished guides from the first-half of the twentieth century remain the only resources which describe the full extent of the archive’s collection. Since 2006, the archive has been closed to facilitate a number of changes, foremost of which is the development of a completely new and thorough catalog of the archive’s collections. As of autumn 2013, the Archive under the direction of Sevgi Ağca has produced four volumes of a planned fifteen volumes. The volumes have been published and are available at the Archive for consultation.
As the archive of the Ottoman dynasty, the collection provides the best material for researchers concerned with the activities of the royal family, as well as the functioning of the palace and central state administration. The loose papers include all manner of official documents including edicts (ferman), titles of investiture (berat), reports (arıza), and petitions (arzuhal). The majority of the registers include finance records such as salary registers of palace officials, inventories of the Imperial Treasury, and surveys of religious endowments (evkaf) established by one of the royal family members.
Although the majority of the documents are in Ottoman Turkish, the collection also includes a fair amount of material produced in other languages. This is particularly true for the earlier periods in which much of the state correspondence was composed in Persian. The collection even includes an example of an extremely rare edict (yarlığ) in Uyghur-script Eastern Turkish (Chaghatay) composed by order of Sultan Mehmed II in the aftermath of the Ottoman victory over the Aqquyunlu confederation at the Battle of Otlukbeli in 1473.
While the vast majority of the archive’s collection consists of documents produced by the Ottoman state, the archive also includes an exceptionally important collection of documents produced by other Muslim dynasties. The majority of these documents were produced in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by Iranian dynasties such as the Timurids, the Qaraqoyunlu, the Aqqoyunlu, and the Safavids. In all likelihood these ‘foreign’ archival documents arrived in Istanbul with other spoils of war in the wake of one of the victorious Ottoman campaigns waged against the Aqqoyunlu or Safavid polities.
Library
The collection of the palace library contains approximately 13,400 manuscripts. The majority of these manuscripts are in Arabic (approximately 8,500), although the library has a sizable collection of manuscripts in Turkish (3,081 including works in Chaghatay and Kipchak), and Persian (904). While the library is not even the largest collection in Istanbul, its holdings are distinguished by many rare and, in some cases, unique manuscripts, including many early copies of important works and a number of autographed manuscripts. Beginning in 1961, Fehmi Edhem Karatay produced a seven-volume catalog of the library’s Arabic, Persian, and Turkish collections organized according to the language and literary genre of each work. In addition to works in these languages, the library also has a sizable uncataloged collection of material in European languages. For those interested in the Greek, Latin, Armenian, and Syriac holdings of the library, we suggest consulting D. Adolf Deissmann’s Forschungen und Funde im Serai (Berlin-Leipzig, 1933).
The majority of the library’s collection consists of works related to Islamic religious sciences along with many works of history, grammar, poetry, belles lettres, and other sciences. Its Arabic works are distinguished by a large number of early copies of the Quran, including a few which were reportedly copied by ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan and ‘Ali bin Abi Talib. The library’s Turkish works include a large number of histories of the Ottoman dynasty, many of which are preserved solely through the library’s copy.
While the library is certainly of great importance to historians and scholars of Islamic studies, the library’s significant collection of finely produced volumes and illustrated manuscripts mark it as one of the great libraries in the world for art historians. Most of the volumes with miniatures were produced in the palace painters’ atelier (nakkaşhane) or in Iran and subsequently acquired by the dynasty. In addition to the illustrated volumes, the library also has an important collection of calligraphy (hat) and other art forms.
Research Experience
Topkapı’s library is a pleasant place to work. The library’s reading room is located in the anteroom of the former Ağalar Camii. The room consists of two large tables at which researchers may examine manuscripts. The reading room has sufficient natural light for reading and is enclosed on four side by walls of beautifully decorated seventeenth-century İznik tiles. As library patrons work in the library after making an appointment (see Accessibility section below for details on this procedure), the reading room is never crowded. Researchers request manuscripts from the library staff by submitting a short request form. Generally the staff make requested manuscripts available within ten minutes of a request. Researchers are asked to wear gloves while examining any of the library’s manuscripts.
The reading room has a complete copy of Karatay’s seven-volume catalog of the collection. The reading room’s copy of the catalog is more accurate than other copies, as it includes a number of marginal notes and corrections which detail the actual location and state of the library’s collection. In addition to these catalogs, the reading room also has a catalog key which converts the collection shelf mark number to Karatay’s catalog accession number. This catalog key is an extremely useful tool for locating references to manuscripts in Karatay’s catalogs. Aside from these materials, the library has no readily accessible reference material.
The only difficult aspect of working at the Topkapı library is negotiating the crowds of tourists on the palace grounds. As the palace is one of the most popular tourist sites in Turkey, researchers must contend with the thousands of tourists who enter the palace every day. When entering the palace grounds at the Gate of Salutation (Bab-i Selam), we advise researchers to head straight to the guard booth at the gate and present themselves as a researcher at the library. The guard will ask you to pick up a visitor’s card (ziyaretçi kartı) from the guided tours ticket sales booth. With this card, researchers may enter the palace grounds without purchasing a ticket.
While the archive is currently closed, researchers may request to purchase digital archival material if they know the archival reference number and the material has already been digitized. Requests for purchase are submitted to the archive’s director and are generally approved and ready for pick up within one week (see Reproduction section below).
The staff of the library and archive are quite friendly and willing to help. Some of the staff speak English, so researchers without Turkish should be able to manage.
Accessibility
Researchers must obtain permission to conduct research at Topkapı from the Museum Directorate. The research request application consists of a request form, a research statement produced by the researcher which describes his or her research and specifies the material at the archive or library the researcher requests to consult, a letter of affiliation with a research institution, and a photocopy of the researcher’s identification (passport or Turkish national id card). The research statement should include 1) a description of the current project on which the applicant is working, 2) mention of the purpose of the study (doctoral dissertation, academic article, etc.), 3) enumeration of the specific works or archival materials to be examined, and 4) the contact information and signature of the applicant. These applications are processed within a few days. The museum offers research permission valid for a single calendar year; each January permission must be renewed with a new application.
The library is open Monday through Friday between 9:00 and 16:00 with a one hour break for lunch between 12:00 and 13:00. After obtaining permission, those who wish to work at the library should make an appointment by telephone or in person. Researchers in wheelchairs will have some difficulty navigating the palace ground and the three steps at the library entry.
Reproduction Requests and Costs
Researchers working in the library may request digital reproductions of material upon submission of a short request form. In general, if these requests are for non-commercial scholarly use, they are quickly approved within one or two days. Reproductions of non-illustrated pages cost 2 TL for foreigners per photographic exposure and half as much for Turkish nationals. Reproductions of illustrated material cost more.
Digital reproductions of archival material may be obtained in a similar manner. As with the library, these reproductions also cost 2 TL per photographic exposure. As the archive is currently closed, researchers must know the defter or evrak reference number of their documents in order for their requests to be processed. After researchers have obtained research authorization, they may request reproductions remotely. Once the museum receives payment via bank transfer, the staff will mail copies of the requested material on CD.
Transportation and Food
The museum is in the very center of Istanbul and easily accessible by tramway. Researchers can disembark at either the Sultanahmet or Gülhane tramway stop and then proceed to the palace on foot. The approach from Sultanahmet is a bit further but is on relatively level ground, whereas the Gülhane approach necessitates a short walk up a hill.
There are few options for food on the grounds of the palace. Konyalı is the only restaurant on the grounds of the palace. It has a beautiful terrace with views of the Bosphorus, but meals here are relatively expensive. Researchers may find many options for lunch outside of the palace, but they will need to re-enter the palace grounds—and contend with the masses of tourists—when they return. We recommend packing a lunch and finding a bench to eat in one of the palace’s gardens.
Contact Information
T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Müdürlüğü
The English version of this site only includes tourist information. We recommend that researchers use the Turkish version of the site to learn more about developments at the archive and library.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (The Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office, hereafter “the Ottoman archives”) is the primary repository for state archival documents in Turkey related to the Ottoman Empire. As the only major archive of a pre-modern Muslim state, the archive contains a vast collection of unique documents pertaining to the administration of one of history’s largest empires. 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.
A view of the Ottoman archives complex in Kağıthane
History
In some ways, the origins of the Ottoman archives extend back as far as the origins of the early Ottoman polity. The present collection contains a few documents from the earliest period up to the reign of Sultan Süleyman in the sixteenth century, at which point the expanding differentiation in bureaucratic function facilitated increased document production. Contemporary scholars only have a general sense of how these records were maintained in the earlier periods, as, by the late eighteenth century, the archival collections were significantly reorganized along new lines, which in many cases have been maintained until today. The organization of these records as a modern archive began in 1847 with the establishment of Hazine-i Evrak. The original building was located on the grounds of the grand vezir’s offices in Gülhane and contained several main groups of documents: the records of the Imperial Council (Divan-i Hümayun) and the records of the grand vezir’s office (Bab-i Ali), as well as the records of the financial departments (Maliye) and cadastral surveys (tapu tahrir defteri). 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 Müdürlüğu. During this period,the records of various nineteenth-century Ottoman offices and administrative authorities were added to the collections. 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.
Collections
The collections of the Ottoman archives may be divided broadly between defters (bound notebooks) and evrak (loose papers), whether preserved individually or in larger files. The defters, of which approximately 300,000 are located within the archive, can be further divided between accounting reports—often of financial records or land surveys for tax assessment—and diplomatic records, which contain copies or summaries of outgoing orders and other communications. The evrak, of which approximately 150 million are preserved at the archive, range from original copies of imperial decrees to administrative reports and communications, and even odd notes of low-level bureaucrats.
The early efforts of Turkish scholars to classify the archives focused on organizing and arranging the evrak. Between 1918 and 1921, Ali Emiri sorted 180,361 documents in chronological order and cataloged them according to the reign of the sultan during which they were produced (coded “A.E.”). Shortly thereafter, İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal organized an additional 46, 467 documents according to twenty-three subjects, the largest groups of which concerned financial matters (12,201) and military affairs (8,227) (coded “İ.E.”). In the 1930s, Muallım Cevdet followed İbnülemin’s example and sorted 184,256 documents in sixteen subjects, including military (54,984), charitable foundation record (33,351), and internal affairs (17,468) (coded “C.”).
Since these early efforts, the archive’s staff has largely endeavored to sort and classify documents according to the departments and offices in which they were initially produced. In addition to this work, the archive staff formed a number of special categories which isolate documents according to type; most imperial writs (hatt-ı hümayun), decrees (irade), and charitable foundation records (vakıf) are cataloged in this way. Beginning with the reforms of the Tanzimat period, the breadth and depth of Ottoman administration increased exponentially. This bureaucratic development led to the creation of numerous central and provincial administrative authorities and offices all of which produced their own records.
The archive’s bound notebooks consist of three broad organizational categories. The first category pertains to the records of the Imperial Council (divan)and Grand Vezirate. Of these, the most significant type are the registers of important matters of state (mühimme defteri), which consist of 263 registers covering the period 961-1323/1553-1905, although large portions of the registers for the seventeenth century are no longer extant. These registers report a day-to-day summary of all outgoing correspondence issued from the Imperial Council. The second category of notebooks consists of the cadastral survey registers (tapu tahrir defteri), which contain the land and population surveys from most of the provinces and territories of the Empire. The collection includes approximately 1,153 separate registers, the earliest of which is a tımar register of a sancak in Albania completed in 835/1431. It should be noted that registers pertaining to Arabia, Egypt, and North Africa are not included among the Ottoman archive’s collections. The last category of notebooks contain information related to the financial administration of the empire and consists of registers on income and expenditures, including many salary registers of palace and state employees.
The Ottoman archives also contain a variety of overlapping collections from different archives. The vast majority of the bound registers of the Topkapı Palace Museum Archive are accessible in digital format at the Ottoman archives. The court records (sicillat) of every Ottoman city within the modern borders of Turkey, excluding Istanbul, are available at the archive. (Many of these are also available at İSAM) There are also numerous Ottoman documents from neighboring countries like Russia and Bulgaria. Finally, researchers can also access many of the twentieth-century Turkish Republic documents from the Başbakanlık Cumhuriyet Arşivi in digital format through the Ottoman archive site in Kağıthane, though this requires a separate registration.
For a detailed explanation of the archive’s collections, we suggest researchers consult Osmanlı Arşivi Rehberi, an electronic copy of which may be downloaded at Archive Directorate’s website (see below). The indispensable guide provides a nearly complete listing for most of the Ottoman archive’s collections.
Research Experience
Archive patrons conduct research in either the computer reading room (araştırma odası) or the document viewing room (inceleme odası). The computer reading room contains approximately seventy-five computer stations from which researchers may search for material using the archive’s catalog software. Any of the archive’s material that has been digitized is also accessible from these computer stations. In addition to the archive’s catalog software, the computer reading room also contains more than 1,100 printed volumes of the archive’s catalogs. If the desired material is not available in digital format, researchers may request to consult the original documents, which are made available for consultation in the viewing room. See Original Documents section below.
Catalogs and Searches: The collections of the Ottoman archives are incompletely cataloged in approximately 1,160 volumes. These volumes are organized according to the names of the collection (fon) and sub-collection (alt fon). Entries within each catalog contain a brief description of the document with date (if available). In addition to these volumes, researchers may search for material from any of the reading room’s seventy-five computer stations. The search tools available through the archive’s software enable patrons to pull up descriptions of any bound notebook (defter), folder (dosya), or file (gömlek) that has been digitally cataloged. Additionally, researchers can search for key terms included in any of the catalog descriptions of the archive’s collections. The Archives Directorate also has a separate searchable online catalog (see below) of the archives collections.
Researchers should exercise due diligence when using the archive’s computer catalog. A simple keyword search may return thousands of results for documents in the archives. Those researching pre-nineteenth century topics may be disappointed to find that there are very few documents for the early modern period whereas those researching modern topics may be fooled into thinking that that every relevant document is listed. The reality is that even for modern documents, much of the material is uncataloged. Researchers should use the printed catalogs available in the computer reading room in order to determine what part of the archive contains relevant material. They can then request folders (dosyalar) or defters for these sections and go through the documents or entries individually. Researchers focusing on earlier periods will have fewer loose documents (evrak) to consult and may have to rely primarily on defters. The majority of these defters have been digitized, although only superficially cataloged. Date (tarih) parameters on the search software will not return any defter results. Therefore, the relevant section of the archive must be selected and researchers should limit search criteria to key terms when looking for defters. In addition, for the early modern period, some of the catalogs for the earlier classified collections have not been transcribed and are only accessible through their pre-script reform published catalogs.
Digitized Documents: If the researcher identifies material that has been digitized, he or she may consult the digitized copy from the computer stations. Generally, these digital photographs have been taken from relatively legible black-and-white photocopies. In some instances, the digitized files consist of more recently produced digital photographs. If digitized copies of the material are illegible, researchers may ask the reading room staff for permission to consult the original documents.
Original Documents: Researchers may request permission to consult non-digitized original documents using the computer terminals in the reading room. Original documents are made available for consultation in the viewing room at regular intervals. Requests that are made before 9:15 in the morning will be fulfilled by 11:30. Requests made before 11:15 will be fulfilled by 13:30, while requests made before 13:30 will be fulfilled by 15:15. Unfortunately requests made after 13:30 on a given day will not be fulfilled until 13:30 the following day. Researchers may request up to four boxes (dosya), twenty-five individual files (gömlek/belge), or five defters. Researchers may keep original materials in a cabinet in the viewing room for up to one week.
Library: Within the viewing room, researchers may consult the archive’s library. The library contains around 15,000 volumes, approximately one-third of which are serial journals. The other 10,000 works include the most important reference materials researchers will need, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a number of catalogs. The library’s catalog can be accessed through the archive’s website, although, as there is no internet access at on site, researchers will not have access to this catalog while working at the archive. Researchers may browse the library’s shelves or ask the staff to help locate particular volumes.
Accessibility
The Ottoman archives are currently open Monday-Friday 9:00 – 19:00 and Saturdays 9:00 – 17:00, excluding all official Turkish holidays. Although the archive is open until 19:00, researchers must receive their documents before 16:00 and are not allowed to photograph after 17:00. The last call to return documents is 16:00 Researchers may store documents overnight in one of the viewing room’s cabinet. If researchers wish to return the documents to the depot, they must turn them in to the staff before 16:00.
All archive patrons must obtain a valid archive identification card before using any of the archive’s resources. These ID cards are issued upon the staff’s verification of an applicant’s eligibility and completion of a short form, which details a researcher’s contact information and research subject. All Turkish citizens are eligible to access the archives upon presentation of their national identification card. Non-Turkish citizens are eligible to receive an ID upon presentation of their passports with a valid visa or residency permit (ikamet tezkiresi). Identification cards are valid for the entire term of a foreigner’s legal residence in Turkey (as established through the visa or residency permit). Technically researchers are only permitted to request material related to their research subject as described in their application form, although in practical terms there are few restrictions on what materials a researcher may access once he or she has obtained an identification card.
It is quite difficult to conduct research at the Ottoman archives without a decent ability to read and speak Turkish. While the archive’s staff are helpful, most of them only speak Turkish; Fuat Bey, who speaks Arabic as well, is an exception in this regard. Another member of the archive staff also speaks Bosnian. More importantly all catalogs and the computer search system are in Turkish. We advise researchers who do not speak Turkish to ask a Turkish-speaking friend or researcher for help in the archive.
As the archive is located in a newly opened building, it is fully wheelchair accessible.
Transportation and Food
The Ottoman archives are located in the Sadabad neighborhood of Kağıthane municipality. This new archives building, officially opened in June 2013, is less accessible from many parts of Istanbul than the old archive site in Gülhane. The new archive facility is spacious and well organized, but its placement in Sadabad limits its accessibility via public transportation to a handful of bus lines. Travelers coming from Taksim may reach the archives using bus line 48T (Hamidiye Mah.-Taksim) which departs from Taksim. We advise travelers who plan to take this line to depart before 9:30. After this time the frequency of this line diminishes significantly. The fastest way for researchers coming from the Anatolian side to reach the archive is via the Metrobus with a transfer to the 49 or 49N at the Taşıtlar bus stop located next to the Mecidiyeköy Metrobus stop. Both of these bus lines also pass through the middle of Şişli. There are also minibuses that frequently pass the archives, often going to Şişli, 4. Levent, Topkapı (the neighborhood, not the palace), and other locations.
The new location of the archives is also largely devoid of food options. Researchers will find lunch offered in the archive’s cafeteria (yemekhane) between 12:00-13:00. The lunch, offered to all of the employees of the archive administration, costs 5 TL for visitors and consists of a soup, main dish, and side dish. Although the lunch is healthy and sufficient, vegetarians and people with other dietary restrictions may have trouble with the cafeteria’s offerings on most days. In addition to the cafeteria, there is also a cafe in the lobby of the main research building. In addition to coffee and tea, researchers will find a variety of packaged snacks, as well as a few baked goods in the morning (simit and poğaca).
Reproduction Requests and Costs
As of September 2013, copies of digitized and original documents may be obtained for 25 kuruş per pose. Maps, photographs, and other special archival material cost 4.50 TL. There are no limits on the amount of material a researcher may request, although attempts to request entire defters are often rejected. Copies of digitized material may be made directly from a researcher’s account at any of the computer terminals in the reading room. Researchers may request that the archive staff produce a digital copy of original material or they may use their own cameras to take photographs. In either case, researchers need to complete a reproduction request form in the viewing room. Digital copies provided by the archive are given on compact disc. Researchers pay for copies of digitized or original material at the counter of archive’s small bookstore in the lobby. The archive only accepts cash and can provide receipts. Researchers can only request reproductions of archive material by coming to the archive in person.
Temporary Notice
While the majority of the archives’ collections have been relocated from Gülhane and are now available at the new Sadabad location, there are a number of collections which, as of 10 October 2013, are not available to researchers: Bab-ı Defteri (D.), Evkaf Nezareti (EV.), Hazine-i Hassa (HH.), Mabeyn-i Hümayun (MB.), Maliye Nezareti (ML.), Ticaret Nezareti (T.), and the first 200 dossiers of Bab-ı Ali Evrak Odası (BEO.).
İSAM (İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi) is the best research library in Turkey for Ottoman and Islamic studies. The research center’s strength lies in its combination of a relatively extensive collection of printed volumes with a number of important digitized collections of archival documents. The research center is located in the Bağlarbaşı neighborhood in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul.
The facade of the İSAM library
History
The idea for a research center for Islamic studies developed as an outgrowth of the İslam Ansiklopedisi project of Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı (Turkish Religious Foundation) in the late-1980s. The encyclopedia, which is now nearly finished, printed its first volume in 1988 and now has published forty-two of the forty-four planned volumes covering approximately 18,000 topics related to Islamic studies. In 1988 the Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı established the Islamic Research Center to help facilitate the research of graduate students and scholars who received fellowships from the foundation. In 1993 the encyclopedia project and research center were merged to form Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi (İSAM). The present location of the research center was established on the campus of 29 Mayıs Üniversitesi in 1988 and has been serving Turkish and international graduate students and scholars ever since.
Collections
İSAM probably has the best collection of printed volumes and serial journals related to Islamic history and religious studies in Turkey. In addition to these collections, the library also has several important digital and special collections.
Printed Volumes and Special Collections:
The library’s printed material includes 237,000 volumes and more than 3,500 serial journals. Religious sciences and Ottoman history constitute the library’s strongest fields, although the library has a good collection of works published in Turkish related to a wide range of disciplines. With respect to religious sciences, the library has many of the most important primary religious texts published in Arabic related to hadith, tafsir, fiqh, kalam, and other Islamic religious disciplines. Secondary literature on these subjects is strongest with respect to works published in Turkish, although the library has a decent collection of works published in English and other foreign languages related to Islamic studies. The library’s other strong area relates to Ottoman studies. Here, the library has an extensive collection of published editions of primary sources, as well as monographs and other scholarly works related to the history, literature, and culture of the Ottoman Empire. While the library’s collection is mostly Turkish, researchers can find many important scholarly works in other languages (mostly English) related to Ottoman studies.
The library’s collection in non-Ottoman Islamic history is considerably weaker. Even so, the library has many of the most important published primary sources in Arabic and Persian and a fair collection of secondary material (again mostly in Turkish). Despite this relative weakness, this portion of İSAM’s collection is still probably the best available in Turkey. The library also has a nice collection of dissertations which have been donated over the years by researchers who have conducted some portion of their graduate research at the center.
One of the unique aspects of the library’s collection is the files it maintains on over 19,000 subjects related to Islamic studies. These files are the product of the research for the İslam Ansiklopedisi entries and contain photocopies of encyclopedic entries, articles, and other references related to the file’s topic.
Lastly, the library has an extensive reference collection and a fair number of serial journals. The reference collection includes all major encyclopedias, bio-bibliographic reference works, and dictionaries researchers will need in the course of their studies. The library’s serial journals focus on scholarly publications related to Islamic studies and Ottoman/Turkish history. In this respect, the library’s journal collection includes many titles from the early twentieth century or from small Turkish journals which are often difficult to find in North American and European research libraries. The shelving organization of these materials is extremely poor. While encyclopedias and other multi-volume works are always shelved together, they are never organized according to volume number. This presents a problem when trying to locate a single volume of a serial journal on a shelf with more than one hundred printed volumes!
Databases and Digital Collections:
İSAM has a number of important databases and digitized collections which are available to the library’s researchers.
The database of manuscripts in Turkish libraries (Türkiye Kütüphaneleri Veri Tabanı) is probably the library’s most important database. With approximately 709,000 entries for manuscripts and printed works from 122 different libraries in Turkey, the database is an invaluable tool for researchers who work with Islamic and Ottoman manuscripts.
In addition to this database, the library has a number of other databases which have collected bibliographic information on all theses produced in Turkish universities related to Islamic or Ottoman studies—to date this collection has more than 260,000 entries.
The library also has several digital collections which are of interest to Ottomanists. Firstly, the library has an extensive collection of Ottoman court records. The collection includes digitized copies of the Ottoman court records (mahkemenin kadı sicilleri) located in Turkey and other countries. The collection has records from the İstanbul Muftülüğü, the court registers of Milli Kütüphane, as well as the court registers for much of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Crimea, Damascus, Aleppo and Jerusalem. A full list can be accessed at the Kadı Sicilleri Kataloğu Veri Tabanı.
In addition to these court records, the library also has a modest collection of digitized manuscripts, the Ottoman newspaper Takvim-i Vekayi, and a collection of the Ottoman provincial yearbooks (salnameler). The library has also compiled a useful search engine for Ottoman treatises (risaleler) and articles (makaleler), which provides a PDF copy of the original article. The database is particularly useful for locating early twentieth-century scholarship published in Turkey. On top of this, the library is entrusted with the personal archives and music collections of some twentieth-century Turkish historians.
Research Experience
Working at İSAM is a relatively straightforward process. The library has many tables located across three floors, most of which are equipped with electric outlets in the floor. The library’s collections are mostly stored in open stacks which researchers may browse as they like.
The library has an online catalog of its collections which can be accessed from any of the computer terminals on each floor of the library. Although the catalog is only in Turkish, its relative simplicity renders it accessible to non-Turkish speakers. The search function of the catalog only has three options: title name (eser adı), author (yazar), or publication place/publisher (yayın yeri/yayınlanan). Researchers looking for material published in a non-Latin alphabet should keep in mind that the library’s materials are cataloged according to the conventions of modern Turkish transcription. In this regard, the library suggests that researchers not include Arabic or Persian grammatical features (idafa/ezafe, i‘rab, etc.) in their search terms.
The library’s workspace is comfortable, although some areas are poorly lit and often crowded. The library’s great collections and location near a number of universities have made it a popular destination for study. Most mornings the library is relatively empty, but after lunch many students arrive to do homework and other assignments. Despite the occasional crowds, the library is still a relatively quiet place to get work done.
While the library offers wireless internet, connections from many places in the library are weak and slow. Passwords for the library’s six wireless connections can be obtained from the front desk. Researchers must enter their email and personal password (last name) in order to connect to one of the wireless networks.
The interior of the İSAM library
Accessibility
İSAM is open every day between 9:00 and 23:00 except holidays, however the library’s digital collections, documentation files, and photocopy services are only available to researchers between 9:00 and 19:00. The library is wheel-chair accessible, although the tea garden (mentioned below) can only be accessed via a flight of stairs.
The library is open to graduate students and university instructors. Researchers intending to work at İSAM may enter the campus of 29 Mayıs Üniversitesi after receiving a guest pass from the guard at the front gate. Researchers may obtain a membership card for İSAM which will provide them access to the campus and the research center by completing an application at the circulation desk of the library. The application consists of a simple form, proof of a researcher’s affiliation with a university or research center, and the submission of one passport sized photograph. Membership cards are generally ready within one business day.
Reproduction Requests and Costs
The library has a photocopy center that will produce photocopies or scans for 5 kuruş per page (as of 10 October 2013). While researchers may request that most things be copied, there are limits on recently published books, theses, and certain other material. Generally the photocopiers are reluctant to scan more than fifty pages of any item as above this the files become too large to email.
Researchers may also make requests for reproductions of the library’s digital collections. These requests are made through a library patron’s account after signing in to view any of the digital material. Requests for copies from the digital collection generally take a couple of days to process as each request is sent to the center’s director for approval.
Transport and Food
İSAM is easily accessible by a number of forms of public transportation. Several buses that leave from Üsküdar and Kadıköy pass by a main intersection that is 150 meters from İSAM’s entrance. Dolmuşes, which are a little more expensive, but probably faster, also pass along the same main road. Dolmuşes leaving from Kadıköy depart across the street from the main bus stop, while dolmuşes from Üsküdar leave next to Selmanağa Camii. The library may also be reached via a one-kilometer walk from the Altunizade Metrobus stop.
There are many food options in close proximity to İSAM. There is a cafeteria (yemekhane) on 29 Mayıs Üniversitesi campus which is open to researchers at İSAM. Lunch is served to the library’s patrons between 13:00 and 14:00 and costs 5 TL. The lunch is healthy and filling, but may pose problems for vegetarians and others with special dietary requirements. There are also a number of restaurants in close proximity to the research center; Melek Ev Yemekleri serves good food with many vegetarian options for 8 TL/per plate. Next to the library, there is a small cafe which provides glasses of tea free of charge and nescafe for 60 kuruş a cup.
