Written by Theo Knights (2024)

INtroduction

Opened in 2013, the Ottoman Archives Complex of the Directorate of State Archives (Devlet Arsivleri Baskanligi Osmanli Arsivi Külliyesi), located in the Kagithane district of Istanbul, contains the largest and most important collection of state archival documents from the Ottoman Empire. In 2018, the archive was renamed the Ottoman Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of State Archives (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaskanligi Devlet Arsivleri Baskanligi Osmanli Arsivi), having previously been called the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office (Basbakanlik Osmanli Arsivi).

Although the archive's accessible materials have been digitized, foreign researchers are only permitted to access them via computer terminals in the archive's reading room. The archive contains both notebooks (defter) and loose documents (evrak) related to the functioning of the Ottoman state from its earliest years through its dissolution in the 20th century. These materials are grouped into various fonds and sub-fonds, either by the name of the department and offices that produced them or by the names of several early archivists.

The reading room of the archival complex is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, except on national holidays.

Location: Google Maps

GOING THERE

The archival complex is accessible by a 15 min. walk from the Kagithane Metro Station, served by both the M7 and M11 metro lines, or by a short downhill walk from the Prof. Dr. Cemil Tasçioglu Sehir Hastanesi bus stop on Namzet Sokak, serviced by a number of buses (54E, 54K, 54Ç, 54ÖR) from the Taksim/Nisantasi area. Additionally, direct access to the front of the archives (Sadabad Osmanli Arisivi stop) from Taksim/Besiktas is available via the 48T bus, which now runs every 30 minutes on weekdays.

GETTING IN

You must first pass through a security check point at the pedestrian gate of the archives, where first-time visitors without a Turkish ID card need to present their passports. Upon exiting the security booth, turn left, go up the external stairs, and turn right into a display hall and researcher reception area. New visitors must apply for a researcher card in the office located on the right, just inside the entrance. The application process, which usually takes no more than 20 min., requires another passport and visa check, as well as the completion of a "Researcher Request Form." This form, in Turkish, asks for your name, nationality, affiliation and position, educational status, permanent address, phone number, email, local address in Turkey (be sure to know your local mahalle in addition to your larger district, e.g., Beyoglu/Sisli/Eyüp), passport number, and a brief description of your research topic. Visitors without an existing account in the document retrieval system may also be asked for their parents' names. You no longer need to provide the archive with a biometric photo.

The official in charge of registration will take your photo and print your researcher card, which will be valid for the duration of your visa or visa-free stay in Turkey. You will also receive a username and password for logging in to the document retrieval system on the reading room's computers.

Finally, the security desk opposite the registration office will check you in and provide arriving researchers with a key to the free lockers where you must deposit your bags and coats. You may bring phones, books, and laptops into the reading room. After securing your belongings, take the elevator up to the reading room floor.

Finding your material

In the reading room, go directly to any one of the numerous available computers and log into the document retrieval system using the username and password provided during the registration process. Upon logging in, select the archive you wish to search. In addition to the Ottoman Archives, the State Archives of the Turkish Republic and the Turkish Diplomatic Archives are also accessible from these terminals.

The retrieval system uses drop-down menus that allow you to select the fond and sub-fond, within which you can perform a keyword search on document descriptions provided by the archivists. These sub-fonds are usually further divided between loose documents/evrak (indicated by the sub-fond code alone) and defters (marked with a ".d" and the end of the sub-fond code). You can further refine your searches by date.

Since many documents lack descriptions, sub-fonds can also be searched by defter or file (dosya) number. Because keyword searches can be misleading, it’s advisable to consult the finding aid, "Basbakanlik Osmanli Arsivi Rehberi," published by the Directorate of State Archives and accessible online. This guide provides a brief description of all the sub-fonds, their codes in the archive, the dates they cover, and their defter or file numbers.

Ordering your material

You can view files in the document retrieval system by double-clicking the document description or document code, which will open the material in a separate viewer that allows you to zoom and manipulate the images.

Ordering scans

The archive provides scans to researchers only via CD, so visitors should locate or purchase a disk drive before their visit.

In the reading room's document retrieval system, each file or defter you open will display a table on the left-hand side of the screen showing its pages and allowing you to quickly navigate between them. By clicking the check-box next to the page or pages of interest, you can add them to your cart of scan requests. Once you have selected all the documents you wish to get, approach a staff member — either those seated at the bank of desks along the wall as you enter or those seated at stand-alone desks throughout the room — to burn the requested documents to a CD.

In addition to a small fee for the CD, each page scan costs 0.5 kurus, payable by card only. While it was once difficult to secure permission to purchase scans of entire defters or dosyas, this is no longer an issue, and you can now comfortably request scans of multiple defters at a time.

Food and well-being

The archive building is climate controlled and comfortable, even in summer, and there is a free water cooler located at the entrance to the reading room. A small cafeteria, open to researchers and staff, is located on the archive's grounds (located on the right as you exit the display hall). It serves toasted sandwiches, soup, tea, and a limited selection of cold drinks at minimal cost. In addition, one block north of the archive, along the main road, the new Premier Kampüs Kagithane office block houses a Starbucks and several restaurants and cafes suitable for lunch.

Additional remarks

The archival complex purports to have public wi-fi, however, the connection is often spotty and researchers without a Turkish ID or phone number may have issues accessing it. It is best to either come prepared with the finding aids and dictionaries you need already downloaded to your computer, or to use your cellphone as a mobile hotspot.

A great number of documents in the archive are accessible online for those in possession of an e-Devlet account (typically reserved for Turkish citizens) through the "document scanning system" on the archive's website. However, fonds that are less well-researched and contain files lacking descriptions or were digitized using older protocols often still require a physical visit to the archive.