B3. OTTOMAN STUDIES (15th-19th cent.)

Programme objective:

The Ottoman Studies course at the Institute of Modern Greek Research / Hellenic Research Institute (INE/EIE) focuses on three pillars:

1. The study of the housing grid, population dynamics and economic activities of populations in the Ottoman Empire which lived in regions that are today part of the Greek State. The main aim of the course continues to be the publication and commentary on Ottoman sources so as to create a corpus. The programme participated in the research programmes "Thesprotia Expedition" conducted by the Finnish Institute at Athens (2005-20010) and "Ottoman Larnaca" by the Department of Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cyprus (2009-2011). From the beginning of 2013 it has been working alongside the Cyprus Institute on the Programme Ottoman Sources of Paphos, which will be completed in 2017. The programme also participates in research into the history of nutrition in collaboration with the Piraeus Bank Cultural Foundation (PIOP). From 2000 - 2008 it organized conferences held by the HISTORY OF WINE (ΟΙΝΟΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΩ) team on the history of wine in Greece.

2. The study of Cappadocia. The programme focuses on cultural aspects of the Rum inhabitants of the area from the 15th century up to the Population Exchange. Since 2010 the programme has been working alongside the Τurkish Cultural Foundation on research in Karamanlidika Studies, which aims at locating and publishing archival material on Turcophone Orthodox Rums in the Ottoman Empire and Karamanlidika publications, namely books, periodicals and newspapers, which circulated in the Turkish language printed in Greek characters, from the early 18th up to the first decades of the 20th century. Since 2011 the Ottoman Studies programme has taken part in the Intensive Ottoman and Turkish Summer School (Cunda / Alibey Adasi), where Evangelia Balta introduces students to research into Ottoman archival material related to the history of the Turcophone Orthodox population in Central Asia Minor and their intellectual production (Karamanlidika publications and documents). The programme organized two International Conferences on Karamanlidika studies in collaboration with the University of Cyprus (2008) and Yildiz University (2010). In November 2013 it is holding the ΙΙΙ International Workshop of Karamanlidika Studies (Uchisar, 2 Nov. 2013).

3. External collaboration. The programme works alongside external associates on topics of mutual interest and accommodates their research. This collaboration includes the programme to create a ''Corpus of Ottoman Epigraphy in Greece (CIOG-Corpus Inscriptionum Ottomanicarum Graeciae)'' and the seminar cycle on Ottoman Epigraphy undertaken by Dimitris Loupis. See Ottoman Epigraphy. Within the context of the programme and kindly sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Foundation, a Course in Ottoman Language & Paleography was introduced during the year 2012-2013, which will also continue during the academic year 2013-2014.

It also collaborates with professors from Istanbul University and Sehir University (Istanbul) in conducting studies and with the Universities of Hacettepe and Bilkent (Ankara), SOAS (University of London) and Harvard University in training postgraduate students in Greece and abroad.

It welcomes and collaborates with Turkish professors who visit Greece and the Hellenic Research Institute on matters concerning their research. Turkish students are trained on the programme. In 2006-2007 the HRI welcomed the postgraduate students Filiz Yasar (subject of thesis: Chios in Ottoman tax registers) and Elif Bayraktar (The institution of the Orthodox Church in the 17th century). In 2008 Suleyman Emre Sunu was trained on the programme (Labour movement in Thessaloniki during the Mesrutiyet-regime). In 2009-2010 we welcomed Filiz Yasar on a grant from the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) and the Foundation for Education and European Culture. In 2010 we also welcomed Senhaz Sismanoglu, a postgraduate student from Bogazici University (with a thesis on Karamanlidika texts). And in 2010-2011 Gurer Karagedikli (Bilkent University), writing a thesis on the Jewish community in 18th century Hadrianopolis. The last two students received a grant from the Turkish Cultural Foundation. In 2011-2013 Αytek Soner Alpan was trained on the programme on a grant given to him by the Foundation for Education and European Culture.

Since 2010 the Ottoman Studies programme has been working alongside the Turkish Cultural Foundation, which undertook to provide grants to Turkish students so they could train at the Hellenic Research Institute.

Programme Coordinator: Evangelia Balta, Research Director.

Researcher: Dimitris Loupis, External Associate.