Ottoman Archival Materials for the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: The Archives of Istanbul Author(s): Stanford

J. Shaw Source: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan., 1975), pp. 94-114 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/162736 . Accessed: 03/03/2014 04:48
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to International Journal of Middle East Studies.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

94

Int. J. Middle East Stud. 6 (I975), 94-114

Printed in Great Britain

Stanford J. Shaw OTTOMAN THE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS EARLY FOR TWENTIETH

NINETEENTH THE

AND

CENTURIES:

ARCHIVES

OF ISTANBUL

It has been just fifteen years since my researches in the Bagbakanlik Arsivi (Prime Minister's Archives) in Istanbul on Ottoman provincial administration and finance before the nineteenth century' led me to attempt to describe what I saw in the archives for the benefit of other researchers.2 Since that time, a number of additional collections in that archive have been catalogued and made available, and my own subsequent research into the Ottoman reform movement in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have enabled me to examine these and other materials which I did not see or examine during my earlier research efforts in Istanbul. It is the purpose of this survey, then, to describe these more modern archival materials in Istanbul, particularly those in the Basbakanlik Arsivi which were not described in my earlier article, in the hope of encouraging all those interested in modern Ottoman and Middle Eastern history to make use of them in the course of their own research.3 In order to help the reader understand the nature of the bulk of materials in each collection, I am dividing them into four general categories: basic laws and regulations, administrative records and regulations, records of sultans and individual statesmen, and judicial records, although in fact the materials in each collection at least partly overlap in nature with those of the others.
I See S. J. Shaw, The Financial and Administrative Organization and Development of Ottoman Egypt, I517-1798 (Princeton, N.J., 1962); Ottoman Egypt in the Age of the French Revolution (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1964); The Budget of Ottoman Egypt (The Hague, Holland, 1968). 2 S. J. Shaw, 'Archival Sources for Ottoman History: The Archives of Turkey', Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 80 (i960), pp. I-12; 'Turkish Source materials for Egyptian History', Political and Social Change in Modern Egypt, ed. P. M. Holt (Oxford University Press, London and New York, 1968), pp. 28-48. 3 The best general inventory of the Basbakanllk Archives in Istanbul is Midhat Sertoglu, Muhteva Bakimindan Basvekalet Arfivi (Ankara, I955). It is a basic tool, and should be used consistently and regularly by all researchers.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul 95

A. BASIC (I) LAWS AND REGULATIONS

The Hatt-z Hiimayun collection Containing about Io,ooo documents from early in the eighteenth century to the start of the Tanzimat (I839), this collection consists primarily of documents and reports transmitted by the Grand Vezir's office (Bab-t Asafi) to the Sultan and the Imperial Council for deliberation and action, along with the orders issued as a result. For the most part, the different documents concerning individual problems were not kept together, but rather are found scattered throughout the collection. While no formal subject classification was followed in putting them together, the catalogues were generally arranged according to date, with materials concerning individual subjects often found relatively close to one another in the listings. Among subjects of interest treated in this collection are the reforms of sultans Selim III and Mahmud II, the French Expedition to Egypt, the Wahhabi movement in Arabia, and the Serbian and Greek revolutions. The original Ottoman handscript catalogues now have been supplanted by copies typed in the Latin script. (2) The Cevdet collection Documents were classified and catalogued from 1932 to 1937 by a committee under the direction of the well-known Istanbul scholar and bibliophile Muallim M. Cevdet.I Catalogues are available only in the typed Latin script. Covering primarily the years from I750 to 1839, this collection consists entirely of individual documents rather than dossiers, and has been catalogued into sixteen major subject categories:
Number of documents 6,371 54,984
12,743

Adliye/Judicial affairs Askeri/Military affairs

Bahriye/Naval affairs

Belediye/Municipal affairs Dahiliye/General administration Darphane/Ottoman mint, coinage Evkaf/Religious foundations Iktisat/Economic affairs Hariciye/Foreign affairs
Szhhiye/Public Saray/Palace health affairs

7,597 17,468 3,281 33,35

2,261

9,327
1,45I

Nafia/Public works Timar/Fief and military finances Zaptiye/Police and public security Eyaldt-z miimtdze/Special provinces Maarif/Education and cultural affairs Total
I

2,785
9,oI9

8,794 4,550 ,o032 9,242 I84,256

See Osman Ergin, Mualltm CevdetznHayatz, Eserleri ve Kiitiiphanesi (Istanbul, I937).

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

96

StanfordJ. Shaw

Within each general subject catalogue, documents have not been arranged either by date or by subcategory. In addition, when documents concerned several subjects, the cataloguers were compelled to make arbitrary judgments as to which single category catalogue they should be assigned. The careful researcher therefore should consult as wide a group of subject catalogues as is possible in the time available. (3) The Irade collection This is the basic collection of documents concerning the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, containing some 350,000 dossiers concerning the years from 1832 to the end of the Empire. For the most part, it is arranged into dossiers on each subject, containing the various documents and drafts involved in drawing up and issuing all the imperial decrees proclaimed during the last century of Ottoman existence. For the years from 1832 to I310/1892, one catalogue volume is set aside for the documents concerning each year. Each volume is arranged not by subject but only according to general category, Dahiliye/Internal affairs or Hariciye/Foreign and minority affairs from 1832 to 1840, with additional sections subsequently being provided in each catalogue to include dossiers for irddes issued by the special legislative bodies organized after that time, the Meclis-i Vdld-yz Ahkdm-z AdliyelSupreme Council of Judicial Ordinances' after I256/ I840, and the $ura-yz Devlet/Council of State2 after 1284/1867, and also those issued in connection with reports of the Meclis-i Mahsus-i ViikelalCouncil of Ministers after 1270/1853. Within each category, dossiers are arranged by date. The most important state problems are found among the 5,646 dossiers listed under Meclis-i Mahsus, the 7,2I4 dossiers under yura-yz Devlet, and the 21,136 dossiers under Hariciye. The approximately 80,ooo dossiers under Dahiliye and 26,336 dossiers under Meclis-i Vdld usually, but not always, concern matters of lesser importance. In addition to the catalogues arranged by year, a separate series of documents and catalogues concerning problems related to foreign affairs and the minority subjects of the Sultan has been prepared for the years from I839 to I857 under the general title Mesail-i Miihimme/Important Problems.3 Subjects dealt with in this series are relations with Austria, Denmark, Sardinia, Iran, Montenegro, Portugal, England, Wallachia and Moldavia, Serbia, Greece, Russia, France, Bulgaria, the Pope, Iran, Prussia, Lebanon, Egypt, and Tuscany; problems concerning the Protestant millet, the Armenian millet, the Kurds, the Catholic millet, the Jewish millet, the Latin rayas, the Greek millet, the tribes of eastern Anatolia, the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina, and the provinces of Crete, Ni?, Yemen, Sidon, Bagdad, Aleppo, Adana and Mara~, Damascus,
See S.J. Shaw, 'The Central Legislative Councils in the Nineteenth Century Ottoman Reform Movement before I876', IJMES, vol. I (1970), pp. 54-63. 2 Shaw, 'Central Legislative Councils', pp. 73-84. 3 See Sertoglu, Muhteva Bakmnindan,pp. 56-8, for a detailed list of the dossiers and their titles.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul 97 Ankara, Egypt, Bosnia, Diyarbekir, Thessaloniki, I?kodra (Scutari of Albania), Algiers, Sisam, Tunis, Hudavendigar (Bursa), Yanya (Janina), Uskib, Edirne, Erzurum, Aydin, and Trabzon; there are also separate catalogues dealing with problems such as the organization of quarantines, the Sultan's visits to Europe and different parts of the Empire, measures to be taken in consequence of revolts in Europe, and the like. An additional series of special catalogues, gathered under the general title Hiitiit-i Hiimayun (Imperial Rescripts), cover documents concerning subjects such as administrative and municipal regulations, military organization, the Imperial Arsenal (Tophane-i amire), the Imperial Dockyard (Tersane-i amire), state-owned buildings (Ebniye-i emiriyye), the Treasury for Foundation revenues (Hazine-i Evkaf), the private treasury of the Sultan (Hazine-i hassa-i fahane), weddings of members of the Ottoman family (Sur-i Hiimayun), Imperial and private factories, and the Imperial treasury. The documents in these subject collections are arranged according to date, and while they nominally go only to 1857, in fact documents from later dates may also be found in some of them, going at least up to the end of the nineteenth century. Starting in the year 1310/I892, the registers of the Irade collection for each year were divided according to Ministry, with separate annual catalogue volumes thus being provided for: DahiliyelInterior, HariciyelForeign and minority affairs, Adliye/Justice, Maarif/Education, Maliye/Finance, RusumatlExcise and special taxes, Tophane/Arsenal, Zabtiye/Police and security, Nafia/Public works, Orman ve Maadin/Forests and mines, Meseyhiye/Religious affairs, $ehir Emdneti/Istanbul municipality, Imtiyaz ve Mukavelat/Capitulations privileges and contracts with foreign individuals and companies, Telgraf ve Posta/Telegraph and post office, and Szhhiye/Public health. Separate catalogue volumes also were provided in most years for Hususi Irdddt/Special orders outside regular categories, Nizdmdt/Organizational ordinances and regulations, and Defter-i Hakani/Register of Imperial revenues. This system was followed until 1334/I916, well into World War I, when a new subject system was introduced, with all dossiers and their catalogues organized solely according to subject, in eight main groups: Group I dossiers. Matters concerning the Sultanate and the Imperial family: the organization of the Council of Ministers (Heyet-i Viikela) and changes in its membership; persons admitted to the presence of the Sultan; affairs of the Imperial Properties/Emlak-t Hiimayun; religious holidays and festivals; gifts awarded by the Sultan; foreign ambassadors to the Porte; Ottoman ambassadors abroad; institutions supported by the Sultan's treasury; the Emir of Mecca; Tripoli of Libya and Benghazi; foreign rulers and their families. Group II dossiers. Basic organizational regulations (nizamat) and instructions (talimat); commercial privileges and agreements; treaties; the coal mine of Eregli; foreign institutions in the Empire; questions of nationality; special agents sent to foreign governments; medals and insignia awarded by the Sultan; matters concerning foreign ships passing through the Straits; roads and bridges.
7
MES 6 I

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

98 StanfordJ. Shaw
Group III dossiers. Appointments to administrative positions; awards to administrators (memurzn). Group IV dossiers. Temporary laws; tax increases and exemptions. Group V dossiers. The Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina; the Imperial gift (siirre) sent annually to the Holy Cities; appointments as Imperial preacher (Hitabet); declarations of war; pardons for criminal punishments; affairs of the Hicaz railroad and the Hicaz; organization of courts; administrative organization and subdivisions; religious foundations; dismissal and trial of administrative officials; orders for execution and penal servitude; construction on state property; orphanages; martial law matters; societies; schools; provincial organization. Group VI dossiers. Petitions to the Sultan (miistediyat); reductions in salary for officials; foreign subjects in Ottoman service; congresses; private business companies; provincial budgets; provincial and district representative councils;' non-Muslim societies; archeological excavations; extraordinary taxes; budgets of special livas; basic laws (kavanin) and regulations (nizamat); the Ottoman constitution; regulations for the election of deputies; the Mecelle law code; agricultural and industrial fairs and exhibitions; railroads in Rumeli; the abolition of paper notes (kavaim-i nakdiyye) and the unification of the public debt; newspapers and magazines; foreign relations problems, with special dossiers on problems with England over Akaba and Kuwait, with Austria-Hungary over Bosnia and Herzegovina, with France over its occupation of Tunis and Algiers, and with various foreign powers regarding the Suez Canal, neutrality of the Black Sea, and navigation through the Straits; information on peace negotiations with Russia; the revolt of Serbia and Montenegro; Russian war indemnities; the Congress of Berlin, with special dossiers on matters concerning reforms in Anatolia, the definition of the Ottoman boundary with Greece, and lands to be left to Montenegro; Austrian refugees to the Ottoman Empire. Group VII dossiers; Military Affairs. Military appointments, demotions and gifts; military organization; military retirement affairs; military courts; reduction of military salaries; provisions of sancaks and awards and medals to sancaks; conscription; Gendarmerie; naval appointments, promotions and awards; naval retirements; naval courts; naval ranks; fleet affairs. Group VIII dossiers. Imperial rescripts (Hutut-i Hiimdyun); Imperial declarations (Beyanndme-i Hiimdyun); letters autographed by the Sultan (Ndme-i Hiimdyun); the Public Debt; papers concerning Yusuf Izzeddin Efendi; Imperial rescripts for the appointment of Grand Vezirs; and railroads, problems concerning Crete, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria and Sisam (Samos). In addition to the Irade document collections noted above, the Basbakanlik Ar?ivi also possesses a series of Irade registers (Irade kayzt defterleri) listing all their titles.
See Sertoglu, Muhteva Bakzmzndan,pp. 52-6, for a detailed list of the dossiers and

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul 99 Irades ever issued by the Ottoman government, arranged by date, with short summaries of each. However, no attempt has yet been made to coordinate these listings with the documents found in the Irade documents collection, so these registers at present are of limited use. (4) The Meclis-i Tanzimat and Nizamat Collection The texts of all basic laws (kavanin) and organizational regulations (nizamat) issued by the Council of the Tanzimat (Meclis-i Tanzimat) after its establishment as the basic Ottoman legislative organization in 1271/1854, and by its successors, the Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances/Meclis-i Ahkdm-z Adliye after 1278/I86I, the Council of Statel/ura-yz Devlet after 1285/I868, and the Ottoman Parliament in 1877-8 and after 1908, have been transcribed in full, along with all amendments and changes, in a series of thirty-seven registers, of which the first seven, covering the years from 1271/1854 to 1298/1861, bear the title Meclis-i Tanzimat defterleri/Registers of the Council of the Tanzimat, and the last thirty, covering the years from 1301/1883-4 to 1333/1914, bear the title Nizdmat/ Regulations.I The most important texts in this series which were still in force at the time were published by the Ottoman government in the series known as the Diistur, or Ottoman Code of Laws, in two series, with various supplements, as follows: (a) Series i (Birinci tertib/first arrangement), later known as the 'Old Dusturl Diistur-i Atik', was first printed in a single volume in 1279/1863, and later reprinted, with additions, in 1282/I865. This volume was reprinted for a third time in 1289/1872, also with additions, and then volumes 2, 3, and 4 were published respectively in 1290/1873, 1293/1876, and 1296/1879, each containing laws and regulations published in the interval along with corrections and changes in the laws contained in the earlier volumes. Four supplements (zeyl) were issued to the first series between 1296/1879 and 1302/1884, adding new laws and amendments, and a volume entitled Miitemmim (Completion), containing laws added to the original four volumes between 5I Muharrem 1289/1872 and 8 Receb I325/1907 (thus duplicating many published in the supplements), appeared in Istanbul in 1335/1919. The first series was concluded with an additional four volumes, entitled Distur: Birinci tertib, published in Latin letters by the Prime Minister's Office of the Turkish Republic, in co-operation with the staff of the Ba?bakanhkAr?ivi, between 1937 and I943: Volume 5 (Ankara, 1937), regulations issued between 14 Rebi I 1301/1 January
1299/I883 and 26 Receb 1305/26 March 1304/I888.

Volume 6 (Ankara, 1939), regulations issued between 4 Zilkade 1304/13 July

1303/1887 and I4 Ramazan 1312/27 February 13I0/I895. Volume 7 (Ankara, I94I), regulations issued between 15 ewval 1312/29 March 1311/1895 and 14 Zilhicce 1321/19 February 1319/1903.
I Sertoglu, MuhtevaBakzmzndan, p. 26, lists the number of registersand dates for each. 7-2

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Ioo

Stanford J. Shaw

Volume 8 (Ankara, I943), regulations issued between 23 Muharrem I322/ 28 March I320/1904 and 15 Cemaziyelahir 1326/I July I324/1908. Since the earlier Diistur volumes contain only those laws issued after I839 which were in force at the time of printing, the Meclis-i Tanzimat and Nizamat are essential to find those laws which had been annulled by 1872. However, almost all laws of any importance issued after that date were published in the Diisturs. (b) Series 2 (Ikinci tertib/second arrangement), later known as the 'New Diistur/Diistur-i Cedid, was published in Istanbul in 12 volumes between I329/ 1911 and I347/I928 and contained all the basic laws and regulations which were issued between 1326/1908 and 134I/I922. Many of the laws and regulations published in the Diistur also were previously published in the official Ottoman government newspaper, the Takvim-i Vekaii, of which 2, 19 issues were issued between I247/I83I and I295/1878, after which it was closed for 12 years by Sultan Abd ul-Hamid II; 283 more issues were published in 13 months in I890-I, after which it was closed once again. Takvim-i Vekaii was published once again following the restoration of the Constitution in I908, and 4,608 additional issues were printed until the Grand National Assembly of the new Turkish Republic transformed it into the Resmi GazetelOfficial Gazette in I923. A number of the laws also were published in the private newspapers of the time.
B. ADMINISTRATIVE
(i)

RECORDS

AND REGULATIONS

The Prime Minister's office/Bab-z Asafi

The records and acts of the Prime Minister's office are separated into two basic collections, 1561 bound registers covering the years between I227/I8I2 and I298/1890 and given the general title of Ayniyat (properties) registers, and 352,000 documents and their I,045 catalogues, preserved under the title Bab-z Ali Evrak Odasz/Document Room of the Sublime Porte. (a) The Ayniyat collection consists primarily of copies of administrative orders, issued by the Prime Minister/Grand Vezir and lesser officials, usually called buyuruldu, along with drafts and copies of various other memoranda/ tezdkir and notes/muharrerat concerning all matters of interest to the Ottoman government. A full list of the registers, their subjects and dates, will be found in Sertoglu, Muhteva bakzmandanBasvekalet Arsivi, pp. 47-50. (b) The documents of the Bab-z Ali Evrak Odasz, consisting primarily of communications between the Prime Minister's Office and other ministries and departments of government between 1309/1891 and the end of the Istanbul government, include drafts of basic laws and administrative regulations, reports on problems and actions of all sorts, and other matters which make this archive of primary importance for a study of all problems concerning the Empire during the last three decades of its existence. The documents concerning the years up to

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul

1334/I913

Ioi
of

are divided according to Ministry,

and then into subcategories

Incoming Correspondence/varide or gelen, Outgoing Correspondence/sddire or giden, and Other official documents/takrirdt. It should be noted that only a relatively small portion of the items listed in the Incoming and Other Official document sections have been preserved, but the materials in the Outgoing sections remain largely intact and available for study:
Register volume numbers
1-29

Ministry or subject Adliye/Justice Bahriye/Navy Dahiliye/Interior Incoming Outgoing Evkaf/Foundations Hariciye/Foreign Affairs Incoming Outgoing Harbiye/Army Documents Incoming Outgoing Hazine-i Hassa/Treasury of Sultan Incoming Outgoing Istizan Irade-i Seniye defteri/Requests for permission to issue Irades Resen Irade-i Seniye, Summaries of Irades Irade-i Hususiye/Special Irades issued on internal regulations and privileges, judicial, financial, and police matters Maarif/Education Incoming Outgoing

Inclusive dates of correspondence Rebi II 1278/1861-31 October 1338/1922 28 Cemazi II 1265/1849-I2 Rebi I
24

30-51

1341/1922 52-86 87-122 123-144

3 Cemazi I 1297/1880-8 Rebi I 1338/1919 4 Rebi II 1297/I880-II Rebi I

I341/1922

9 Cemazi II 1268/1852-IO Rebi I

1341/1922 4 Rebi II 1297/1880-7 Rebi I 1341/1922 21 Rebi I 1296/1879-10 Rebi I 1341/1922 Ramazan 1260/1844-I6 1330/1912 i Receb 1265/I849-14 Rebi II 1341/1922 i Muharrem 1278/1861-11 Rebi I 1341/1922
14 $eval

145-I74 175-192

193-204 205-245 246-273

274-275 276-277 278-343

io Muharrem 1278/1861-31 October 1338/1922 October I Muharrem 1278/I861-31 1338/1922 3 Receb 1265/1849-8 Rebi I 134I/1922

344-360 361-389

28 Cemazi II 1265/1849-25 1327/1909 6 Muharrem 1286/1869-25 1340/1922

Cemazi I Rebi II

390-394 395-399

I6 Muharrem 1278/1861-29 Safar I341/I922 I Muharrem 1278/1861-i Safar I341/1922

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

1o2

Stanford J. Shaw
Register volume numbers
400-444 445-472

Ministry or subject Maliye/Finance

Documents Incoming

Inclusive dates of correspondence

8 $eval 1260/I844-13 Muharrem 1290/1873 Rebi I 29 $aban I277/I86I-IO 1341/1922 i Muharrem 1278/I861-IO Rebi I 1341/1922 Muharrem 25 Zilkade 1326/1908-I4 1340/1921 26 Zilkade 1326/1908-8 Safar 134I/I922 2 Zilhicce 1327/1909-8 Receb 1338/1920 3 Zilhicce 1326/1910-8 Receb 1338/1920 25 Zilkade 1326/1910-13 Receb 1338/1920 i Muharrem 134I/1922 I Muharrem 1341/1922 1290/I873-9 I279/186I-1O Rebi I Rebi I

Outgoing Meclis-i Ayanl Council of Notables

Incoming Outgoing

473-517
518-520 521-522

Meclis-i Mebusan/Council of Representatives

Documents Incoming Outgoing 523-524 525-526 527-528

Mefihat/Religion
Incoming 529-532

Outgoing Nafia/Public Works Incoming Outgoing

Incoming Outgoing

533-537 538-544 545-549

550-551 552

October 28 Zilhicce I285/1869-21 1338/1920 October 17 Zilhicce 1286/1870-I 1338/1920 aban 28 Cemazi I 1265/1849-o10 1328/1910 21 Safar I327/I909-1I Rebi I 1329/1911 17 Muharrem 1341/1922 20 Muharrem 1341/1922 9 Muharrem 1290/1873 i Muharrem 1290/1873 1290/1873-2
1290/1873-10

Ticaret ve Nafia/Trade and Public Works

Ticaret/Trade Incoming Outgoing Ticaret ve Sihhiye/Trade and Health Incoming Outgoing

Incoming

553-554 555-558 559 560

56I-562

Rebi I Rebi I

1278/I86I-12 1278/I86I-I3

Muharrem Muharrem

Ticaret ve Ziraat/Trade and Agriculture 563 Outgoing Orman ve Maadin/Forests and Mines 564-567 Incoming Outgoing 568-570
Rebi I 15 Rebi I 1329/19I1-I4 1336/1918 28 Zilkade I327/I909-4 Rebi II 33I/I9I3

27 Receb 1289/I872-8 February

1326/1911 7 Cemazi I I299/1882-I5 1336/1917 Rebi I

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottomanarchives of Istanbul I03

Register volume numbers
57I-572 573-575

Ministry or subject Sihhiye/Health Incoming Outgoing

Inclusive dates of correspondence

21 Muharrem

I290/I873-10 1290/I873-Io

Rebi I Rebi I

I34I/I922 21 Muharrem 1341/1922

Posta ve Telgraf/Post and Telegraph Incoming 576-58I Outgoing Rusumat/Excise Taxes Incoming Outgoing $ura-i Devlet/Council of State Incoming Outgoing $ura-i Devlet mazbata defteril Protocols of proposed legislation issued by the Council of State Tophane/Arsenal Incoming Outgoing Zabtiye/Gendarmerie Incoming Outgoing
582-586

Receb 17 Muharrem 1290/1873-II I337/91I9 Receb I337/1I9 17 Safar I293/I876-8 Io Muharrem I278/I86I-IO 1327/1909 2 Muharrem I278/I861-I5 1327/1909 Receb Receb

!587-59I !592-595 !596-598

599-60I (602-640

Rebi I I341/1922 i6 Receb I295/I878-II 22 Receb I295/I878-29 Safar 1341/1922 Rebi I 23 Zilhicce I285/I869-12 I341/1922

641-646 647-649

Zilkade 13 Receb I278/I86I-IO 1327/1909 i8 Muharrem 1290/1873-5 Cemazi II I327/I909 29 Cemazi II 1265/1849-24 1327/1909 2 Muharrem I278/I861-19 I327/I909 Receb Cemazi II

(650-657 (658-663

Anadolu Teftif Komisyonul Anatolian Inspection Commission 4 Incoming 664-666 Outgoing 667-668 Bulgaristan Komiserligi Police Superintendence of Bulgaria (672-676 Incoming Outgoing 677 Documents 678-680 Sicil-i Ahval Komisyonul 68i-682 Commission to Register and Supervise Bureaucrats $ehremaneti/Istanbul Municipality Incoming 683-686 Outgoing Sedarete gelen fifreli telgraflar/
Ciphered telegrams coming to 687-689

5 Rebi II I313/1895-28 io Rebi I 1313/1895-28 1320/1920

Safar 1320/I902 Ramazan

Zilkade I319/1902 13 Sevak I3I3/I895-28 I9 Receb 1315/I897-25 Zilhicce I32I/I904 2 Rebi I I3Ii/i893-6 Receb I327I1909 6 Receb 1305/1888-8 Muharrem I31I/I893

i6 Muharrem I278/I86I-6 1327/1909 5 Muharrem I278/I861-23 I327/I909

Safar Receb

the Grand Vezir (mostly decoded) ( 690-698 Incoming

I July I320/I902-28

February 1327/1909

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

104 Stanford 7. Shaw

Register volume numbers

Ministry or subject Sedaretten giden fifreli telgraflar/ Ciphered telegrams sent by Grand Vezirate Outgoing

Inclusive dates of correspondence

699-705

Hariciye miiteferrikasz/Foreign 706-715 and minority affairs, miscellaneous Hicaz Demir Yollarz/The Hicaz Railroad Incoming 716 Outgoing 717 Defter-i Hakani Nezareti/ Ministry in charge of revenues from certain imperial properties Incoming Outgoing Divan-i Muhasebat/Accounting Council Incoming Outgoing Miilkiye Tekaut Sandzgz/Civil Service Retirement Bank Incoming Outgoing

I December I320/1905-26 1327/1911 ii October 1302/1887-20

May September
1922

8 Zilhicce 1319/19o2-12 7 Zilhicce 1319/1902-12 1332/1914

Zilkade 1332/1914 Zilkade

720-723 724-726

10 Muharrem 1278/1861-20 Receb 1330/1912 2 Muharrem 1278/I861-2o Rebi II 1330/1912

727-733 734-735

o1 Muharrem 1297/1879-26 Rebi II 1297/1879 i Safar 1299/1881-28 Zilhicce 1330/1912

736-738 739-740

9 Cemazi II 1297/1880-17 1329/1911 ii Cemazi II I297/I880-3 1328/1910

Cemazi II Ramazan

Memurin-i Miilkiye Komisyonul Commission on Civil Service bureaucrats Incoming 741 Outgoing 742 Mizsr KomiserligilHigh 743-750 Commissioner for Egypt Miimtaze Hariciye miiteferrikasz/ 751-757 Foreign relations of special provinces Muhacirin Komisyonu/Commission Refugees 758-760 Incoming Outgoing Islahat-i Maliye Komisyonul Financial Reform Commission Incoming Outgoing
761-764

7 Ramazan I314/I897-5 $aban I326/I908 Receb 1326/I908 24 Receb 1314/1897-18 IO Rebi II 1300/1883-24 $eval 1332/I914 22 Receb 1307/1890-12 June 1330/1914

2 Muharrem 1326/1908 3 Muharrem 1326/1908

I278/I861-7 I278/1861-24

Receb Cemazi II

765-766
l-

767-768

27 *eval 1296/1879-29 1326/1908 27 $eval 1296/1879-29 1326/1908

Cemazi II Cemazi II

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul

Register volume numbers
769-770

105

Ministry or subject Mekke-i Mukerreme/Affairs of Mecca Mekatib-i Askeriye/Military Schools Incoming Outgoing Tibbiye/Medicine Incoming Outgoing

Inclusive dates of correspondence

9 March I326/I910-4 August I334/1918

770/2 770/2-3

Safar 1326/1908 I Zilkade I3I6/I899-9 I Cemazi I 1298/1881-16 Receb 1326/I908 II Safar I278/I861-23 Muharrem 1293/1876 Rebi I 3 Muharrem 1278/I86I-I 1296/1879 26 Zilhicce 1319/1902-5 $aban I326/I908

771 772-773

Techizat-i Askeriye Komisyonu/ 774-775 Commission for special military equipment taxes Tevhid-i Mubayiat Komisyonu/ 776-777 Commission on unification of government purchases Iase Komisyonu/Commission of 778-779 food supplies Mzszr islerine dair/Affairs of Egypt 784 Sadaret Mektubi-i Miihimme Kalemi Kayit Defteri/Register of correspondence prepared by the Secretariat for Important correspondence of the Prime Minister's Office Buyuruldu defteri/Register of orders (buyuruldu)issued by the Prime Minister Der Saadet Miiteferrika defteri/ Register of miscellaneous matters concerning Istanbul Arzuhal defteri/Register of petitions received by Prime Minister's office, and those initiated by it Telgraf Arzuhal/Register of petitions received and sent by telegram Takvim-i vekayine mahsus defterler/Registers concerning the government newspaper, Takvim-i Vekayi, and other official publications Miidevvenat/Collected reports on various matters Tesrifat/Protocol and Ceremonies Vildyat-i Mumtazeden/ Correspondence from the
785-789

3 Muharrem 1323/1905

I323/I905-8

Cemazi II

Rebi II 25 August I334/I9I8-I6 I337/I92I 12 Ramazan 1301/I884-4 Rebi I I304/I886 2 $aban 1308/I89I-2 July I337/I92I

790

I Rebi I I302/I884-I8

Zilkade I302/I885

791

1300/1883-1337/I92I

792-877

28 Cemazi I I306/I889-4

November

1338/I922

878-883

3 March I326/I9Io-4

January 1338/1922

884-890

3 $aban 1336/1918-4 1338/1922

November

891-895 896-913
914-916

Rebi I 1341/I922 9 Cemazi II 1276/1861-I Rebi I 1341/1922 Cemazi II 7 Rebi II I297/I88o-14 1304/1887

12 Ramazan 1326/1908-8

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

1o6

StanfordJ. Shaw
Register volume numbers

Ministry or subject

Inclusive dates of correspondence

special provinces (Crete, Cyprus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sisam, East Rumelia) Vilayat-i Miimtaze islahat-i 917-933 Umumiye hulasa defteri/Register of reform measures in the special provinces Umum Miihimme defteri/Register 934-936 of important orders and decrees Hicaz vilayeti islahat-t umumiye 936/2 defteri/Register of reform measures in Hicaz province Affairs of Bulgaria 937-966 Affairs of East Rumelia 966/2-985 Affairs of Crete Affairs of Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina Affairs of Sisam (Samos) Affairs of Mt Lebanon and Sisam (Samos) Affairs of Mt Lebanon 986-1002
I003

3 Muharrem 1337/1922

1298/1880-25

September

12 Muharrem 1298/1880-22 Cemazi I 1324/1906 19 Cemazi I 1314/1896-17 August 1313/1898 Receb I319/I901 I Receb I309/I892-29 I Muharrem 1297/1879-31 August 1325/I909

18 Ramazan I288/187I-8 December

I335/19I9 24 Rebi I 131O/I892-I3 13 Receb 1247/1831-3 1335/1917 13 *eval 1309/1892-16 Rebi I 1338/1919 Ramazan Rebi II 1337/1919 Rebi II
1339/1921

1004-1oo8 1009 1013-1021

i6 Cemazi II I266/I849-I6 I337/I919

5 Zilkade
I330/19I2-23

Affairs of Tripoli of Libya and 1022-1028 Benghazi Affairs of Egypt 1029-1048 1049-1060 Tayin ve infisal defteri/Register showing dates of appointments and dismissals of bureaucrats and officials in the ministries and departments

$eval

26 Rebi I 1262/1846-7 Zilkade 1338/1920 15 Rebi I 1307/1889-21 February 1323/1908

(c) Ahkdm Defterleri. Administrative orders (ahkdm) regarding problems in the individual provinces of the Empire were recorded in a separate series of
registers, of which approximately 450 survive for the years from 1155/1742 to

I295/I878 for most provinces, and to 1326/1908 for a few. The provinces for which such registers are available (and the number available for each) are: Anadolu (185), Sivas (36), Trabzon (8), Diyarbekir (9), Damascus (9), Adana (9), Karaman (39), Aleppo (9), Erzurum (19), Cezayir (23), Rakka (25), Rumeli (85), Oczakov (Ozu) and Silistria (49), Istanbul (26), Bosnia (9) and the Morea (2z).'
(d) Regulations concerning the minorities. In addition to the materials found in

other classifications indicated above, special registers were kept concerning the millets, their leaders and members, as well as the churches and other institutions
Sertoglu, Muhteva Bakzmzndan,p. 26, lists the number of registers and dates for each province.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul

107

which they as well as foreign governments and missionary organizations maintained within the Empire. Thus there are seven Kilise defterlerilChurch registersx covering the years from 1286/I869 to 1340/1921, and eighteen registers listed under the classification Gayri miislim cenmatlara dit defterler/Registers2 concerning the non-Muslim communities, running from as early as 2I46/1830 to as
late as 1321/I918.

(2) The Council of Ministersl/Meclis-i Viikeld The records of the deliberations and actions of the Ottoman Council of Ministers available at present consists of six major series of bound registers, kept in the Amedi Odasz section of the Basbakanhk Ar?ivi. (a) Meclis-i Viikeld mazbatalarz. Protocols of the deliberations and decisions of the Council of Ministers on important matters, bound into 224 volumes covering the years from ii Rebi II I302/1885 to io Rebi I I341/I922. Each protocol is one or two pages in length and contains a summary of the problem under discussion, the main arguments, and the decision, along with the signatures of all ministers present. These protocols came to the archives in loose and scattered form, and were bound by the archives, so those on many important matters are lacking. Nevertheless this is a valuable and unique source for research into the policies and ideas of the government during the period under discussion. (b) Register nos. 225-241. Mazbata ve irade-i seniye dosyalart. Bound dossiers of papers leading to certain irades issued by the government between 9 $aban 1298/1881 and 27 Rebi II 1334/1916. (c) Register nos. 242-288. Iradat-i seniye ve tezakir-i resmiye ve mazabit miisveddatz.Draft copies of irades, protocols and other official documents issued by the Council of Ministers between 14 Cemazi I I334/1916 and 8 Rebi I
134I/1922.

(d) Register nos. 290-297. Tezakir-i Hususiye/drafts of special notes issued by the Council of Ministers between 9 Cemazi I I334/I916 and 27 $aban 1341/I922. (e) Register nos. 298-299. Tezakir-i maiaza musveddatz.Drafts of petitions prepared for presentation to the Sultan from 29 Rebi II I333/I915 to i Cemazi I
I333/I9I5-

(f) Register nos. 300-417. Tezakir-i saniye dosyalarz.Bound dossiers of minor petitions presented between i Receb 1305/I888 and 30 Zilkade 13I4/1897. (3) Records of Ministries and Departments The only nineteenth-century Ottoman ministries whose records are in any way organized and available to researchers are those of (a) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, located in the Defterdarlik building, Istanbul, and of (b) the Ministry of
Sertoglu, Muhteva Bakzmzndan,pp. 27-8.
2

Ibid. pp. 28-9.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

io8

StanfordJ. Shaw

Finance, located at the Basbakanhk Ar?ivi. However, of the former only about bound registers and Ioo,ooo documents are catalogued and available, I0,000 while several million items remain uncatalogued, and of the latter only some 8,ooo bound registers are available as the Mdliyeden miidevver collection, while 7,800,000 documents from the same Ministry remain unavailable along with 5,500,000 documents from the Ministry of Religious Foundations and 460,000 items from the Ministry of Trade. The archives of the Ministry of Education are stored in the Topkapi Sarayi, Istanbul, in the possession of the Ministry, but work to classify and catalogue it has only begun. Those of the Ministry of War remain in its possession and are stored, uncatalogued, in the Sultanahmed section of Istanbul, while the more important materials have been transferred to the Ministry of War's own archives in Ankara, at present available only for official research. The Navy Department's papers are stored in the Naval Dockyard in the Kasimpapa section of Istanbul, and are opened to researchers only on rare occasions. The records of the departments which cared for census and cadastre operations in Ottoman times are possessed by the Tapu ve Kadastro Umum Miidiirliigii in its offices in Istanbul and Ankara and are available for research, but under rather severe restrictions and limitations. The Ministry of Justice archives also remain in its own possession in Ankara, and are not presently available for researchers. In sum, therefore, for all practical purposes researchers can follow the work of most ministries and departments only by consulting the relevant materials in the Irade and the Bab-z Ali Evrak Odasi collections.

(4) Records of the Imperial Council/Divan-i Hiimayun With the rise of functional ministries and departments as well as the Council of Ministers as part of the Tanzimat reforms, the old Imperial Council lost much of its previous importance. It did, however, continue to exist, largely as a recordkeeping body for certain categories of government documents and orders in fact instituted and carried out by other departments of government. The researcher will thus find that the Imperial Council's Miihimmeregisters, the most important records of Ottoman governmental action from the sixteenth to the end of the eighteenth century, provide no more than a scattering of the more important orders and decrees issued by the Sultan during the last three quarters of the nineteenth century (volumes 253-263 cover the years from 1255/1839 to I323/1905). Additional records of importance kept by the Divan-i Hiimayun include: (a) Treaty Registers. 106 volumes recording treaties and other agreements and acts concluded between the Ottoman Empire and foreign states, from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries (Amedi kalemi):

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul

Dates covered Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Denmark Dubrovnik/Ragusa Europe (all orders issued concerning European merchants trading in the Empire) France Germany/Austria-Hungary Great Britain/England Greece Holland Iran Italy Mexico Montenegro Norway Poland Portugal Prussia Rumania (Wallachia and Moldavia) Russia Sardinia Serbia Sicily Sisam/Samos Spain Sweden Sweden and Norway The Seven Islands Republic Tuscany Venice
I254/I838-I327/I909 I274/I857-I324/1906 1286/1869-I329/191 II70/I756-1334/I915 IOI3/1604-1221/1806 I250/I834-I284/1867 I044/I634-I328/I910 975/I567332/I9I3 1086/I675-I332/I913 I250/I834-1330/I91I IO91/680-I33I/I912 I238/1822-1331/I9I2 1239/I736-I332/I913 1282/I865-1331/1912 1320/I902-I323/1905 I325/I907-I332/I913 IOI6/I607-1173/I759 1259/1843-1330/1911 II74/1760-1332/1913 II42/1729-1324/1906 III3/I70I-I32I/I903 I239/I823-1320/1903 1253/1837-I332/1913 II53/I740-I276/1859 I263/1846-1306/I888 I196/I78I-1223/1808 II72/I758-I242/I826 II49/I736-1331/I912 I215/I800-I222/1807 I215/I800-I222/I807 III2/1700-122I/I806

o09

The Ba?bakanllkAr?ivi also has a separate collection of the original treaty and
protocol documents, from I797 to I920, all fully catalogued and indexed. (b) Name-i Hiimdyun Defterleri/Registers of letters to and from the Sultan, including correspondence with the ferifs of Mecca, foreign rulers and princes, heads of state and heads of government, and the like; also copies of many treaties and contracts and orders regarding the payment of the wages of the Janissaries and other military corps. Seventeen registers, from 1111/1699 to There are also cartons containing the original name documents fr om I336/1917. 1256/1840 to 1331/1912. (c) Kanunname-i Askeri DefterlerilRegisters of law codes and regulations concerning the Ottoman army. Eight registers, from I222/I807 to I318/1900, with most materials concerning the first half of the nineteenth century. (d) The Meclis-i Tanzimat and Nizamat collection. See page 99. (e) Tevcihat ve Redif ve Mevad ve Miirettebe ve Miihimme-I Asdkir Defterleri. Fourteen registers, covering 1196/178I to 1326/1908, including administrative orders regarding military appointments, dismissals and salaries, conscription, and the reserve army.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Io

Stanford J. Shaw

(f) Imtiyaz Defterleri. Five registers, from I286/186I to I334/1915, recording orders granting various sorts of concessions (imtiyaz) to Ottoman and foreign subjects. (g) Mukteza Defterleri. Thirty-five registers, from I282/I865 to I330/I91I, containing opinions as to the legal ramifications of various acts of the Ottoman government. (h) Ahkam Defterleri. See page o06. (i) Tevcilzat-i Miilkiye Defterleri. Three registers of appointments to positions in the bureaucracy, from I280/1863 to I330/19II. (j) Kilise Defterleri. See page 0o7. (k) 3ehbenderDefterleri. Three registers of the instructions and orders issued to Ottoman consuls and other representatives appointed to foreign countries between I217/1802 and I330/1911. (I) Ni4an Defterleri. Forty-four registers of decorations awarded by the Sultan
between I262/I845 and 134I/I922.

(m) Gayri Miislim Cemaatlara aid Defterler. See page 107.

C. RECORDS

OF THE SULTANS

AND INDIVIDUAL

STATESMEN

Most of the records left by individual nineteenth-century sultans through the reign of Abd ul-Aziz (1861-76) survive in the archives of the Topkapl Sarayl.I These, however, are not plentiful and are of little use. The far more voluminous records left by sultans Abd ul-Aziz (1861-76), Murad V (1876), Abd ul-Hamid II (I876-I909) and Mehmed V Redad (1909-1919), numbering about 5,500,000 items in all and preserved in the Ylldiz Palace, the Dolmabahce Palace, and the Topkapl Sarayl, were turned over to the Ba?bakanllkAr?ivi in 1949, but of these, only the records of the Ylldlz Palace Archives, consisting mainly of the papers of Abd ul-Hamid II and of the statesmen of his time, have been at least partly catalogued and made available. These materials were classified into forty subject in Turkish and abbreviated here as K): sections (each section being called kzszm (KI) Official reports (mazbata) and petitions (arz tezkeresi) prepared by the Council of Ministers to secure orders from the Sultan. (K2) Reports and petitions of other administrative bodies and legislative councils submitted to the Council of Ministers. (K3) Reports of the Council of Ministers and other administrative and legislative bodies which never were made into laws. (K4) Petitions prepared by various official bodies and some private individuals and groups which were not subsequently made into laws. (K5) Petitions submitted to the Sultan. (K6) Reports and petitions submitted to the Sultan.
See Tahsin Oz, TopkapzSarayi Miizesi Arsivi Kilavuzu (2 vols., Ankara, 1938-40), vol. I, pp. 3 (on Sultan Abd ul-Aziz), 5 (on Abd ul-Hamid II), io (on Abd ul-Mecid), 67 (on Princess Bahice Sultan), 76 (on Princess Bezmialem Sultan), and passim.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul

Ii 1

(K7) Imperial edicts (ferman) and patents of office (menqur). (K8) Notes written by the Sultan and his private secretary, containing his thoughts and opinions on various matters. (K9) Notes written by the Sultan's private secretary and other high administrative officials on various matters. (Kio) Documents and registers of the commissions established to take valuable items from the Imperial Treasury of the Topkapl Sarayi for deposit in the Ylldlz Palace. (KII) Drafts of petitions, communications, and telegrams sent by the Chief Secretary of the Sultan on various matters of state policy. (Ki2) Photographic albums and picture collections. (KI3) Instructions to Ottoman officials appointed as ambassadors to foreign governments or as provincial governors. (KI4) Memoranda (ldyiha) and other reports submitted to the Sultan by Ottoman officials and foreigners describing conditions in different places and institutions of the Empire and, in many cases, proposing reforms or changes. (Ki5) Reports (ariza) to the Sultan concerning the activities of individual Ottoman officials and private subjects, both within and outside the Empire. (Ki6) Printed books presented to the Sultan. (KI7) Reports and other papers on the deposition and subsequent death of Sultan Abdul-Aziz (I861-76), Sultan Murad V's short reign, on the revolutionary efforts of Ali Suavi, and on the banishment of a number of political and intellectual leaders by Abdulhamid. Also papers on the Kiileli revolt (I859). (KI8) The collected papers of important Ottomans of the time, including Ahmed Cevdet Papa and Ahmed Midhat Papa. (Ki9) Miscellaneous papers on various subjects. (K2o) Messages to the Sultan. (K2i) Maps of the Empire. (K22) Reports of commissions sent to investigate various internal problems as well as the administrations of individual provincial governors. (K23) Documents concerning the constitutions and parliaments of 1876-7 and I908-14. (K24) Registers of communications issued by the Grand Vezirs and other high officials. (K25) Treaties and contracts concluded by the Ottoman government. (K26) Reports of special commissions formed by the Sultan to study some articles of the Constitution, the annual budgets of government, and governmental organization and operation. (K27) Copies of reports, communications and telegrams sent by the Grand Vezirs. (K28) Documents and reports on the Russo-Turkish war (I877-8). (K29-K30) (combined) Official reports on various matters of domestic and foreign policy.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

II2

Stanford J. Shaw

(K3 ) Collected papers of important Ottoman officials, including Hayruddin Papa, Prince Halim Papa, Damad Mahmud Papa, Mehmed Kamil Papa, Gazi Ahmed Muhtar Pasa, Mehmed Said Papa, Ahmed Cevad Pasa, Mehmed Emin Ali Papa, and the Egyptian Khedive Ismail Papa. (K32) Documents on ceremonies welcoming foreign rulers, princes, ambassadors and the like. (K33) Historical documents concerning the Tanzimat period and before. (K34) Petitions and reports to the Sultan by public and private individuals. (K35) Miscellaneous papers. (K36) Miscellanous papers. (K37) Memoranda, laws, and decrees on internal Ottoman administrative problems and organization, including drafts and actual laws. (K38) The private handbooks and notebooks of Sultan Abd ul-Hamid II. (K39) Documents and registers concerning the problems of Greece, Crete and the Mediterranean islands. (K4o) Documents and registers concerning Bulgaria, and also concerning Egypt, emanating primarily from Gazi Muhtar Papa, Ottoman commissioner in Egypt between 1892-3 and I908-9. For a detailed list of many documents found in this collection see S. J. Shaw, 'The Ylldlz Palace Archives of Abdiilhamit II', Archivum Ottomanicum,vol. III (1971), pp. 211-37. Thousands more palace materials from Abd ul-Hamid's time as well as those of his predecessors and successors to the end of the Empire remain uncatalogued and unavailable. Additional documents and registers from the palace of Abd ul-Hamid II can be found in the Ylldiz Palace Library, now part of the collections of the Istanbul University Library. Many collections of individual statesmen remain in private hands. However, those of Ahmed Cevdet Papa can be found at the Istanbul Municipal Library (Belediye Kiitiiphanesi); those of Ahmed Cevad Pasa at the Istanbul Archeological Museum; and various smaller collections are available at the Turk Tarih Kurumu (Turkish Historical Society) Library, Ankara, and the Municipal Library, Istanbul.

D. JUDICIAL

RECORDS

The archives of the Muslim religious courts, containing substantial information on social and economic conditions within the Empire as well as on foundations and strictly legal and judicial matters, can be found in three major collections and several smaller ones in Turkey: (i) Istanbul Miiftiiliik, the former Bab-z Me?ihat in Istanbul, has 8,866 $eriat court registers from 27 courts in the Istanbul area, covering the years from I501 to 1922. The courts represented, and number of registers from each are: Istanbul Kadiligl (334), Evkaf-i Hiimayun Mifetti?hlii (80I), Istanbul Bab Mahkemesi (544), Kasimpapa (I79), Uskiidar (8oi), Ahigelebi (66I), Davutpa?a (I92),

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Ottoman archives of Istanbul

113

BakirkOy (i6), Kartal (40), Adalar (8), Beykoz (3), Bilad-i Metruke (36), Kismet-i Askeriye (2,142), Galata (1,040), Balat (155), Beledi kassamllgi (I55), Rumeli $er'iatclligi ve Sedareti (624), Mahfil-i $er'iyat (io8), Anadolu Sedareti (I77), Besiktas (231), Tophane (275), Mahmudpasa (246), Hawas-i Refia (629), Yenik6y (I74), Evkaf Muhasebeciligi (I29), Hask6y (40), and Maliye Beyt ul-Mal kassamllgi (Io6). The bulk of these registers are from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but some are from earlier times. (2) The Topkapi Sarayl Museum, Istanbul. $eriat court records for the following judicial districts (with the number of registers and inclusive dates in parentheses): Edirne (684 registers, 945/1538-1341/1945), Ayvallk (i register, Balkesir (I09 Bafra (5 registers, I309/1893-I328/I912), I228/I8I3-I33I/I9I5), Bartin registers, 1306/I888-I325/I9o8), (ii 1295/1879-1311/1895), registers, Biga (13 registers, I246/I83IBayramic (6 registers, 1286/1870-1324/1908), Bolu (263 registers, 1070/I659-1306/1890), Burhaniye (27 registers, 1322/1906), Divrik 9anakkale (I2 registers, 1246/I830-1294/1877), 1138/I725-1329/1913), Diizce (31 registers, 1302/1884-1325/1909), (9 registers, I304/I886-1329/19I3), Edremit (103 registers, 921/1515Eceabad (5 registers, 1303/I885-I329/1903), Gebze (30 registers, Ezine (7 registers, I2I4/1847-1327/19I1), 1323/1907), G6nen Gerede (io registers, I255/I840-1328/1910), II23/171I-1317/190I), Gorele (II registers, 1303/1887-1340/1924), (40 registers, I266/I849-1340/1924), Giresun (49 registers, 1275/I858Goynuk (24 registers, II54/1741-1329/19I3), Izmit (o0 registers, I220/ (i 13II/I893-1328/1922), register, 1338/1922), Hopa Mudurnu (7 Mesudiye (6 registers, I288/I871-1340/1924), I805-I329/I913), Ordu (2 registers, 13I9/1903-1325/I909), registers, 1231/1816-I325/1909), Rize (23 registers, 1270/I854-I332/ Pazar (io registers, I279/1863-1329/I9I3), Samsun (43 (245 registers, 953/I546-1298/1882), 1906), Rodoscuk/Tekirdag registers, (7 I3Io/I894-1330/1914), Slndlrgi registers, 1200/1786-1340/1924), Trabzon (297 registers, 963/I555Tirebolu (io registers, I206/1792-133I/1915), Zafranbolu Zonguldak (13 (45 registers, III9/1805-I324/1908), 1334/1918), registers, 1238/I823-I326/9Io0).

(3) The Ethnographic Museum, Ankara. $eriat court records for the following judicial districts (with the numbers of registers and dates in parentheses): Ankara (319 registers, 991/I583-I326/1908), Ayas (34 registers, 1I67/I753Beypazarl (87 registers, 1343/1924), Kalecik (7 registers, 1250/1834-1324/I906),
(erkes (76 registers, Io63/1652-I330/192I), 327/1909), Qorum (i6 registers, 1255/1839-I327/1909), (io registers, 1256/1840Egin (36 registers, 1199/1784-1329/1911), Eskisehir (2 registers, I286/I869Giimiiuhane (3 Sivrihisar (69 registers, 122I/I806-1342/I923), 1309/1891), Kayseri (289 registers, 895/1489-I333/1914), registers, 1302/1884-1329/191),
1299/I88I-I340/I92I),

(ankir

Klr?ehir (24 registers, I292/I875-1332/1913),

(Ciekdagi/Mecidiye (2 registers,

Bogazllyan Yozgat (30 registers, I298/I880-I334/1915), 1324/1906-1329/1911), Ahiska (i register, 1232/1816-1241/1825), (I register, I306/I888-I321/1903,

and 8 miscellaneous $eriat volumes concerning timar and iltizam holdings.

8 MES 6

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

I 4

Stanford J. Shaw

(4) In various provincial museums: Adana (424 registers for Adana, Urfa, Gaziantep, Mara?, ICel, Malatya and vicinity), Afyonkarahisar (I58 registers for Afyon, Denizli and environs), Antalya (46 registers for Antalya and vicinity), Bergama (6 registers for Bergama), Bursa (827 registers for Bursa, Bilecik and vicinity), Diyarbekir (252 registers for Diyarbekir, Elazig, Hakkari, Bitlis, Siirt, Mardin, Bingol, Tuneeli and vicinities), Hatay (ioi registers for Hatay and vicinity), Izmir (179 registers for Izmir, Aydin, Mugla and vicinity), Kastamonu (207 registers for Kastamonu and vicinity), Konya (329 registers for Konya, Burdur, Isparta and vicinity), Kiitahya (90 registers for Kiitahya and vicinity), Manisa (297 registers for Manisa and vicinity), Nigde (22 registers for Nigde and vicinity), Sinop (23 registers for Sinop and vicinity), Sivas (12I registers for Sivas and vicinity), Tokat (107 registers for Tokat, Amasya and vicinity), and Van (9 registers for Van, Agrl and vicinity).' Foreign scholars wishing to do research in any archive or library in Turkey should apply to the Turkish Embassy in their home country as far in advance as possible, specifying their scholarly background and subject of research, and the archives and libraries in which the research is to be undertaken. Permission is granted only for a calendar year, and additional applications must be made for renewals. Xerox and microfilm equipment is available at the Ba?bakanlikArsivi, but the archive is not normally equipped to fill photographic orders by mail. Persons wishing to make photographic copies should apply for permission for this as well when making their research application, and it normally is helpful if scholars wishing microfilm copies bring their own microfilm with them. The staff at the Basbakanlik Arsivi is extremely knowledgeable and helpful to serious scholars, but because of staff shortages and the large number of researchers using the archives, the latter are allowed to order no more than ten items daily or to photograph more than one hundred items during a calendar year. It is to be hoped that, with the recent acquisition of efficient Xerox equipment, the archives may be able to modify at least the latter restriction. While not all the materials in this and other archival collections have yet been catalogued or made available, the quantities of important registers and documents which are accessible make it imperative that researchers plan to spend as much time as possible in Istanbul.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

available in the Muslim court archives are discussed in detail in Halit I The materials Ongan, Ankara'nzn 1 Numaralh 5er'iye Sicili (Ankara, 1958); Ronald Jennings, 'The as a Source for OttoJudicial Registers (Ser'i Mahkeme Sicilleri) of Kayseri (1590-I630) man History' (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Los Angeles, 1972). See also Nazmi Sevgen, 'Ser'i Mahkemelerin Sicil Hazinesi', Belgelerle Turk Tarihi Dergisi, vol. 8, no. 44 (May I971), pp. i6-i8; and Osman Ersoy, 'Ser'iye Sicilleri'nin Toplu Kataloguna Dogru', Ankara University, Dil ve Tarih-Cografya Fakiiltesi Dergisi, vol. xxI (I963), pp. 33-85.

This content downloaded from 137.132.123.69 on Mon, 3 Mar 2014 04:48:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions