The Ottoman Archival Documents and Chronicles: Possible Errors in Translation and Transliteration

Abstract

Both Ottoman chronicles and archival documents are equally valuable for Ottoman Studies. The scholars, particularly the historians starting with Mustafa Nuri Pasa, a nineteenth century Ottoman historian, have been well aware of this fact. A systematic work on Ottoman chronicles and archival documents started with the foundation of Ottoman Historical Society (Tarih-i ‘Osmani Encümeni TOE) and continued well into the Republican period with Turkish Historical Society (TTK) founded by Ataturk. The academic research in Ottoman Studies has increased during the past few decades due to the intensive and systematic work in cataloguing and bringing the libraries and archives up to a modern standard. This paper is a summary of the structure of Ottoman documents as they were stored during the Ottoman period, and an outline of major Ottoman chronicles.