Transcription and evaluation of the Dictionary of History and Geography of the Ottoman Territories vol. II

ABSTRACT TRANSCRIPTION AND EVALUATION OF THE DICTIONARY OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE OTTOMAN TERRITORIES VOL. II EFE, Şeyma Master Thesis, Department of History Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Arif KOLAY April, 2025, 355 pages In our study, the transcription and evaluation of the second volume of the work titled History and Geography Lügatı of Memâlik-i Osmâniye written by Ali Cevad Bey has been made. The work is of great value as it presents a wide panorama of Ottoman geography within the scope of Modern History. The dictionary is an important source in terms of presenting a comprehensive data collection on the administrative, geographical, economic, and demographic structure of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Firstly, information about the author Ali Cevad Bey is given in the study. In the second volume of the work, detailed information on the provinces, sanjak, kazâ, nâhiye, and kurâ in the Anatolia, Rumelia, Middle East, and North Africa regions of the Ottoman geography and the natural resources, lakes, rivers, mountains, plains and mines in these regions are presented. In addition, the livelihoods, economic activities, and prominent forms of production in these regions are discussed in detail in the work, and the diversity of agricultural products (wheat, barley, rye, vetch, cotton, grapes, etc.) and the details of agricultural and animal husbandry activities are also expressed. In addition, the animals raised in the region (sheep, goats, camels, horses, etc.) are described in tables. In addition, the dictionary provides information on inter-regional trade and shares data on import-export items. Details on the number of educational institutions in the geographical regions, their levels, the number of male and female students, the number of teachers, and the ethnic origin of the students reveal the reflections of the Ottoman education system in the provinces. Some of the place names in the work are given with the name of the tribe present in the region. For example, place names such as Karahacılı, Şehbezenli, and Şemişki are based on the names of the tribes in that region. The ancient names of some places names, the founders of the settlements, the invasions that these places suffered, and when they were captured by which community is given; for example, Kadıköy is written under the title Halkidone, and the Ancient Greek names of some place names are presented under separate headings in the dictionary. As a result, with this study, the second volume of the History and Geography Dictionary of Memâlik-i Osmâniye has been brought into our language and a comprehensive inventory of the administrative and geographical structure of the late Ottoman Empire has been presented.