An Ottoman history symposium titled "From Osman to Mehmed the Conqueror: The Birth of the Ottoman State and the Establishment of the Empire" will take place at Bilkent on Wednesday, May 5, starting at 9:30 a.m. in the FEASS C-Block Auditorium. Organized by the Department of History, the Symposium features distinguished scholars from several universities making presentations on the birth of the Ottoman state and the establishment of the Empire.
The founder of the Department of History, Halil İnalcık, will be the keynote speaker. Among the other scholars are: Gönül Öney, Eugenia Kermeli, Yusuf Oğuzoğlu, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Ramazan Şeşen, Mehmet Kalpaklı, Özer Ergenç, and S. Akşin Somel.
The program, which will be in Turkish, is as follows: opening, 9:30 - 9:45; keynote speech, by Halil İnalcık, 9:45-10:30.
First session, 10:45-12:15. Session chair: İlhan Başgöz. Presenters and topics: Gönül Öney, "Paths of Culture in Western Anatolia from the Emirates to the Early Ottoman Times"; Eugenia Kermeli, "Byzantine Sources for the Period of Early Ottoman History"; and Yusuf Oğuzoğlu, "Emergence of State Institutions in the Period of Establishment."
Second session: 1:45 - 3:15. Session chair: Talat S. Halman. Presenters and topics: Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, "The Development of Ottoman Medrese until Mehmed the Conqueror"; Ramazan Şeşen, "Education of the Ottoman Ulema until the Conquest of Istanbul"; Mehmet Kalpaklı, "Language and Literature in Anatolia from the Establishment to the Time of Mehmed the Conqueror."
Third session: 3:30 - 4:30. Session chair: Fuat Keyman. Presenters and topics: Özer Ergenç, "Mehmed the Conqueror and the Concept of Absolute Sovereignty"; S. Akşin Somel, "The Establishment Period in the Late Ottoman Historiography."
The symposium is open to the public. For more information, call ext. 2206.
