TÜBA Honorary Member Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı Has Passed Away
Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı, one of Türkiye’s most prominent historians and a TÜBA Honorary Member, has passed away. Ortaylı, who left a profound impact through his contributions to the field of Turkish history, his vast intellectual knowledge, and his compelling narrative style, has been deeply mourned by the academic and cultural communities.
Known for his decades-long work in the fields of Ottoman history, administrative history, and cultural history, Prof. Ortaylı inspired a love of history in a wide audience through his academic work, books, television programs, and lectures. Having taught at universities in Türkiye and around the world throughout his academic career, Ortaylı was remembered not only as a historian but also as a prominent intellectual and cultural figure. Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı, one of the most respected figures in the scientific community, enjoyed significant international prestige for his contributions to the discipline of history and his multilingual academic expertise.
TÜBA President Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker expressed his sorrow over Ortaylı’s passing and extended his condolences to all of Türkiye for the loss of such an intellectual treasure. President Şeker stated: “Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı was one of the most exceptional figures not only in Turkish historiography but also in our country’s intellectual life. Through his in-depth studies on Ottoman history, the history of administration, and our cultural heritage, he inspired generations of researchers. With his multifaceted knowledge, powerful memory, and unique narrative style, he was one of the rare scholars who made history appealing to a broad audience. We are deeply saddened by the loss of our esteemed professor, who made significant contributions to the scientific community as a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. I pray for God’s mercy upon him and extend my condolences to his family, his students, the scientific community, and our country.”
Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı will be laid to rest in Istanbul on Monday, March 16. Following the afternoon prayer at Fatih Mosque, Ortaylı will be buried in the cemetery of Fatih Mosque.
Who was Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı?
He was born in 1947 in a refugee camp in Bregenz, Austria, to a Crimean Tatar family as the son of Kemal Ortaylı, an aircraft engineer. He came to Türkiye at the age of two. He began his elementary education in Istanbul and completed it in Ankara. After attending Saint George High School in Istanbul for middle school, he returned to Ankara. He graduated from Ankara Atatürk High School (1965), the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University, and the Faculty of Language, History and Geography(DTCF) (1969). He studied Slavic and Oriental Studies at the University of Vienna. From a young age, in addition to Turkish, he learned German, French, English, and Russian at an advanced level; and Arabic, Persian, Latin, Hebrew, Serbian, and Greek at an intermediate level.
İlber Ortaylı began working as an assistant at the Faculty of Political Sciences (SBF) at Ankara University in 1973. In 1977, he went to Bonn to conduct archival research. He completed his master’s thesis at the University of Chicago under Prof. Dr. Halil İnalcık. He earned his doctorate with his dissertation titled "Tanzimat Sonrası Mahalli İdareler" (Local Administrations After the Tanzimat) and was promoted to associate professor (1979) and then professor (1989) based on his study titled “Osmanlı İmparatorluğunda Alman Nüfuzu”(German Influence in the Ottoman Empire). During his years of higher education, he had the opportunity to travel to various countries and cities, visiting Aleppo, Damascus, Beirut, Jerusalem, and Amman.
In 1983, he resigned from the Faculty of Political Sciences (SBF), where he had worked for ten years, as a protest against the government’s academic policies. During this period, he served as a visiting professor at the École des Hautes Études in Paris, Freie Universität Berlin, and Princeton University, as well as at universities in Vienna, Moscow, Rome, Munich, Strasbourg, Ioannina, Sofia, Kiel, Cambridge, Oxford, and Tunis, where he also delivered seminars and lectures. He published articles on Ottoman and Russian history from the 16th to the 19th centuries in domestic and international academic journals.
In 1988, he worked for a time as an associate professor at METU and returned to his position at SBF that same year. He was promoted to professor in 1989. From 1989 to 2002, he served as Chair of the Department of Administrative History at the Faculty of Political Sciences. In 2002, he moved to Galatasaray University. He later served as Director General of the Topkapı Palace Museums.
He hosted history talk shows on various television channels, including “İlber Ortaylı ile”, “İlber Ortaylı ile Yakın Tarih Dersleri” ve “İlber Ortaylı ile Zaman Kaybolmaz” He has published articles on 16th- and 19th-century Ottoman history and Russian history in domestic and international academic journals. In 2001, he received the Aydın Doğan Foundation Award; in 2006 , the “Lazio Between Europe and the Mediterranean” award at the Italy Mediterranean Festival, and in 2007, the Pushkin Award, presented by the Russian Federation with the signature of Russian President Vladimir Putin to individuals who promote the Russian language and cultural heritage and foster closer ties between nations and peoples.
Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı, who is fluent in Ottoman Turkish, Crimean Tatar, Arabic, Persian, German, French, Italian, Latin, Greek, Russian, Slovak, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian, was elected a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) in 2012.