Research Articles
Reviews
Book Reviews
In Memory
Aim & Scope
Published by the History Foundation, Toplumsal Tarih Akademi: Osmanlı-Türkiye Çalışmaları focuses on the history of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, spanning a chronological scope from the late Middle Ages to the final quarter of the twentieth century.
The journal examines the societies of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, as well as the geographical regions encompassed by the empire’s borders. It also explores other states and political structures that emerged within this geography, contextualizing their interactions with Ottoman and Turkish societies. Within this framework, it welcomes and encourages contributions from established fields such as social, economic, political, and cultural history, as well as from emerging areas and innovative approaches in historiography.
Toplumsal Tarih Akademi: Osmanlı-Türkiye Çalışmaları publishes original, previously unpublished research articles on topics and periods within its scope, as well as reviews of scholarly books related to the journal's focus areas. In addition to these, the journal welcomes evaluations of symposia, seminars, and conferences, interviews, obituaries, short opinion pieces aimed at contributing to the field, and document analyses. While Turkish is the preferred language of publication, the journal also accepts contributions written in English.
Writing Rules
Articles submitted to Toplumsal Tarih Akademi: Osmanlı-Türkiye Çalışmaları must include a 150-word Turkish summary (özet) and an English abstract, accompanied by keywords. Authors are required to ensure that all footnotes, bibliographies, tables, and other elements in the manuscript are complete prior to submission.
The journal publishes articles with a total length of up to 7,000 words, including footnotes and bibliography. Literature review essays and review articles should not exceed 2,500 words, while book reviews must be limited to a maximum of 1,500 words. Submissions should be submitted via the DergiPark system.
Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
Statement of Ethics for the Journal of Toplumsal Tarih Akademi
Toplumsal Tarih Akademi journal adheres to principles of publication ethics. These principles are derived from widely recognized and respected national and international declarations of ethical standards. On a national level, the journal follows the guidelines set forth by the YÖK ÜAK’s Bilimsel Araştırma ve Yayın Etiği Yönergesi. Internationally, the journal upholds the ethical standards articulated by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).
Violations of Publication Ethics – YÖK ÜAK Principles
The main violations of publication ethics include plagiarism, falsification, fabrication, redundant publication, slicing, and unfair authorship. In addition, failure to acknowledge research funding, using data from incomplete studies without the permission of the author, also fall under the scope of ethical breaches. The details of these violations are outlined in Article 4 of the Yönerge… issued by the YÖK ÜAK. This article succinctly presents the moral rules authors are expected to follow. We expect authors who submit their valuable works to our journal to act in accordance with Article 4. Authors can access the relevant directive via the link below:
https://bit.ly/4h05Flg
International Publication Ethics – COPE Principles
At the World Conference on Research Integrity held in Singapore in 2011, scientists convened to reach consensus on certain ethical principles for both authors and editors.
The ethical principles agreed upon for authors are aligned with the YÖK ÜAK directive mentioned in the previous section but are more detailed. These principles include reliability, honesty, balance, originality, transparency, proper attribution of authorship and contributions, accountability, adherence to the peer review process and publishing agreements, and ethical considerations regarding individuals and living subjects related to the publication. Authors can access the detailed authorship principles set forth by COPE via the following link:
https://bit.ly/400bbON
Reference: Kleinert, S., & Wager, E. (2011). Responsible Research Publication: International Standards for Authors. A Position Statement developed at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity, Singapore, July 22-24, 2010. Chapter 50 in: Mayer, T., & Steneck, N. (eds.) Promoting Research Integrity in a Global Environment. Imperial College Press / World Scientific Publishing, Singapore (pp. 309-16). (ISBN 978-981-4340-97-7)
COPE has also announced ethical guidelines for scientists serving as editors. These include being responsible for journal content, maintaining editorial independence and integrity, ensuring editorial confidentiality, encouraging complete reporting of authorship, responding to critiques, operating a fair peer review process, and managing editorial decisions appropriately. The detailed ethical principles for editors can be accessed via the link below:
https://bit.ly/4dDs7xH
Reference: Kleinert, S., & Wager, E. (2011). Responsible Research Publication: International Standards for Editors. A Position Statement developed at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity, Singapore, July 22-24, 2010. Chapter 51 in: Mayer, T., & Steneck, N. (eds.) Promoting Research Integrity in a Global Environment. Imperial College Press / World Scientific Publishing, Singapore (pp. 317-28). (ISBN 978-981-4340-97-7)
Peer Review Process
Toplumsal Tarih Akademi journal submits research articles to two anonymous reviewers if they pass the editor's evaluation. The anonymous reviewers recommend one of the following decisions: rejection, minor revision, major revision, or acceptance. The editor then makes a final decision based on both reviewers' reports, opting for rejection, minor revision, major revision, or acceptance. In certain cases, the editor may invite a third reviewer. Toplumsal Tarih Akademi journal does not publish peer review reports.
COPE has also outlined ethical principles for scientists acting as reviewers. These include professional responsibility, disclosure of conflicts of interest, timely submission of the review, maintaining confidentiality, and reporting ethical violations by authors. Details regarding these principles can be found via the link below:
https://bit.ly/3TZdHkr
Reference: COPE Council. COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers – English. https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.9
Price Policy
No fees are charged for the evaluation or publication of submissions to Toplumsal Tarih Akademi: Osmanlı-Türkiye Çalışmaları.
Greetings with Our Fifth Issue!
We are delighted to present the latest issue of Toplumsal Tarih Akademi. This marks the fifth issue since the journal’s inception in December 2022, and it is unique as the first non-thematic volume. It also represents our initial experience transitioning from assistant editors to editors of the journal. We apologize in advance for any oversights that may have occurred.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our former editors, Yaşar Tolga Cora and Nurşen Gürboğa, whose efforts have swiftly made this journal one of the prominent publications of the History Foundation. Additionally, we thank Mehmet Ö. Alkan, former President of the History Foundation and the journal’s inaugural editor-in-chief, for his pioneering role in launching Toplumsal Tarih Akademi. Aware of the responsibility we bear in advancing the journal, we are committed to fulfilling this role with the support of our editorial board and an expanded editorial team.
At this point, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of our new section editors, appointed during the editorial board meeting in September 2024. Gülhan Balsoy and Cihangir Gündoğdu have joined as book review editors, and Deniz Türker has taken on the role of document analysis section editor. Their dedication and energy have been invaluable in shaping this issue. Although Nurşen Gürboğa has handed over the editorial duties, she continues to serve as editor-in-chief, and her guidance and support—along with her bridge-building with the History Foundation’s management—remain invaluable to us.
We also thank Emre Erkan, our meticulous and efficient Turkish language editor, who has also served as an assistant editor, and Aşkın Yücel Seçkin, our layout editor, for their precise and prompt work. Our anonymous reviewers, the invisible heroes guiding our authors with their revisions, also deserve our sincere appreciation. Lastly, we are deeply grateful to our authors, who have shown great patience and understanding during this transitional period as we produced this issue featuring open-call submissions.
This issue includes four research articles, three document analysis essays, four book reviews, and one commemorative piece.
The research articles in this issue include:
1. Ebru Aykut’s “Managing Exceptions, Negotiating Justice: The Kanun of Cibal, General Amnesties, and Hybrid Penal Systems in İşkodra,” which explores governance strategies in late Ottoman Albanian territories, offering insights into historical events in İşkodra while engaging with Foucault's concept of governmentality.
2. “Jacques Pervititch Before 1922,” a collaborative work by Murat Tülek, Jean-François Pérouse, and Funda Ferhanoğlu, delves into the early life and career of Pervititch before his landmark insurance maps of Istanbul.
3. Nurhan Davutyan’s “Could the 1875 Ottoman Moratorium Have Been Prevented?” provides a fresh perspective on the financial developments leading to the establishment of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration, utilizing comprehensive sources and statistical analysis.
4. Tarkan Murat Akkaya’s “Nothing Else to Write About? The 19th-Century Ottoman Intellectuals’ View of the Cormorant and a Brief Lexicological History” examines a 1899 newspaper article on the cormorant bird, exploring the etymology of bird names in a fascinating study bridging nature and history.
In the document analysis section, edited by Deniz Türker:
- Filiz Yazıcıoğlu reflects on the petitions of Mehmet Tevfik Bey, a telegraph officer during Abdülhamid II’s reign, exploring the political implications of foreign intervention in bureaucratic appointments.
- Mertkan Karaca analyzes a 1909 article by Halil Edhem Bey on the early history of the Imperial Museum (now the Istanbul Archaeology Museums).
- Aysel Yıldız examines the life of Ibrahim Bin Ali, an Ottoman Janissary who was exiled to Russia and later migrated to the United States, through two remarkable letters.
Under the book review section, managed by Gülhan Balsoy and Cihangir Gündoğdu:
- Ekrem Yener reviews Kanun ve Nizam Dairesinde Soykırım Teknokratı Mustafa Reşat Mimaroğlu’nun İzinde Osmanlı’dan Cumhuriyet’e Devlet Mekanizması by Ümit Kurt.
- Melis Cankara examines Uğur Zekeriya Peçe’s Island and Empire: How Civil War in Crete Mobilized the Ottoman World, a study on the social upheavals triggered by the Cretan civil war.
- Ayşe Hilal Uğurlu evaluates Ali Akyıldız’s Mabeyn-i Hümayun: Osmanlı Saray Teşkilatının Modernleşmesi, shedding light on the modernization of Ottoman palace structures.
- Numan Deniz reviews Nir Shafir’s The Order and Disorder of Communication: Pamphlets and Polemics in Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Empire.
In our commemorative section, Fahri Aral honors Necdet Sakaoğlu, a historian, educator, and author renowned for his work in local, urban, Seljuk, Ottoman, and educational history, who passed away last summer.
Moving forward, our journal will publish thematic issues in June and open-call issues in December. For the December 2025 issue, the submission deadline is June 15, 2025. Submissions must be made through the DergiPark system.
We remain committed to advancing social historiography, fostering free and critical thought, and providing a platform for high-quality Turkish-language academic articles. As part of this mission, we are working to index Toplumsal Tarih Akademi in both national and international databases.
We value your constructive feedback and contributions and look forward to hearing your thoughts on our journal.
Enjoy reading, and may the coming year be a prosperous one.
Firuzan Melike Sümertaş & Sırrı Emrah Üçer
Editors, Toplumsal Tarih Akademi