Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı is a Turkish historian and author of Crimean Tatar origin, born in Austria in 1947. Known for his extensive studies on Ottoman and Turkish history, Ortaylı is fluent in multiple languages and actively engages in international academic activities. 

Early Life and Education

İlber Ortaylı was born in 1947 in Bregenz, Austria, in a migrant camp to a Crimean Tatar family. His father, Kemal Ortaylı, was an aircraft engineer. Ortaylı moved to Turkey at the age of two, started his primary education in Istanbul, and completed it in Ankara. After attending Saint George’s High School in Istanbul for middle school, he returned to Ankara and graduated from Ankara Atatürk High School in 1965. In 1969, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences and the Department of History at the Faculty of Language, History, and Geography at Ankara University. He later pursued Slavic and Oriental Studies at the University of Vienna. Ortaylı completed his master’s degree at the University of Chicago under Prof. Halil İnalcık and received his Ph.D. in 1978 with his thesis titled "Local Administrations After the Tanzimat". In 1979, he became an associate professor with his work "German Influence in the Ottoman Empire", and in 1989, he was granted the title of professor.

Academic Career

İlber Ortaylı began his academic career in 1973 as an assistant at the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University. In 1977, he conducted archival research in Bonn. In 1983, he resigned from his position at the Faculty of Political Sciences in protest against state academic policies. During this period, he worked as a visiting lecturer and held seminars at some of the world's leading universities, including those in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Princeton, Moscow, Rome, Munich, Strasbourg, Ioannina, Sofia, Kiel, Cambridge, Oxford, and Tunis. After a brief tenure at Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) in 1988, he returned to the Faculty of Political Sciences and served as the Head of the Administrative History Department between 1989 and 2002. In 2002, he joined Galatasaray University and later moved to Bilkent University in 2004. In 2005, he was appointed as the Director of the Topkapı Palace Museum, a position he held for some time. He currently teaches history at Galatasaray University.

Linguistic Skills and International Contributions

Having received a multilingual education from an early age, Ortaylı is proficient in Turkish and Ottoman Turkish, as well as advanced German, French, English, and Russian; he also has an intermediate command of Arabic, Persian, Latin, Hebrew, Serbian, and Greek. In total, he speaks Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Crimean Tatar, Arabic, Persian, German, French, Italian, Latin, Greek, Russian, Slovak, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian. He is a board member of the International Committee of Ottoman Studies and a member of the European Society for Iranian Studies.

Awards and Recognition

İlber Ortaylı has received numerous awards for his academic and cultural contributions. In 2001, he was awarded the Aydın Doğan Foundation Prize. In 2006, he received the "Between Europe and the Mediterranean Lazio" award at the Italy Mediterranean Festival. In 2007, he was honored with the Pushkin Prize by the Russian Federation. His books and television programs have reached a wide audience, making him a popular figure in the field of history.

Publications and Works

Ortaylı's works cover topics such as Ottoman history, administrative history, local governments, and cultural heritage. He has published articles on 16th to 19th-century Ottoman history and Russian history in various domestic and international journals. His main works include:

• 1974: Tanzimat’tan Sonra Mahalli İdareler (Local Administrations After the Tanzimat)
• 1978: Türkiye’de Belediyeciliğin Evrimi (The Evolution of Municipalism in Turkey) (with İlhan Tekeli)
• 1979: Türkiye İdare Tarihi (Administrative History of Turkey)
• 1980: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Alman Nüfuzu (German Influence in the Ottoman Empire)
• 1981: Gelenekten Geleceğe (From Tradition to the Future)
• 1983: İmparatorluğun En Uzun Yüzyılı (The Empire’s Longest Century)
• 1985: Tanzimat’tan Cumhuriyet’e Yerel Yönetim Geleneği (The Tradition of Local Governance from Tanzimat to the Republic)
• 1986: İstanbul’dan Sayfalar (Pages from Istanbul)
• 1994: Studies on Ottoman Transformation (English)
• 1994: Hukuk ve İdare Adamı Olarak Osmanlı Devleti’nde Kadı (The Kadı as a Legal and Administrative Figure in the Ottoman State)
• 1996: Türkiye İdare Tarihine Giriş (Introduction to the Administrative History of Turkey)
• 2000: Osmanlı Aile Yapısı (Ottoman Family Structure)
• 2001: Tarihin Sınırlarına Yolculuk (Journey to the Frontiers of History)
• 2001: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda İktisadi ve Sosyal Değişim (Economic and Social Change in the Ottoman Empire)
• 2002: Osmanlı Mirasından Cumhuriyet Türkiyesi’ne (From Ottoman Legacy to Republican Turkey) (with Taha Akyol)
• 2004: Osmanlı Barışı (Ottoman Peace)
• 2005: Barış Köprüleri: Dünya’ya Açılan Türk Okulları (Bridges of Peace: Turkish Schools Opening to the World)
• 2006: Osmanlı’yı Yeniden Keşfetmek-1 (Rediscovering the Ottoman Empire-1)
• 2006: Kırk Ambar Sohbetleri (Forty Storehouse Conversations)
• 2006: Osmanlı’yı Yeniden Keşfetmek-2 (Rediscovering the Ottoman Empire-2)
• 2007: Eski Dünya Seyahatnamesi (Old World Travelogue)
• 2007: Yahudilik Tarihi (History of Judaism) (with Ahmet Almaz)
• 2007: Avrupa ve Biz (Europe and Us)
• 2007: Batılılaşma Yolunda (On the Path to Westernization)
• 2007: Osmanlı’yı Yeniden Keşfetmek-3 (Rediscovering the Ottoman Empire-3)
• 2007: Mekân ve Olaylarıyla Topkapı Sarayı (Topkapı Palace with Its Spaces and Events)
• 2008: Osmanlı Sarayında Hayat (Life in the Ottoman Palace)
• 2008: Tarihimiz ve Biz (Our History and Us)
• 2008: Tarihin İzinde (In the Footsteps of History)
• 2009: Tarihin Işığında (In the Light of History)
• 2010: Türkiye’nin Yakın Tarihi (Turkey’s Recent History)
• 2011: Defterimden Portreler (Portraits from My Notebook)
• 2011: Tarihin Gölgesinde (In the Shadow of History) (with Taha Akyol)
• 2012: Yakın Tarihin Gerçekleri (Truths of Recent History) (Timaş Yayınları)
• 2012: Cumhuriyetin İlk Yüzyılı 1923-2023 (The First Century of the Republic 1923-2023) (Timaş Yayınları)
• 2013: İlber Ortaylı Seyahatnamesi (İlber Ortaylı’s Travelogue) (Timaş Yayınları)
• 2014: İmparatorluğun Son Nefesi (The Last Breath of the Empire) (Timaş Yayınları)
• 2014: Eski Dünya Seyahatnamesi (Old World Travelogue) (Timaş Yayınları)
• 2015: Türklerin Tarihi: Orta Asya’nın Bozkırlarından Avrupa’nın Kapılarına (The History of the Turks: From the Steppes of Central Asia to the Gates of Europe) (Timaş Yayınları)
• 2016: Türklerin Tarihi: Anadolu’nun Bozkırlarından Avrupa’nın İçlerine (The History of the Turks: From the Steppes of Anatolia to the Heart of Europe) (Timaş Yayınları)
• 2016: İttihat ve Terakki (Union and Progress)
• 2016: Hukuk ve İdare Adamı Olarak Osmanlı Devleti’nde Kadı (The Kadı as a Legal and Administrative Figure in the Ottoman State)
• 2016: Osmanlı’ya Bakmak: Osmanlı Çağdaşlaşması (Looking at the Ottoman Empire: Ottoman Modernization)
• 2016: İstanbul’dan Sayfalar (Pages from Istanbul)
• 2017: Türklerin Altın Çağı (The Golden Age of the Turks)
• 2017: Tarihe Yön Veren 100 Lider (100 Leaders Who Shaped History)
• 2018: Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
• 2019: Bir Ömür Nasıl Yaşanır (How to Live a Lifetime)
• 2020: Türklerin Tarihi (The History of the Turks)
• 2021: Yakın Tarihin Gerçekleri (Truths of Recent History) (Kronik Kitap)
• 2022: İnsan Geleceğini Nasıl Kurar? (How Does a Person Build Their Future?)
• 2022: Türklerin Tarihi 2 (The History of the Turks 2) (Kronik Kitap)
• 2023: 1923 Cumhuriyetin İlk Yüzyılı 2023 (1923 The First Century of the Republic 2023)
• 2024: Avrupa ve Biz: Geçmişten Günümüze (Europe and Us: From Past to Present)

Current Status

Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı continues his academic career and teaches history at Galatasaray University. As a historian widely recognized through television programs and writings, he continues to offer a broad perspective on Ottoman and Turkish history.