The Ottoman History Working Group aims to provide a collaborative and interdisciplinary space for researchers at the European University Institute to exchange ideas, share ongoing work, and engage with current debates in Ottoman and connected histories.
While the main focus will be on the history of the Ottoman Empire, the group will also remain open to broader Islamic, imperial, and transregional contexts, including the Safavid, Mughal, and other Muslim states that interacted with or paralleled the Ottoman experience.
The group welcomes participants working across a wide geography and chronology—from early to modern periods, with a special attention to late Medieval period —whose research intersects with Ottoman history in conceptual, comparative, or methodological ways. It seeks to foster an active intellectual community that bridges different approaches, regions, and periods within Ottoman studies, while also connecting members’ research to broader historiographical and methodological conversations.
Importantly, the group also aims to explore the mutual entanglement of Ottoman and European histories, examining the shared spaces, actors, and processes that shaped both worlds. By doing so, it highlights the Ottoman Empire not as an external counterpart to Europe, but as an integral actor in its political, economic, and cultural transformations.
In pursuing these goals, the working group will create a supportive and inclusive environment for discussion, collaboration, and research development across disciplines such as history, law, political thought, and linguistics.
Contact us to join: [email protected]
Activities 2025-2026
- Inaugural Meeting — November 19 2025
- Thematic Reading Groups (monthly)
- Seminar series—2026
- Ottoman Language and Paleography Sessions —2026
- Archival workshop —2026
- Research Presentation Series —2026
- Seminar series 2—2026
- Research Colloquium Series —2026
- Collaborative Digital Resource or Bibliography Project —2027
- Guest Lecture or Webinar Series —2027
- Peer-Review or Publication Workshops —2027