Review of the International Symposium “The Genghisids in Ottoman Sources”

The International Symposium “The Genghisids in Ottoman Sources” was held in Istanbul on March 11, 2025, organized by the History Department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Marmara University and the Usmanov Center for Research on the Golden Horde and Tatar Khanates, Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (Kazan, Russian Federation). Scientists from Türkiye, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, and the USA attended the symposium. The International Symposium “The Genghisids in Ottoman Sources”, which brought together essential scientists from around the world, once again revealed the importance of Ottoman sources, which have not been researched much until now, regarding Genghisid history. In the presented papers, the scientists, on the one hand, discussed the most important works published on the subject to date. On the other hand, they stated that these works contain essential information, especially about the campaigns of Genghis Khan and his children, the arrival of the Mongols in Anatolia, the acceptance of Islam by the Genghisids, the wars between the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate, the attempted alliance against Emir Timur, the relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Golden Horde, and the Tartar migrations. In this context, works written in the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate, such as Ahmedi’s Iskandername, Anonymous Tevarih-i Ali Osman, Şükrullah Efendi’s Behcetü’t-Tevarih, Evliya Çelebi’s travelogue, Muhammed Şeybani’s Tevarih-i Güzide, Abdulgaffar Kırımi’s Umdetü’l-Ahbar, Kadir Ali Bey’s Camiü’t-Tevarih, Katib Çelebi’s Fadhlakat Aqwal al-Akhyar fi’Ilm at-Ta’rikh wa-l-Akhbar, Seyyid Muhammed Rıza’s es-Sebü’s-Seyâr fî Ahbâr-ı Mülûki’t-Tatar, and the yarlyk (order) of the Crimean khans were discussed. During the symposium, experts on the history of the Genghisids also exchanged ideas on the lastest studies on the subject in different countries. The symposium will contribute to the realisation of joint projects for the future research of Ottoman sources on the Genghisids. This symposium, jointly organized by two critical scientific institutions of Türkiye and Tatarstan (Russian Federation), will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the development of scientific and cultural relations between Türkiye and Tatarstan and, more generally, between Türkiye and Russia.