M. Tayyib Gökbilgin
M. Tayyib Gökbilgin is one of the most important Ottoman historians of the 20th century; he is known for his researches on the Ottoman Empire from its foundation to its collapse, especially on urbanism, administrative organisation and religion.
Youth
M. Tayyip GÖKBİLGİN (1907-1981) was a Turkish jurist and historian. He was born in Ordu to a family belonging to the Ilmiye class*, who had been working as a kadi, jurist and mudarris for many years. After completing his primary education at home under the supervision of his father in accordance with the family tradition, he became a madrasah student. During the War of Independence, he interrupted his education and completed his education in Samsun, Erzurum and Trabzon schools of education.
*The Ilmiye is one of four institutions that existed within the state organisation of the Ottoman Empire, the other three being the Imperial (mülkiye) institution; the military (seyfiye) institution; and the administrative (kalemiye) institution.
Education & His Life
Between 1929 and 1936 he worked as a teacher in various parts of Anatolia, guiding students for 7 years in different places such as Erzurum-Aşkale, Tezcan, Ispir, Kan, Salaçur, and Çarşamba. Then, in 1936, he enrolled in the Department of Hungarology at Ankara University, Faculty of Language, History and Geography. In addition to Hungarian, he received certificates in French, German and Latin. During his student years, he travelled to Hungary every summer to attend summer language schools and studied Ottoman documents in Hungarian archives.
In 1940, after graduating with his bachelor’s thesis titled “Hungarian Sources of Ottoman History”, he started working at Istanbul University. In 1943, he was accepted as a member of the Turkish Historical Society. Firstly, he gave lectures in the History of New and Recent Ages course. He won the title of associate professor with his work “Yürükler, Tatars and Evlad-ı Fatihan in Rumelia”. This work and his publication titled “Edirne and Pasha Livasi” had a great resonance in the scholarly circles of his period. In 1955, he received the title of professor.
Gökbilgin, who was one of the first generation of historians who grew up in the Republican era, wrote an important work, “As the National Struggle Begins”, by dealing with the years of the National Struggle with an academic approach. He worked as a lecturer of Revolution History at universities. He played an important role in the establishment of the Turkish-Italian Cultural Agreement with the Fondation Giorgio Cini Institute and unearthed and published important Ottoman documents through his research in the Venetian archives.
The Last Years of His Life
Gökbilgin was awarded the “Societas de Alexandro Csoma de Koros Nominata Csoma Award” in Hungary in 1971. He was elected a member of the academies of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria. In 1961, he was one of the founders of the “History of Ottoman Institutions and Civilisation Course” and he was the chairman of this course until his retirement in 1977. He wrote articles in many academic publications, especially Belleten. He wrote articles on Ottoman laws, organisation and biography in the Encyclopaedia of Islam.
He also valued Hungarian friendship and closeness throughout his life. In 1976, he organised a symposium on “Rákóczi Ferenc II and the Hungarian Refugees under the Ottoman Empire” at Istanbul University in Turkey. M. Tayyip Gökbilgin died in 1981.
*The Ilmiye is one of four institutions that existed within the state organisation of the Ottoman Empire, the other three being the Imperial (mülkiye) institution; the military (seyfiye) institution; and the administrative (kalemiye) institution.
His Works
Suleiman the Magnificent
This book by Prof. Tayyib Gökbilgin presents Suleiman the Magnificent and his period with its events, people and society in a very original way. The chapters of the book include the ascension of the Sultan to the throne, Ibrahim Pasha’s viziership, the siege of Vienna, Mediterranean affairs, Hungarian affairs and the campaign of 1541, the murder of Prince Mustafa, the opening of the Süleymaniye Complex, operations at sea, the personality and works of Sultan Süleyman.
Edirne and Pasha Liva in the 15th and 16th Centuries
Contents
Preface | – Rumelia Province Organisation and Edirne | 1. Pasha Liva | 2. Çirmen Liva | 3. Edirne | City and its Development | – Hass and Mukataa | 1. Sultan’s Hass | 2. Viziers, State Officials and Umera Hass | 3. Ze’amet and Timars IV. Mukataas | – Foundations and Properties | 1. Foundations and Properties in the XIVth Century | 2. Foundations and Properties in the First Half of the XVth Century | 3. Foundations and Properties in the Second Half of the XVth Century | 4. Foundations in the First Half of the XVIth Century
Ottoman Hungarian Relations
This work by Prof. M. Tayyib Gökbilgin, one of Turkey’s leading historians on Ottoman-Hungarian relations, traces the development of this shared history. This book, which brings together thirteen works by Gökbilgin, begins with some notes on the period of Turkish rule in Hungary. The last chapters of the book cover the role of Thököly Imre in Ottoman-Austrian relations, Rakoczi Ferenc II and Hungarian refugees under Ottoman protection, and Turkish-Hungarian relations in the late 19th century.