| Course Code |
Course Title |
Credits |
| TAR 113B |
Ancient History and Civilization |
3 |
| The aim of this course is to review, first, the main course of Ancient Greek history and the formation and development of its civilization from the beginning of Antiquity in its specific sense (i.e., the Greco-Roman ancient world), and then the political history and civilization of Rome. It also seeks to understand the distinctive characteristics of Antiquity, which may be regarded as foundations laid for the future, through surviving evidence of its intellectual, scientific, and artistic production. |
| TAR 141 |
Historical Methodology |
3 |
| This course is designed to provide a general introduction to the discipline of history. It aims to familiarize students with the nature of historical thinking, historical methods, and modern and postmodern debates in history. |
| TAR 145 |
Texts in History |
3 |
| This course aims to examine major texts from the Early, Classical, and Late periods of Ottoman history, analyze them within their historical contexts, and explore the historiographical practices of their periods. Students will learn methods of textual analysis through primary and secondary sources and develop competence in the use of sources in Ottoman historical studies. |
| TAR 146 |
Turkish History |
3 |
| This course surveys the main outlines of Turkish history from the process of the Turks' conversion to Islam in the tenth century to the end of the fourteenth century. Particular attention will be paid to the Karakhanids, Ghaznavids, Khwarazmian Empire, and Seljuks. |
| TAR 191 |
Ottoman Turkish I |
3 |
| These courses teach the Ottoman Turkish alphabet and enable students to read printed texts and write in Ottoman Turkish. |
| TAR 192 |
Ottoman Turkish II |
3 |
| This course introduces key Arabic and Persian grammatical elements relevant to Ottoman Turkish, aiming to equip students with the skills required to read and comprehend intermediate printed texts. In this context, a primary objective is to enable students to effectively read and analyze printed Ottoman chronicles. |
| TAR 223 |
History and Civilization of Islam |
3 |
| After a brief overview of the political and social conditions of the Arabian Peninsula before Islam, the course examines the emergence of Islam and the political, social, and economic conditions during the time of Prophet Muhammad. It then focuses on the Islamic conception of governance and the institution of the caliphate, covering the political, social, and institutional structures (judicial, land, and administrative) of the periods of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. The Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates are also included. |
| TAR 233E |
Ottoman History I |
3 |
| This course is designed as a macro-level introduction to Ottoman history and institutions from approximately 1300 to 1600. Students will become familiar with current debates in Ottoman studies as well as primary sources through English translations or published critical editions. Throughout the course, comparisons will be made with reference to parallel developments in the Middle East and Europe. |
| TAR 234E |
Ottoman History II |
3 |
| This course aims to introduce students to the developments and debates from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, while also developing their ability to analyze relatively lesser-known primary sources from an analytical and comparative perspective. |
| TAR 245 |
Ottoman Paleography |
3 |
| This course aims to enable students to read Ottoman Turkish manuscript scripts, particularly naskh and rik'a, at an advanced level. By having students read these scripts in manuscripts and documents from the period, it also seeks to familiarize them with these records and help them understand the expressions and terminology used at the time. |
| TAR 315 |
European History |
3 |
| The course examines economic, social, and cultural structures and developments that interacted with the political trajectory of Europe in the Middle Ages, the Early Modern period, and the modern era. Its final major theme concerns the continuation of European states' competition and conflicts in other continents as part of their trajectories of development in the modern era, leading to the First World War. |
| TAR 324 |
Ottoman Socio-Economic History |
3 |
| This course aims to teach the basic institutions and terms/concepts of the Ottoman socio-economic structure. It also seeks to examine transformations over the historical process and their reflections on socio-economic understandings. Through presentations, the course enables students to become familiar with debates in the relevant literature. |
| TAR 325 |
American History |
3 |
| This course examines the history of the United States from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century. Beginning with the first European settlements in the Americas, it explores the social, cultural, political, and economic transformations of the United States from its foundation onward. It also considers how the United States influenced and transformed the patterns of international relations. By the end of the semester, students are expected to be able to identify major events, figures and peoples, concepts, and processes that shaped modern American society. |
| TAR 328 |
History of Turkish Modernization |
3 |
| This course examines the modernization movement that began in the late Ottoman period and the political, social, economic, and cultural changes it generated. Alongside the concept of modernization in the Ottoman context, the course addresses related arguments, debates, and problems. Using primary and secondary sources, a different topic will be discussed each week, together with late Ottoman historiography. |
| TAR 361E |
Seminar in History I |
1 |
| This course aims to present the reciprocal interactions between the Ottoman Empire and nomadic/semi-nomadic communities from a chronological perspective. It first discusses the roles of these groups in the early Ottoman period in demographic and military terms, followed by an examination of their relations in the classical period. The nature of these groups as a sociological phenomenon will also be explored. In the post-classical and modern periods, the settlement process constitutes the main focus. |
| TAR 362E |
Seminar in History II |
1 |
| The objective of this course is to provide foundational knowledge on research methods centered around a broad theme in modern history, review relevant primary and secondary sources, put theoretical insights into practice, and evaluate the final seminar papers produced by students. For this semester, the overarching theme is the History of the Turkish Press. |
| TAR 364 |
Thesis Work |
2 |
| Students will conduct preparatory work on their assigned graduation thesis topics under the supervision of an advisor. |
| TAR 395 |
Vocational English |
2 |
| Vocational English I is designed to develop the academic language and academic skills needed by students in the History Department. In this regard, the aim of this course is to acquaint the students with the topics, themes and terminology of English-written texts and articles as well as papers written about the topics related to History and to teach how to analyse a written texts and other sources. |
| TAR 414 |
Contemporary Turkish History |
3 |
| The course examines political, social, and economic changes and developments in Turkey during the period 1939–1980. |
| TAR 421 |
Contemporary World History |
3 |
| Beginning with the interwar period (1919–1939), this course examines changes and developments in world politics and their economic, political, and military consequences. Particular attention will be paid to the bipolar restructuring of the world after the Second World War, the developments of the Cold War between the two blocs, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its repercussions for world politics, developments in the Middle East and Far East, and Europe's efforts to re-emerge as a center of power. |
| TAR 441 |
Archives and History |
2 |
| The course focuses on methods of using archives, one of the historian's principal sources. It explains how to make use of the Republican and Ottoman Archives, the Archives of Foundations (Vakıflar), manuscripts held in libraries, and published documents in Turkey. The importance of the archives of Britain, France, Venice, the Netherlands, Austria, and Russia, particularly for Turkish history, as well as their holdings and conditions of use, are among the topics covered. |
| TAR 466 |
Seminar in Historical Terminology |
3 |
| This seminar aims to explain terms and expressions found in various historical documents, including chronicles, annals, hagiographies, Sharia court registers, endowment deeds, imperial decrees, and diplomas. It also emphasizes source use and knowledge of the relevant literature in order to develop the interpretive skills necessary for source-based historical scholarship. |
ELECTIVE COURSES
|
| Course Code |
Course Title |
Credits |
| TAR 124 |
Political Thought in History |
3 |
| The course examines major representatives of political thought, from thinkers of ancient Greece and Rome to those shaped by monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). The relationship between the individual, state, and society, as well as between politics and philosophy, are among its central themes. The Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment; legitimacy and reason; freedom, equality, justice, and democracy are also covered. |
| TAR 131 |
Pre-Islamic Turkish History |
3 |
| Societies in Turkestan up to the year 1000 (especially Turks and Mongols), their political formations and civilizations: the Huns, Tabgaches (Toba), Avars, Göktürks, Khazars, Bulgars, Uyghurs, Karluks, Türgesh, and other Turkish communities and states, together with their relations with one another and with other communities and countries. The cultures created by Turkish communities, especially pre-Islamic Turkish political history and civilization, and new developments resulting from their contacts with Islamic civilization are also examined. |
| TAR 148 |
Philosophy of History |
3 |
| This course examines ideas developed on the philosophy of history to date, as well as the relationship between geography and human beings, which has played an important role in shaping historical events. |
| TAR 224 |
The Islamic World in the Late Middle Ages |
3 |
| After discussing the establishment and development, political histories, social structures, and economic conditions of the Umayyad, Abbasid, Umayyad Spain, Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Fatimid states from the Umayyad period onward following the era of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the course examines the historical development of Islamic civilization in architecture, science, culture, and the arts during these periods. |
| TAR 246 |
Ottoman Paleography II |
3 |
| The reading, analysis, and explanation of Ottoman archival documents in various forms written in rik'a; the reading, analysis, and explanation of documents written in ta'liq from Sharia court registers and fatwas; and the reading, analysis, and explanation of documents written in divani script from Mühimme registers. |
| TAR 316 |
Political Transformations in Europe |
3 |
| The course examines economic, social, and cultural structures and developments that interacted with the political trajectory of Europe in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period. Medieval states and the transformations brought by the Early Modern period constitute the main themes of the course. |
| TAR 321 |
Contemporary Greek History |
3 |
| This course examines the political, social, economic, and intellectual conditions that gave rise to the Greek revolt of 1821, as well as the history of the Greek state and society, which followed a more complex trajectory of development than many Eastern European cases. Drawing on European, Turkish, and Greek sources, the course follows a chronological and thematic framework centered on religion, language, identity, and Europeanization. |
| TAR 326 |
Intellectual Movements in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th Century |
3 |
| This course examines the political, social, economic, and cultural changes in the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century, the intellectual movements that emerged in response to these changes, and the figures who represented them. |
| TAR 345 |
History of Turkish Law |
3 |
| Law was among the fundamental concepts of the peoples of the Central Asian steppe. The tradition of governing the state through law in the Turco-Mongol empires has very deep roots. The tradition emphasized in the Göktürk inscriptions continued in other Turkish states and later in the Seljuk and Ottoman states. The course examines the Turkish legal and legislative tradition, legislative mechanisms, legal institutions, their functioning, and systems of appointment and promotion throughout this historical process. Finally, it addresses the modernization of the Ottoman legal system and the adoption of Western legal norms. |
| TAR 346 |
History of Turkish Administration |
3 |
| The Turkish tradition of statecraft contains many elements rooted in the state structures of the Central Asian steppe peoples. The Turco-Mongol conception of sovereignty played an important role in shaping the concepts of rulership, legitimacy, and power until the Republican period. Hereditary succession among the Turks also shaped administrative institutions. The course examines the philosophy underlying these concepts, the formation of administrative institutions, the functioning of administrative mechanisms, and their transformation throughout history. Alongside institutions inherited from the early Turkish states, the Seljuk and Ottoman administrative institutions that developed in Anatolia constitute a major focus. The course also addresses influences from Byzantium and ancient Iran and some of the institutions adopted from them. It concludes with the replacement of older Ottoman institutions by Western institutions in the nineteenth century. |
| TAR 348 |
History of Turkish Culture and Civilization |
3 |
| The course primarily aims to examine the steppe culture created by Central Asian Turkish and Mongol communities, including influences such as China, through comparison with contemporary settled cultures and with due attention to their mutual interactions. |
| TAR 350 |
History of the Anatolian Seljuks |
3 |
| The course consists of two main sections. The first provides an overview of the political history of the Great Seljuk state before examining the principal elements of Seljuk culture and civilization. The second section focuses on the Anatolian Seljuks, first outlining their political history and the civilization they established. Chronologically, the course begins with the entry of the Oghuz community led by Tughril Beg and Chaghri Beg into Khorasan and then Iran in the early eleventh century and continues until the complete disappearance of the Seljuk dynasty from Anatolia in the early fourteenth century. |
| TAR 351 |
The Turks and Islam |
3 |
| This course examines the Turks' encounter with Islam, their contributions to Islamic civilization, and the changes they experienced as a result of their interactions with the Islamic world. |
| TAR 352 |
Ottoman Social Order |
3 |
| Designed as a complementary course to Ottoman Socio-Economic History, Ottoman Social Order aims primarily to assess the Ottoman socio-economic structure through the fundamental elements that constituted its social structure. The course addresses various dimensions of the relationships between different social strata, the characteristics of the period, other social groups, and the state, while examining these communities through themes prominent in the literature. Another central aim is to teach students, through preparing an analytical research paper on a topic covered by the course, how to conduct historical research in practice. |
| TAR 366 |
Historical Geography |
3 |
| Historical Geography examines the evolving relationship that past human societies established with spatial environments, the transformation of borders, settlement patterns, and human-environment interactions across time. This course investigates space not merely as a passive backdrop against which events took place, but as a constitutive actor shaping political, economic, and social processes directly. |
| TAR 369 |
African History |
3 |
| This course aims to examine the fundamental dynamics and processes of transformation in African history from the past to the present from a historical perspective. It addresses precolonial social and political structures, the lasting effects of colonial rule on the continent, processes of independence, subsequent political developments, and the role of actors from outside Africa throughout the historical process. It also examines the socio-cultural and economic environments that characterize political life in contemporary Africa. |
| TAR 371 |
Comparative History of Religions |
3 |
| The Comparative History of Religions course aims to examine the world's religions in an objective manner appropriate to its methodology, considering their similarities and differences. Its primary goal is to provide reliable information about the meaning and function of religion by examining religious beliefs, rituals, and phenomena as they are, without judging them as true or false. The course covers various belief systems, including Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. |
| TAR 375 |
Topics in Social History |
3 |
| This course aims to help students understand, discuss, analyze, and research the fundamental concepts and subdisciplines of social history, as well as its principal issues, trends, and methods. Social history is examined through themes such as class, race, labor, gender, consumption, health, leisure, hygiene, everyday life, and other dimensions of social experience. Through these topics, the course introduces different historiographical approaches and fundamental concepts of social history, providing students with the field's theoretical and methodological framework. |
| TAR 393 |
Byzantine History |
3 |
| This course examines the history of the Byzantine Empire from the transfer of the capital from Rome to Constantinople in 330 to its conquest by the Ottomans in 1453. Alongside a chronological framework, the course focuses on different thematic issues in Byzantine history. |
| TAR 413 |
History of the Turkish National Struggle |
3 |
| The course focuses on the establishment and development of the Republic of Turkey, beginning with the final period of the Ottoman Empire. |
| TAR 423 |
Balkan History |
3 |
| This course examines Balkan history from the periods under Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Serbian rule through Ottoman expansion in the Balkans, Ottoman institutions, and the age of nationalism, using both chronological and thematic approaches. It aims to familiarize students with developments and major debates in Balkan history from the late Middle Ages through the period when Balkan nationalisms led to the formation of states, while developing their ability to analyze primary sources of Balkan history from a comparative and interconnected perspective. |
| TAR 424 |
Russian History |
3 |
| Beginning particularly with the Principality of Moscow from the fourteenth century and the expansion of the Russian Empire southward and eastward after the sixteenth century, the course examines political and diplomatic relations, especially with the Ottoman Empire and Eastern Europe, major wars, and the struggle for power in the Black Sea. The role of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russian society, Peter I's contribution to Russia's expansion, and the army, nobility, and peasantry are among the principal topics. The USSR established by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and subsequent societies, political formations, and civilizations are also addressed. |
| TAR 435 |
History of Science |
3 |
| This course examines civilizations, discoveries, and scientists that contributed to the development of science from ancient civilizations to the present. |
| TAR 440 |
Economic History |
3 |
| This course examines major economic developments, structures, relations, and policies that have affected societies from the past to the present. |
| TAR 450 |
Museums and History |
3 |
| The main aim of this course is to emphasize disciplines regarded as auxiliary fields of history. Within this framework, it examines the historical significance of artifacts displayed in museums, particularly those involving archaeology, numismatics, and ethnography. Museums and different types of exhibited artifacts are also evaluated through examples from museums around the world. |
| TAR 452 |
History of the Middle East |
3 |
| The course first examines forms of administration in the Middle East during the Ottoman period and the historical transformation of political structures in different countries, followed by processes of colonization. After covering independence movements and decolonization following the First and Second World Wars, the political histories of various countries from Morocco to Iran are assessed in relation to one another and analyzed from the perspective of diplomatic history. Nationalist movements, the Arab-Israeli wars, and the impact of oil on these conflicts are among the topics addressed. |
| TAR 454 |
History of Eurasia |
3 |
| Beginning in 1917, the course covers changes in the territories within the borders of the USSR and Warsaw Pact, as well as the histories to the present day of the newly established states, particularly in Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. |
| TAR 455 |
Ottoman Diplomacy |
3 |
| Ottoman diplomatic practices differed from modern diplomatic protocol and historical European court conventions. Differences existed in ceremonies for foreign ambassadors, reception and farewell ceremonies, gift-giving practices, the selection, ranks, entourages, and negotiating conditions of ambassadors. Since Ottoman law of nations incorporated a substantial part of Islamic law, interstate relations must also be considered within this framework. In light of these points, the course covers both Ottoman diplomacy and the application of Ottoman law of nations. It begins with the Classical period and proceeds to the early phase of the establishment of permanent embassies. |
| TAR 460 |
Historical Text Writing |
3 |
| This course examines the techniques of writing historical scripts, novels, plays, and similar texts, as well as issues to be considered during the writing process. |
| TAR 469 |
History of the Mediterranean |
3 |
| After a brief discussion of the Mediterranean's historical geography and climatic characteristics, the course examines land and maritime transportation, cities, economy, and demographic structure in the Mediterranean throughout history from a socio-economic historical perspective. It also presents a chronological history of political and military struggles for control of the Mediterranean. The course considers the Mediterranean's loss of its position as the most important center of world history to the Atlantic from the seventeenth century onward. |
| TAR 471 |
Urban History |
3 |
| The history of cities is closely related to national histories, geography, and cultural structures. Thousands of cities around the world differ in their geographical location, climate, population, demographic structure, natural resources, connections to trade routes, and distance from the seas. All these characteristics have also influenced the architectural fabric of cities throughout history. The formation of religious buildings, public buildings, and commercial centers is closely related to these factors. The course analytically evaluates the mutual influence of all these factors on the development of cities. |
| TAR 477 |
History of Colonialism |
3 |
| This course is designed to help students understand and discuss the history of colonialism by tracing its political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions from the Age of Discovery through decolonization and its enduring legacies. Colonialism and Europe's expansion into Africa, the Americas, and Asia, its effects, and the process of decolonization will be analyzed and discussed. |
