History of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Rule in Hungary, and the Republic of Turkey Doctoral Programme

In 1993, when doctoral studies were restructured nationwide, a separate school of Turkish Studies was established, comprising two sub-programs: one dealing with the Ottoman Empire and the other with the linguistic-philological aspects of the broader Turkish heritage. In the second stage of the changes, the links with Hungarian, European, and even world history made it logical to join the doctoral school of history under the above name.

The main aim of the doctoral training provided here is to ensure the supply of specialists of high-quality research into the history of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish occupation of Hungary, and the Turkish Republic. A major emphasis is placed on the study and evaluation of hitherto unexplored Ottoman-Turkish archival sources and narrative sources. Being the only national center for Ottoman studies with a formal training qualification and an internationally recognized tradition, the program focuses on the history of the Ottoman Empire's population, economy, and administration, its political history and conquering ideology, and also on Ottoman art history. Although some preference is given to research on Hungary in the 16th and 17th centuries, the program does not neglect to prepare students for the study of other related subjects.

The doctoral program has a rich network of international contacts. This is mainly based on the personal, as yet informal, contacts of the teaching staff. Frequent consultations are held with leading experts in the world's major centers of Ottoman Studies, such as İstanbul Üniversitesi, Ankara Üniversitesi, Türk Tarih Kurumu Ankara, Bilkent University Ankara, Universität Wien, Ludwig Maximillian Universität München, Georgetown University Washington D.C., ÉHESS Paris, University of Birmingham, University of Manchester, University of London.

Head of the Program: Géza Dávid, Professor Emeritus