Report

On July 29, 2025, the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia held the 4th Ottoman Studies Seminar as part of Tobuken Seminar series. The seminar featured Professor Betül İpşirli Argıt from Marmara University (IASA Visiting Researcher), who visited Japan under the JSPS Invitational Fellowship Program. She conducted a close reading of letters written by the Valide Sultans (queen mothers) with the participants. Seven participants attended in person and seven participated online. The seminar was conducted in Turkish.

Professor İpşirli Argıt began by an overview of the letters written by women of the Ottoman court She discussed their current locations, authors, recipients and contents of the letters, as well as issues such as the actual writers and the number of surviving letters. Following the overview, the participants engaged in reading three letters from Rabia Gülnuş Emetullah Sultan (d. 1715), mother of Mustafa II and Ahmed III, and a letter from Kösem Sultan of the 17th century.
 

Event Details

Date and time: June 29, 2025 (Tue), 2pm~5pm

Venue: Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, First Meeting Room (304)/Zoom

Lecturer: Betül İpşirli Argıt (Marmara University / IASA Visiting Researcher)

2pm~2:10pm: Introduction

2:10pm~2:40pm: Overview of the Sources

2:45pm~3:35pm: Reading Session (1)

3:35pm~3:50pm: Break

3:50pm~4:40pm: Reading Session (2)

4:40pm~5pm: General Discussion

*This seminar was supported by JSPS Invitational Fellowships for Research in Japan.