An Overview of Ottoman Archival Documents and Their Relevance for Medieval Indian History

Abstract

The significance of Ottoman archives for the reconstruction of Europe’s past is well known but its relevance for the study of Medieval Indian History has so far eluded the attention and interest of Indian historians. Several series of documents preserved in the Turkish National Archives (Başbakanlik Devlet Arşivi) in Istanbul, especially Mühimme Defterleri, Name-i Hümayun Defterleri and Tapu Tahrir Defterleri, can yield significant dividends for understanding many little known or even unknown episodes of India’s medieval past. This article explores the nature of the documents available in the Turkish archives and underscores the utility of some of these documents for unravelling certain unknown facets of the journey of the Indian pilgrims, including the ladies of Emperor Akbar’s harem, to the Hijaz along with the Mughal Hajj caravans in the 1570s. The article also examines four select documents available in this archive. Three of these documents furnish so far unknown evidence on the history of medieval Gujarat, Kerala and Ahmad Nagar respectively, while the fourth provides significant information regarding Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar’s relations with the Ottoman Empire.