Türkiye Occupations

Asia Turkey

Personnel Dossiers and Pension Records of the Ottoman Empire
Record type: These are personnel files of Ottoman military personnel and bureaucrats. From the early 1800s the Ottoman Empire undertook programs of modernization which initially emphasized military reforms but which also eventually affected the governmental administration. Bureaucracies were expanded and reorganized. The need to pay, promote, and give retirement benefits to large numbers of civil employees and soldiers obliged the government to keep detailed personnel records.

Time period: 1800-1923.

Contents: – names of soldiers and civil employees; ages; birth date; birthplace; service information including promotions, etc; dependents’ names and details about them.

Location: Specific location is not available. These records may be in provincial (sancak) administrative offices. They may also be in the National Archives [Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi] (also referred to as the Prime Ministry Archives), the Sulaymaniye Library in Istanbul, or in an archive in Ankara.

Population coverage: Less than 15%.

Reliability: Probably excellent.