- 27 - 2004
- 4. Histoire, Période Musulmane
- 4.2. Histoire du XVe au XIXe siècle
- 4.2.1. Safavides et Qâjârs
162
Ates, Sabri
« The Ottoman Archives as a source for the Study of Qajar Iran ». Iranian Studies 37/3 (2004), pp. 499-509.
Scholars of Qajar Iran are much more likely to work in London or Paris than in Istanbul. The author of this detailed and useful overview of the holdings of the Turkish archives relevant to 19th-century Iranian history compellingly argues how regrettable this is, and points a way to a happier future when researchers will be as likely to consult the Başbakanlik Archives as those of the PRO or the Quai d’Orsay. As the bullet point by bullet point listing of the main topics and issues on which they are informative suggests, the Turkish holding are rich indeed, covering not just commercial and diplomatic relations, the negotiations leading up to the demarcation of the Ottoman-Iranian boundary, and tribal affairs in border area, but domestic Iranian events and conditions and Russian and British activities in the country as well.

