Institute
Ord. Prof. Mehmed Fuad Köprülü
HISTORY
After the proclamation of the Republic on 29 October 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk assigned Köprülüzâde Mehmed Fuad (Professor ordinarius Mehmed Fuad Köprülü) to establish a sientific institute within the Istanbul University (İstanbul Darülfünûnu) to examine, to research and to publish the results obtained in the fields of Turkish culture, civilisation, language, literature, folklore etc. The Institute of Turcology as a seat of learning and a part of the Faculty of Letters of Istanbul University was established after circa one year preparatory period on 12 November 1924 by the decree numbered 1111 of the Council of Ministers under the presidency of Atatürk. The Institute of Turkology is the first and the only scientific institute established by a decree of the Council of Ministers in the Republic of Turkey.
The name of the institute was between 1924 and 1982 Institute of Turkology (Türkiyat Enstitüsü). After renaming as Research Institute of Turkology (Türkiyat Araştırma Merkezi) according to law on universities numbered 2547 it was active for 67 years as a part of the Faculty of Letters. Finally it was reconstituted by the law numbered 3699 accepted on 16 January 1991 and published on 24 January 1991 in the Official Gazette as an institution named Research Institute of Turcology connected to the Istanbul University Rectorate.
As it can clearly be seen from science fields of directors of the Institute, the main working area of the Research Institute of Turcology was the Turkish language and literature. The main working area of the Institute has been determined as three departments consisting of Turkish language and literature, Turkish history and Turkish art.
The first building of the Institute is the building used at present as Professor’s House at the entrance of the Istanbul University headquarters. The Institute moved in 1948 to the Seyyid Hasan Pasha Madrasa behind Beyazit Bath. It is next to the Faculty of Letters. From 1989 it was placed to the new five-story building with 2000 m2 specially made for it against Fatih Park in Horhor.
Nikolay A. Katanov’s library of 7325 volumes received for 3000 pounds of gold in 1922 has constituted the core of the Institute Library. The Library has at present more than 55,000 books together with 10.00 books purcased in 1931. Among the book donations can firstly be mentioned Hüseyin Sadettin Arel’s Turkish music weighted library (2005) as well as book donations of Prof. Dr. Hamit Ongunsu (1968), Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil (1971), Sultan Beg (1973), Prof. Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (1974), Mehmet Behçet Yazar (1980), Prof. Dr. Muharrem Ergin (1995), Prof. Dr. Osman Nedim Tuna and Prof. Dr. Oktay Aslanapa (2000). All in addition to these, 2360 dissertations such as undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral dissertations written by students, teaching and research fellows of the Department of the Turkish Language and Literature constitute a special section of the library.