Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
LIBRI, cilt.59, sa.3, ss.145-154, 2009 (SSCI)
The region known as the Middle East today is an important historical, strategic area where many of the very first scientific and Cultural creations of mankind flourished. The Middle East came under 400 years of domination by the Ottoman Empire beginning in the sixteenth century. Under Ottoman rule the region developed important foundation institutions. These institutions helped develop cities like Damascus, Aleppo, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Mecca and Medina. Among these foundation institutions were libraries serving as scientific and cultural centres. These libraries were founded within the mosques and madrasas towards the end of the sixteenth century and played an important role for the scientific and cultural development of the region. According to archival documents and foreign sources the Sultan and renowned persons of the region established libraries because they believed in their important role. This study is intended to provide information on their foundation, distribution and development through statistical data about libraries in the region and the specialties of their collections. Furthermore it attempts to clarify the general status of the hitherto unknown foundation libraries of the Ottoman Empire in the region.