Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi

Öz

This study explores the use of the term Türk ili in 15th and 16th century Ottoman historiography, focusing on which authors employed the term and in which contexts it was used. Ottoman historians and writers referred to Ottoman lands using various expressions such as memâlik-i Osmâniye (Ottoman realms), diyâr-ı Rûm (land of Rum), and devlet-i Osmâniye (Ottoman state). Another term they used was Türk ili. This research explores the occurrences of Türk ili in the works of 15th and 16 th century Ottoman authors, examining its contextual meanings and semantic layers. Based on an extensive survey of 15th and 16th century Ottoman historical texts, the study finds that the term Türk ili appears only in a limited number of these sources. Notably, some authors employed Türk ili to denote Ottoman territories, which represents a significant usage of the term and is discussed in detail. The study also highlights the presence of words corresponding to “Turkey” in various European languages from the 12th century onward, used with shifting geographical boundaries to describe Anatolia and regions inhabited by the Ottomans. The fact that Türk ili appears in Ottoman sources as a semantic counterpart to these terms is another key finding of this research. In this context, the study aims to shed light on the place and meaning of Türk ili in Ottoman historiography, offering a fresh perspective on the diversity and conceptual continuity of terms used to describe the Ottoman geographical space.