>Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 13:23:31 -0600
>From: Andrew and Rebecca Hall <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Ottoman Empire Archives to Hit Internet
>Sender: Underwater Archaeology Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Reply-to: Underwater Archaeology Discussion List
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>
>Thursday March 12 10:52 AM EST
>
>Ottoman Empire Archives to Hit Internet
>
>  ISTANBUL, Turkey (Reuters) - Plans are afoot for 600 years of
>previously hard-to-reach Ottoman history to become  available on the
>Internet, Turkish officials said Thursday.
>
>  "A computer automation project to scan all the archives and translate
>them into a digital environment is being finalized," Necati Aktas, deputy
>head of state archives, told Reuters.
>
>  Over 1,000 researchers from around the world apply for permission
>each year to use the archived material, much of which is poorly stored
>in mice-infested warehouses.
>
>  The archives hold over 150 million documents belonging to the Ottoman
>era, ranging from military reports to economic and political correspondence.
>The earliest date back to 1300.
>
>  At its height in the 17th Century, the Ottoman Empire commanded much of
>the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa, venturing as far into Europe as
>the walls of Vienna.
>
>  The empire collapsed at the end of World War One after a lengthy
>decline. Turkey is now a republic.
>
>  Aktas said measures would also be taken to help the curious to get to
>grips with the Ottoman language, a now-defunct mixture of Arabic, Persian
>and Turkish.
>
>  Asked if certain areas of the archives, such as those covering
controversial
>Armenian relations, would be classified, Aktas said: "The Ottoman state
has gone
>down in history, it can have no secrets."
>
>  Christian Armenia says over 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by Turks
>in 1915 by order of the Ottoman Empire.  Turkey says the figure is grossly
>exaggerated.
>
>  ^REUTERS@
>
>
Anita Cohen-Williams
Listowner of HISTARCH, SUB-ARCH, SPANBORD
Co-listowner/Manager of ANTHRO-L
Contributing Editor, Anthropology
http://www.suite101.com
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