Programme of Turkish Studies
The Programme of Turkish Studies (P.T.S.)
of the I. M. S. aims at:
Training
young scholars in Ottoman and Turkish history, and
Carrying
on research in the Ottoman archives.
Training
young scholars in Ottoman and Turkish history. In 1988,
the P. T. S. inaugurated a two-year postgraduate course, which was later developed into the “Postgraduate Programme in Turkish Studies”
of the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of
Crete, in collaboration with the P. T. S. The entry to the programme
is by examination; its students are trained in Modern Turkish Language, Ottoman
Diplomatics and Palaeography, Ottoman and Turkish History. Several
of the postgraduate students have also the opportunity to participate
as research fellows in the various projects of the P. T. S.
Research in the Ottoman archives : The
P. T. S. runs several research projects in the Ottoman archives
of Greece
(in Chania, Herakleio, several Mount Athos Monasteries, and Andros).
Recently, the P. T. S. has also developed an interest in the study
of the Ottoman monuments in Greece and it runs a project concerning
the Muslim tombstones of Rethymno.
Library: A special collection
of books concerning Islamic and Turkish Studies of the I.M.S. Library
(including Prof. Victor Menage's private book collection) is available
to the researchers of Ottoman and Turkish history. 
Conferences: The P. T. S. has gained international
reputation by successfully organizing six conferences in Rethymno.
The acts of the first four conferences have been published by Prof.
Elizabeth Zachariadou:
The Ottoman Emirate, 1300-1389 (Rethymnon, 1993)
The Via Egnatia under Ottoman Rule, 1380-1699 (Rethymnon, 1996)
Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire (Rethymnon, 2000)
The Kapudan Pasha: His Office and his Domain (Rethymnon, 2002).
The acts of the fifth conference have been published by Antonis Anastasopoulos:
Provincial Elites in the Ottoman Empire (Rethymnon, 2005).
The acts of the first three conferences have been published in Turkish as well.
The Programme of Turkish Studies of I.M.S. was established in1987 by Prof. Vassilis Dimitriades and Prof. Elizabeth Zachariadou. The coordinator of the P.T.S. is at present Dr. Elias Kolovos, Lecturer in History of Ottoman Empire in the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Crete and research fellow of the Programme of Turkish Studies of the IMS.
