The Faculty of Letters of the University of Benghazi and IRCICA conducted a joint workshop on “The Ottoman Archive and its Importance for the Study of the History of Benghazi; the Role of IRCICA in Writing the Ottoman-Arab History” which was held in Benghazi, on 7 April 2025. Addressing the opening of the workshop, IRCICA Director General Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç gave an overview of the Centre’s research and publications on the history of Arab countries based on documents compiled from the Ottoman state archives. Paper presentations were made by Dr. Allam El-Falah, Head of the Department of History of the University of Benghazi, on the “Stages of the History of Libya during the Ottoman Period and Approaches to Libya-Türkiye Relations in Modern Times”; Dr. Fazıl Bayat (IRCICA) on “The Ottoman Documents and their Importance for Studying the History of Benghazi”, and Dr. Abdullah Ali Nuh, titled “Introduction to the Study of the History of Benghazi through Archival Documents: The Issue of Language and Translation.” An ample discussion session followed, with the participation of faculty members, graduate students, and the audience interested in the history of the city.
An important feature of the workshop was an exhibition of authentic historical documents, most of them displayed for the first time on this occasion; it showcased a large number of documents relating to education in Benghazi, historical photographs of schools established and views of social life, as well as maps of the city, all dating from the period between 1784 and 1912.
Within the framework of the workshop, two Memorandums of Understanding were signed between the University of Benghazi and IRCICA for cooperation in the field of history studies and for jointly publishing the book on the History of Benghazi in the Light of Ottoman Documents which is under preparation by Dr. Fazıl Bayat at IRCICA. The latter already has on its record a similar publication (2013) that focuses on the province of Tripoli in Ottoman times.
