Turkish historian İlber Ortaylı, a leading authority on Ottoman history, died on Friday at a hospital in İstanbul after his condition worsened during treatment in intensive care. He was 78.
Ortaylı had been receiving treatment at Koç University Hospital, was intubated after his health deteriorated and died despite medical efforts, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.
His death prompted messages of condolence from senior Turkish officials including Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and presidential communications director Burhanettin Duran.
Ortaylı was widely known in Turkey for bringing history to a mass audience through books, newspaper columns, television appearances and public lectures. He taught at universities including Galatasaray University, Bilkent University and Medipol University and served as director of the Topkapı Palace Museum in İstanbul from 2005 until 2012.
Born in 1947 in Bregenz, Austria, Ortaylı became one of Turkey’s most recognized historians, with work focused on the Ottoman Empire, modern Turkish history and the country’s place between Europe and the Middle East. In recent days, his family had said he was in stable condition while receiving treatment in intensive care, before Turkish media reported that his health worsened.
For many Turks, Ortaylı was a familiar television figure whose blunt commentary and lectures helped shape public understanding of the Ottoman past and the republic that followed.