From Lehistan to Poland: the Turks and Turkey in Polish Historiography
Studies of Turkish history in Poland is one of the least familiar topics of Ottoman historiography. In this context, research on Ottoman-Polish relations is also very limited. This article is an attempt to review some aspects of Turkish studies, especially of the Ottoman studies in Poland. Firstly, the article presents the general characteristics of Turkish-Polish relations from their beginning. Secondly, it emphasizes some features of Polish Turkology in its historical evolution, and then intends to discuss the most common approaches and themes that are reflections of Polish perception in this field. This article also discusses some expressions of Turkey in the Polish ambassadorial dispatches and travelogues, and gives some information on Polish archives and libraries in terms of subjects related to Turkey. Some remarks on the future of studies on Turkish history in Poland are also mentioned to familiarize the historians with the problems and shortcomings of the field. Lastly, the article ends with a general bibliography of Turkish history studies in Poland arranged according to their topics. In Turkey, the studies on Ottoman-Polish relations and Polish history are almost nonexistent; however, many serious studies have been conducted in Poland for a long time. The recent studies of young researchers in this field show us that the comparative approaches will enrich the studies on the history of Poland and Ottoman-Polish relations.
HACER TOPAKTAŞ
