The nineteenth century is a period, when great transformations were experienced in the Ottoman Empire. Besides the political, economical and judicial changes, with the impact of the westernization process, important leaps about two important components of cultural life, museology and archeology, were realized in terms of both collecting and protecting the ancient monuments / and their exposition. As two interrelated fields of culture and sciences originated from Europe, museology and archeology were incorporated in the cultural life of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century. The Ottoman Empire was acquainted with these two scientific fields through the impacts of both the museological studies in Europe and the excavations of the foreign researchers and archeologists, conducted within the imperial territories. This study aims to observe the emergence of museological and archeological studies in the Ottoman Empire and its development by the impacts of the West. In this study, the origins of the museological and archeological studies, the first attempts in the Ottoman Empire and the development in the continuing process and the judicial acts about the mentioned fields composed in the 19th century are examined chronologically. In this process of development, the works of Osman Hamdi Bey were forming an important part of this thesis.

The Ottoman Empire initiated a serious attempt in the archaeological exploration of ancient sites lying in its territory during the Hamidian period. By claiming ownership over the heritage of past civilizations, it aimed to counterbalance the European hegemony over its antiquities while constructing a new, “civilized” identity as part of its modernization programme. Adopting European archaeological practices, it became an active participant in the scholarly scene. Despite being latecomers and lacking sufficient resources and expertise, Ottoman archaeologists pioneered and promoted archaeology so successfully that, they were able to achieve the disciplinary criteria in archaeological practice established by their Western counterparts. However, due to ideological factors, their names are absent from the standard account of early history of archaeology while their accomplishments are yet to be recognized in historiography. This dissertation examines two excavation campaigns undertaken at Raqqa by Theodore Macridy and Haydar Bey on behalf of the Imperial Museum in 1905-6 and 1908 respectively and their finds collection housed within the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in İstanbul. While documenting these two excavations and their corresponding finds thoroughly for the first time, this study also reveals the contributions of such key figures of Ottoman archaeology to the development of archaeology during its formative years. The history of Ottoman archaeology is yet to be written. Analyzing the field methods, collection strategies, and restoration practices of the two Ottoman archaeologists working at Raqqa within a historical and disciplinary context, this study offers insights into the practice and the conceptualization of archaeology as a discipline in the Ottoman Empire, a subject that has been overlooked in scholarship. Moreover, this study demonstrates the importance of the Raqqa excavations as exceptional cases in targeting mainly ceramic finds with no interest in the architectural remains of the site, a practice contrasting with contemporaneous excavations. Besides, a collection of fairly modest components, the Raqqa finds indicate an emerging interest in the potential of artifacts as sources of information rather than being merely objects for museum display, thus representing a key milestone in the newly emerging discipline of Islamic archaeology. / Graduate / 0377 / 0324 / 0333 / 0730

British imperialism of the Ottoman Empire is analyzed in terms of power and influence. Changes in gender roles, nationalism, and culture are all examined through the lens of imperialism. The discourse flows thematically and discusses brief histories of both Britain and the Ottoman Empire. The construction of the Imperial Museum created a unified image of the nation through the collection of material items. As a result of European imperialism, the Ottoman Empire developed a sense of national culture.