The Importance of the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives for the Armenian Question

The Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry has gained significance in Turkey in recent years. The Armenian question plays a major role in this process. In consequence of the new fonds opened by virtue of classification works beginning with the recruitment of the new staff in the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry, which was reorganized in 1986, history studies on the Armenian question have greatly increased. In addition, the Ottoman Archives-formerly known as the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry-, which has been attached to the Presidency, published documentary books on general and bilateral relations related to the Armenian question (Armenian-Russian, Armenian-British, Armenian-French etc.). In all these activities, the academic libertarian attitude of the archive management after 2000s played an important role. This article consists of two chapters. In the first chapter, within the framework of the Armenian question, the claims towards the closed condition of the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry will be examined and it will be evaluated whether these claims are true or not. In the second chapter, the documentary books published by the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry will be analyzed