The significance of Ottoman archives for the reconstruction of Europe’s past is well known but its relevance for the study of Medieval Indian History has so far eluded the attention and interest of Indian historians. Several series of documents preserved in the Turkish National Archives (Başbakanlik Devlet Arşivi) in Istanbul, especially Mühimme Defterleri, Name-i Hümayun Defterleri and Tapu Tahrir Defterleri, can yield significant dividends for understanding many little known or even unknown episodes of India’s medieval past. This article explores the nature of the documents available in the Turkish archives and underscores the utility of some of these documents for unravelling certain unknown facets of the journey of the Indian pilgrims, including the ladies of Emperor Akbar’s harem, to the Hijaz along with the Mughal Hajj caravans in the 1570s. The article also examines four select documents available in this archive. Three of these documents furnish so far unknown evidence on the history of medieval Gujarat, Kerala and Ahmad Nagar respectively, while the fourth provides significant information regarding Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar’s relations with the Ottoman Empire.

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奥斯曼档案文件概述及其与中世纪印度历史的相关性

奥斯曼档案对欧洲历史重建的重要性众所周知，但它与中世纪印度历史研究的相关性迄今未能引起印度历史学家的注意和兴趣。保存在伊斯坦布尔的土耳其国家档案馆 (Başbakanlik Devlet Arşivi) 中的几个系列文件，尤其是 Mühimme Defterleri、Name-i Hümayun Defterleri 和 Tapu Tahrir Defterleri，可以为了解印度中世纪历史的许多鲜为人知甚至未知的事件带来重大收益。本文探讨了土耳其档案中现有文件的性质，并强调了其中一些文件在揭开印度朝圣者（包括阿克巴皇帝的后宫的女士们）与莫卧儿王朝一起前往汉志的旅程中的某些未知方面的效用1570 年代的朝觐大篷车。本文还检查了此存档中可用的四个精选文档。其中三份文件分别提供了迄今为止关于中世纪古吉拉特邦、喀拉拉邦和艾哈迈德纳加尔历史的未知证据，而第四份文件提供了有关莫卧儿皇帝法鲁克西亚尔与奥斯曼帝国关系的重要信息。