İlber Ortaylı, a Turkish historian and professor of history, died on March 13, 2026.
He was 78. Born on 21 May 1947 in Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Allied-occupied Austria, to Crimean Tatar parents, he taught at Galatasaray University in Istanbul and at Ankara University and Bilkent University in Ankara.
In 2005, he was appointed director of the Topkapı Museum in Istanbul, a post he held until retiring in 2012. Ortaylı was known for his work on the history of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey and the Seljuk Empire.
İlber Ortaylı (Turkish: [ˈilbæɾ oɾˈtajɫɯ]; 21 May 1947 – 13 March 2026) was a Turkish historian and professor of history of Crimean Tatar origin at the Galatasaray University in Istanbul and at Ankara University and Bilkent University in Ankara. In 2005, he was appointed the director of the Topkapı Museum in Istanbul, until he retired in 2012.