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The fourth lecture of the 2021 Ömer Engin Lütem Lectures was held online on 25 March 2021. The main speaker of the lecture titled “The Akhi Type Armenian Organizations in the Middle Ages: Brotherhoods (Եղբայրություններ) (Orta Çağ’da Ahilik Tarzı Ermeni Birlikleri: Kardeşlikler (Եղբայրություններ))” was Erdi Öztürk, a PhD student of the Department of History at Hacettepe University.

Referring to the academic studies regarding the medieval Armenian historiography in Turkey, it seems that the research focus is overwhelmingly on political history. The academic studies regarding the history, culture, and religion of medieval Armenian history have not received sufficient attention in Turkey. Erdi Öztürk, who stated that he noticed an important gap in the literature regarding these issues during his master’s thesis, said that he started his studies to remedy this situation. In his presentation, Öztürk delved into the Akhi type organizations that emerged in the Armenian community due to the Turkish-Armenian cultural interaction in the Middle Ages and talked about the social structure of the two communities that led to the emergence of these organizations. Öztürk additionally shared his findings on the structuring of the Futuwwa in the Islamic world by the Abbasid Caliphate and its expansion into Anatolia. Finally, the emergence of the Akhi type Armenian organizations and their similarities with the Turkish Akhi organizations were among the issues that Öztürk pointed out in his presentation.

The lecture was concluded with a Q&A session.

Please click on the link to access the video recording of Erdi Öztürk’s presentation on YouTube.