13.03.2026 17:00
Historian Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı, who had been receiving treatment in intensive care for a while, has passed away. His close friend Fatih Altaylı, who joined a live broadcast by phone after receiving the sad news, could not hold back his tears. Altaylı cried while recounting İlber Ortaylı's final days.
Sad news has come from one of Turkey's leading historians, Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı. Ortaylı, who had been receiving treatment in the hospital for health issues for some time, saw his condition worsen in recent days. It has been learned that Ortaylı, who was taken to intensive care and intubated today, passed away at the age of 79. Fatih Altaylı, who received the sad news, was overcome with tears.
FATIH ALTAYLI COULDN'T HOLD BACK HIS TEARS
While the news of Ortaylı's passing saddened his loved ones and the public, journalist Fatih Altaylı could not hold back his tears after receiving the news of his death during a live broadcast on Sözcü TV. Altaylı, who joined the program by phone, expressed the following about Ortaylı's last days:
“He had been getting worse for a year. He also had high blood sugar and wasn't paying attention at all. After I got out of prison, he took us out for dinner. We filmed a program together recently. We had been in the hospital for a month. I visited him last Sunday and Monday. We talked a lot and gossiped together. The next day I had my surgery, so I couldn't go for a few days. When I got out of the hospital, they took him to intensive care. His condition gradually worsened there. The day before yesterday, something promising happened; he seemed to open his eyes. But then he got worse, and unfortunately, he didn't come back.”
HE HAD ASKED FOR PRAYERS FOR ORTAYLI
Altaylı had stated that history professor İlber Ortaylı was experiencing serious health issues and had asked for prayers. Fatih Altaylı said, "If you believe, do not withhold your prayers; if you do not believe, do not withhold your good wishes from him."
WHO IS ILBER ORTAYLI?
İlber Ortaylı, one of Turkey's leading historians, has conveyed history to large audiences through his studies, books, and television programs on Ottoman and Turkish history. Born in 1947 in Bregenz, Ortaylı moved to Turkey with his family and received his education at Ankara University.
He graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences and the Department of History at the Faculty of Language and History-Geography at Ankara University in 1968. Later, he studied Slavic and Oriental studies at the University of Vienna.
He completed his master's degree at the University of Chicago with Prof. Halil İnalcık.
Ortaylı, who worked as an academic for many years, taught at Galatasaray University and Ankara University; he served as the director of the Topkapi Palace Museum from 2005 to 2012.
Among Ortaylı's works are important books such as "The Longest Century of the Empire," "Rediscovering the Ottomans," and "The History of the Turks." With his multilingual and unique narrative style, Ortaylı is recognized as a respected figure in the field of history in Turkey, known as the "teacher of teachers."