Ottoman consular records span over three centuries in a massive register series

Evidence

The most important source of infor­ mation of this subject is the series of registers called Du¨vel-i ecnebiye defterleri— registers of foreign states. There are 106 volumes classified by states and running from 1567 to 1914. This series deals not with diplomatic but with consular and commercial affairs. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1986

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces what the Düvel-i ecnebiye defterleri series actually contains — consular and commercial, not diplomatic, affairs.