Turkish president honors distinguished historian Feroz Ahmad

ANKARA

Feroz Ahmad is a distinguished expert on the late Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey.

Outgoing President Abdullah Gül conferred the Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey on Dr. Feroz Ahmad on Aug. 19 for the professor’s work on Turkish history.

The merit is conferred to foreign nationals in recognition of their contributions to the international promotion and glorification of the Republic of Turkey in the science and arts. Ahmad is a distinguished expert on the late Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey.

Ahmad was originally supposed to receive the medal along with 13 other foreign academics at a ceremony hosted at the presidential palace on June 11 when Gül bestowed on them the Order of Merit for their studies in promoting Turkey at an international level. Ahmad, however, could not attend the ceremony due to illness.

Ahmad, originally from India, has worked as the head of the History Department at the private Yeditepe University in Istanbul since 2005.

Some of his publications include “The Young Turks,” Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1969; “The Turkish Experiment in Democracy, 1950-1975,” The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, 1977; “The Making of Modern Turkey,” Routledge, London and New York, 1993; and “Turkey: The Quest for Identity,” One World, Oxford, 2003.