Halit Serkan Simen

After completing his master’s degree at Central European University, Halit Serkan Simen earned his Ph.D. in the Department of History at the European University Institute in April 2026. His research in the field of sixteenth-century Ottoman history focuses primarily on the Ottoman ruling elite, political configurations, the dynamics of everyday politics, and power relations within the palace and beyond, extending to the wider Mediterranean region. He is currently preparing a book manuscript based on his doctoral dissertation on Grand Vizier Koca Sinan Pasha (d. 1596), as well as conducting studies on Sultan Murad’s dream letters and Mediterranean policies shaped by factionalist divisions within the Ottoman court. In addition to Ottoman history, Simen also conducts research on contemporary Turkey from the 1970s to the 1990s. He has published and is currently working on studies focusing on political mobilization, political violence, sociocultural interactions, political refugees, and memory studies.

Recent publications:

• Halit Serkan Simen, “Communicating with the Sultan: Grand Vizieral petitions (telhîs) as a form of private correspondence in the early modern Ottoman court,” Practices of Privacy: Vestiges of Dialogue, ed. Natacha Klein Käfer, Leuven: Brill, (2027). (accepted for publication)
• Halit Serkan Simen, “Güç ve Rekabet İlişkilerinde Osmanlı Yönetici Sınıfı: Koca Sinan Paşa (ö. 1596) ve Serdâr Ferhad Paşa (ö. 1595) Mücadelesi (Power and Rivalry Among the Ottoman Elite: The Struggle Between Koca Sinan Pasha (d. 1596) and Serdâr Ferhad Pasha (d. 1595)” Toplumsal Tarih Akademi 7 (2025): 91-117.
• Halit Serkan Simen, “The people’s power will be established with its own strong arms”: Creating a revolutionary culture in the 1970s Turkey through the case of Revolutionary Path, Toward a Cultural History of the Cold War in Turkey: Ideological Dynamics, Cultural Production, Media, ed. Fulvio Bertuccelli, Roma: Sapienza University Press, (2024): 71-99.
• Halit Serkan Simen, “How to Survive and Thrive in the Ottoman Court: The Political Maneuvers of Koca Sinan Pasha (d. 1596) in the Midst of Factionalism,” Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU 27 (2021): 178–89.