Abstract

Objective: This study aims to illustrate the Ottoman Empire’s fight against malaria through archival documents and to evaluate Doctor Milaslı İsmail Hakkı’s treatise, Malaria, and Remedies in Malaria-Infected Areas, written in 1910, from a medical historical perspective.

Methods: Malaria-related documents from the Ottoman Archives of the Presidency of the State Archives of the Republic of Turkey were systematically examined using screening and document analysis methods. Relevant archival materials and the treatise Malaria and Remedies in Malaria-Infected Areas were transcribed from Ottoman Turkish into Latin letters and analyzed.

Results: Archival documents demonstrate that from the second half of the 19th century onward, the Ottoman Empire placed significant emphasis on both curative and preventive health measures in combating malaria. During the Second Constitutional Era, increased publishing activities and new regulations intensified the focus on malaria control. The first publication on malaria during this period was Milaslı İsmail Hakkı’s treatise Malaria and Remedies in Malaria-Infected Areas.

Conclusion: Ottoman authorities developed policies suited to the contemporary needs to protect societal and state order against epidemics and infectious diseases. Following the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Era, enlightened physicians interested in public health sought to disseminate scientific knowledge to various segments of society by writing on malaria. Doctor Milaslı İsmail Hakkı pioneered this field by authoring the era’s first malaria-related treatise. His use of plain language made the subject accessible to the general public, guiding administrators, physicians, and villagers alike, thus positioning his work as a practical guidebook on malaria.