Özet:

The circular sent to the provinces in 1840 pertaining to identifying the asar-ı atika [artifacts] in the Ottoman lands and ordering the valuable ones to be delivered to Istanbul was the basis of the attempt to protect and record ancient artifacts. Ottoman yearbooks (salname) are the most important works containing data about the public works the empire carried out in the provinces. These works show how administrators had tried to identify and gather the ancient artifacts in their regions. The Ottoman yearbook for Yemeni Province dated 1880-1881 has an exceptional place among the yearbooks containing rarely seen information and visuals on archaeological artifacts. This study brings to light the first data on the collection of asar-ı atika in Yemen that are included in this yearbook under the heading of Marib Antiques, alongside drawings of the works. The study mainly revolves around the contents in the Marib Antiques section, which include the artifacts the Yemen Governor İsmail Hakkı Pasha had collected from the region in the example of the Sana and Marib regions, and provides simple descriptions of the features of the artifacts, archival documents about the transfer of artifacts from Yemen to Istanbul, and archival documents about the first determinations the Müze-i Hümayun [Imperial Museum] Administrative Director Kadri Bey and the translator Mortmann made regarding these artifacts. The subject matter is compelling due to some of the mentioned artifacts being found in the Collection of Ancient Orient Artifacts at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

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