Cemal Kafadar’ın Metis Yayınları’ndan çıkan Kendine Ait Bir Roma isimli kitabının tanıtımını yapmaya çalıştım. Kafadar’ın “Rumî” kimliğine olan alâkasının 1986 yılında rahmetli Halil İnalcık Hoca’nın yetmişinci doğum günü için hazırlanan armağan kitabına bir makale yazdığı sırada başlamıştır. 1995 yılında yayımlanan Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State ismini taşıyan kitabında zikredilen konuya kısaca değinmiştir. Bu kitap sayesinde de ilgilendiği kavramı daha ayrıntılı olarak incelemiştir.

II. Abdulhamid period was a period in which oil began to be considered as a strategic mine. Because this period is the period in which the coal, which is the most important energy source of the industrial revolution in the West, is gradually replaced by oil. Therefore, privileges were given to the senior statesmen within the borders of the Ottoman Empire, especially for oil and coal production. Studies have been carried out in many areas in order to investigate these two important strategic resources and to operate the resources found. In addition to its proximity to the Ottoman capital, Tekirdag and its environs as a port and agricultural product center are also prominent in these studies. This presentation will focus on the exploration of coal and oil resources in Tekirdag and its environs during the period of II. Abdulhamid, in which industrial development efforts have increased. Information about the positive and negative results of these studies will be given.