Piri Reis University, named after the famous sixteenth century Turkish admiral and cartographer, was established in 2008 to serve the maritime industry both in Turkey and at international levels. The university has earned a prominent place in the Turkish maritime industry through its exceptional education quality. Piri Reis University held “the First International Congress of Eurasian Maritime History”, which conveyed our Turkish maritime heritage to future generations by bringing together the contributions of international and Turkish historians. Piri Reis University has decided to hold this organization’s meetings once every two years.

The first congress was held at the Sheraton Istanbul Atakoy Hotel in Istanbul, between 5-8 November 2012.
During this congress “International Association of Maritime Studies 2012 (IAMS 2012)” was founded with some of the participating academicians.