The term “âsâr-ı atîka” is the first original term that was used to define the objects and edifices, which are considered to have historical and artistic values in Ottoman and then Republican Turkey. And it has therefore a special importance in the history of heritage conservation of Turkey. In the Ottoman Empire during the Tanzîmat period, the first developments in conservation practice emerged as a requirement for the Empire, the heritage of which was pillaged by European countries. This situation also made it necessary to define the valuable objects and edifices with a common word and the term âsâr-ı atîka came into use in this process. The emphasis on historical and aesthetic values, which had been put in the context of the meaning of the term, reflections the understanding of cultural heritage in its period. The term âsâr-ı atîka was also used to name the first legislation on heritage conservation in Turkey, Âsâr-ı Atîka Nizâmnamesi, in the text of which the explanation of the term with related examples, was given. This first legislation was updated three times and these updates and developments on it indicate the improvements in Ottoman state’s way of acting on heritage conservation. In the Republican period, the term eskieser was used in place of âsâr-ı atîka, and it remained extensively in use till 1970’s, with the updated Turkish version of the 1906 dated, latest Âsâr-ı atîkaNizâmnamesi, which was inherited from the Ottoman Empire.