The series contains the decisions of the Senate (Consilium Rogatorum) from the early 15th to the early 19th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, this administrative body became a permanent authority that primarily made decisions on foreign policy of the Republic and was named the Senate during the 15th century. The Senate became the central body of the administrative power of the Dubrovnik Republic, with a very wide field of activities: from making domestic and foreign policies and dealing with issues regarding economy and trade, to making decisions relevant for the destiny of individual citizens. Senate decisions were applicable to a vast geographical area: Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and, to a lesser extent, Latin America. The Senate was chaired by the Rector whose mandate lasted a month. The Rector presided over both: the Minor Council and the Major Council.

The series is very important for the research of the history of the Jewish people. The documents in the series include most of the key decisions made in the times of the Republic that clearly indicate the attitude of the Republic towards the Jews, as well as how this attitude has been changing throughout the history. Attempting to analyse this attitude, one can find data on the business of Jewish merchants in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, as well as on the private life of Jewish people in the Dubrovnik Republic. According to the data, the first records of the Jews can be found in the documents written ten years after the creation of the Acta Consilii Rogatorum series. Franchus Josepovich (Franius, Josep, Yosue), a Jew from an Albanian town of Vlora, addressed the Senate in 1426 because there was a danger that his goods would be confiscated in Dubrovnik (vol. 3, ff. 292, 292v). Early records of Jews include, for example, a reference to Abram, a messenger of the last Bosnian queen, Katarina (1477; vol. 23, f. 137). Another very significant, perhaps even the most significant document on Jews in this series, is the decision about the establishment of a ghetto, made on October 15, in 1546 (vol. 47, ff. 249v-150v). This specific document describes in detail residential and business premises of the ghetto, locking time of the ghetto doors and rental prices. Certain decisions, on the expansion of the ghetto, as well as on standards of living and business conditions outside the ghetto, had been made later, and continued to be made till the fall of the Republic in 1808. The documents in this series reference to many important figures of the Sephardic world. Some of them only passed through Dubrovnik and some lived in Dubrovnik and were members of the Dubrovnik Jewish community such as: Gracia Mendez and her representatives Abner Alfarin and Isac Ergas, physicians Amatus Lusitanus, Abraham and his son-in-law Joseph Salama, a poet Didacus Pyrrhus, a merchant Daniel Rodrigues (16th century), a rabbi Aron Cohen (17th century), and a merchant Raphael Cohen (18th century). Through the decisions of the Senate, we can follow the destiny of a merchant Isaac Jeshurun, accused of a ritual murder of a Dubrovnik girl (1622). There are many references to other Jews in the series, who most often were Sephardim, and the data found refer to various aspects of their lives. Among other things, the data provide information about trading, appointments of Dubrovnik Jews as Dubrovnik state brokers (sensali), or extraordinary customs duties imposed upon the Jewish community in crisis situations such as plague epidemics. The data also reveal other important facts on treatment, rights and privileges of baptized Jewish women and men. The Senate would also give guarantees of free arrival, restricted residence, and free departure (salvus conductus) to Jewish merchant debtors. Some of these decisions were made based on petitions submitted to the Senate, being, therefore, a particularly interesting source for any research of the business and private lives of Dubrovnik Jews.

The series was created by a decree of the Minor Council in 1443, which stipulated keeping a record of undisclosed decisions of the Senate and the Minor Council in special volumes. The volumes consist of undisclosed state provisions that mainly concern the Ottomans, the Catholic Church, the sending of information about the Ottoman Empire to Christian countries, and the fate of those persons whom the authorities considered to be the enemies of the state.

The series covers the period from the end of the 15th to the end of the 17th century and it offers only scarce data about the Jewish people. A reference to an unnamed Jewish physician who carried a state notarial document to Istanbul in 1660 (vol. 5, f. 13v) is probably the only record of Jews in this series.

The series contains the decisions of the Minor Council made in the period from the beginning of the 15th to the beginning of the 19th century. With the cessation of Venetian rule in 1358, the Minor Council and the Rector lost much of their authority. Since then, the Council had mostly dealt with cases related to communal life, that is, it would resolve current affairs that should not burden either the Senate or the Major Council. From today's point of view, it could be said that the Minor Council had executive authority. The Rector, whose mandate lasted only one month, was at the head of the Minor Council and he presided over both the Senate and the Major Council. The Minor council headed by the Rector represented the Republic and held audiences with ambassadors from foreign countries. In cooperation with the Senate, the Minor Council oversaw all correspondence with the consuls of the Dubrovnik Republic, ambassadors (poklisari) and other diplomatic and consular representatives of the Republic in foreign countries, mostly in the Ottoman Empire and in the countries of the Apennine Peninsula. The Minor Council was also in charge of issuing letters to foreign rulers and other dignitaries.

The series contains a lot of information about Jewish people. The data are very important to analyse the attitude of the Dubrovnik Republic towards Jews. The series also provides a large quantity of data to learn about their private lives, as well as about the business of Jewish merchants. In addition, the series is extremely important for the research of private and business lives of Jewish women. The first information about Jews in this series dates to the 20s of the 14th century with, for example, a reference about a Jew by the name of Chrisomus who sold a bell and some copper in Dubrovnik (1428; vol. 4, f. 192v). Bandit attacks on Jews who travelled to Dubrovnik using the ships of the Republic and, most likely, intended to go this way to the Ottoman Empire, at the end of the 15th century, are referenced many times. There are many references in this series to well-known figures from the Sephardic world some of whom only passed through Dubrovnik, and some lived there such as Gracia Mendez and her business representatives Abner Alfarin and Isac Ergas, physicians Amatus Lusitanus, Abraham and his son-in-law Joseph Salama, a poet Didacus Pyrhhus, a merchant Daniel Rodrigues (16th century), a rabbi Aron Cohen (17th century), and a merchant Raphael Cohen (18th century). The series also contains information about sending Jewish physicians, especially Abraham and Joseph Salama, to the courts of Ottoman dignitaries in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through the decisions of the Minor Council, we can, for example, follow the destiny of the members of the Dubrovnik Jewish community during the court trial against a Jewish merchant Isaac Jeshurun, accused of a ritual murder of a girl from Dubrovnik (1622). If in fear for their own lives, many Jews were allowed to leave Dubrovnik with a special permission of the Minor Council. The series also contains many documents in which free arrival and limited stay to Jewish merchants who were in debt were granted (Lat. salvus conductus). This council would also issue permits for construction projects in the ghetto and for housing purposes outside the ghetto. Occasionally, the Minor Council would also make decisions on the obligation imposed upon Jews to wear a special sign. The series mentions many Jewish women, most often widows, who were given permission by the Minor Council to perform certain legal work with the consent of their guardians. Most often, these were women who wanted to appoint a certain person to represent them to conduct business either in the Dubrovnik Republic or in another country.

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.

The series consists of proposals for various debates submitted to the Senate and the Major Council by the Minor Council in the second half of the 15th century.

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.

The series consists of transcripts and translations of rulers’ charters and various other documents. These documents are mainly issued by Ottoman sultans. Other documents in the fonds are issued by the rulers of some states such as Spain or Hungary and the Papal States.

The series contains many letters and official documents. Letters to the Republic were written by various Ottoman dignitaries, from the grand vizier to local authorities of the towns and places near the Dubrovnik border. Official documents are orders and charters of sultans, orders of the governors of the Ottoman provinces and various documents of kadis. The documents in the series Acta Turcarum provide an excellent insight into all aspects of relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Dubrovnik, from interstate to personal. The series contains a small number of documents in other languages: Armenian, Arabic and Judeo-Spanish.

The series also contains a small number of documents in Judeo-Spanish, written in Latin alphabet and Hebrew (vol. E17b, E18a, E18b, D, XXIII). It also contains inventories of main figures of Jewish families and of the houses in which they lived (1756, 1808), as well as an inventory of Jews who immigrated to Dubrovnik in the period from 1730 to 1756. In addition, there are two letters in Italian: a letter written by Abram Bussara, the consul of the Dubrovnik Republic in Algeria (1790), and a letter written by Sabato Valenzin to the Austrian authorities of Dubrovnik district (1873) (vol. D, XXIII).

The series consists of subseries Diplomata et acta, until 12th century (HR-DADU-7.3.1), Diplomata et acta, 12th century (HR-DADU-7.3.2), Diplomata et acta, 13th century (HR-DADU-7.3.3), Diplomata et acta, 14th century (HR-DADU-7.3.4), Diplomata et acta, 15th century (HR-DADU-7.3.5), Diplomata et acta, 16th century (HR-DADU-7.3.6), Diplomata et acta, 17th century (HR-DADU-7.3.7), Diplomata et acta, 18th century (HR-DADU-7.3.8) and Diplomata et acta, 19th century (HR-DADU-7.3.9)

The series contains state letters and instructions to Ragusan ambassadors, tribute ambassadors, consuls, administrators of Dubrovnik consulates, charges d’affairs, and merchants in the cities of the Ottoman Empire in the period from the middle of the 14th to the beginning of the 19th century. The cities that are mostly referred to in the series are: Istanbul, Jedrene, Belgrade, Vlora, Volos, Alexandria, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Travnik, Mostar and Pljevlja. The series also includes letters from the authorities of the Dubrovnik Republic to various Ottoman dignitaries and officials, from Grand Viziers in Istanbul to kadis in the Dubrovnik neighbourhood.

The series is very important for the research of the history of the Jewish people in the Ottoman Empire, as well as for any attempted analysis of their cooperation with the Jews from the Republic. The series contains state letters to the consuls of the Republic in Vlora, who were Jewish (16th and 17th centuries). The following names of the consuls are referenced: Isach Trincha, who is only referenced to in one letter (vol. 20, f. 15v), Jacob Coduto, Daniel Coduto, Zacharia Graziano, Angiolo Coduto (vol. 28-34, 37, 42-45, 47-50). In addition to the names previously mentioned, there are several other Vlora Jews that are mentioned in the documents from the 16th century. The series also contains several letters from the authorities of the Republic to their tribute ambassadors, in which there are references to Gracia Mendes. In 1552, she travelled to Istanbul via Dubrovnik. The data shows that she conducted her business from Istanbul, using the port of Dubrovnik to trade with Western countries till she died. The ambassadors of the Republic would regularly visit her and bring her letters from the authorities. According to the records, she would lend money to the ambassadors and the authorities of the Republic would then reimburse the money to her representatives in Dubrovnik, Isaac Ergas and Abner Alfarin (vol. 26-29). Other Istanbul Jews also lent money to Dubrovnik tax collectors, and the authorities would then reimburse it to their relatives in Dubrovnik. For example, in 1576, Samuel Ergas wrote a letter of recommendation to two Jews from Istanbul, Judi Algasi and Samuel Celef, asking them to lend money to the emissaries of the Republic if that was deemed necessary (vol. 33, f. 67v). Dubrovnik merchants owned real estate in some Ottoman cities and would often rent it, especially in Sofia, to Jewish merchants. Related to this fact, there are several references to conflicts that occurred among those merchants. Even though the series provides evidence to some other conflicts in which Jewish merchants were involved, it also provides evidence of different forms of successful cooperation with Jewish merchants. The authorities of the Dubrovnik Republic evidently cooperated with Jewish merchants who were influential at the sultan's court (e.g., vol. 31, ff. 25v-26v). One of those merchants, Conort, whose name is not referenced in this series, worked in the 80s of the 18th century as a dragoman of Dubrovnik ambassadors at the Sublime Porte (vol. 103, ff. 113v, 121v).

The series contains letters sent by the authorities of the Republic in the 18th century primarily to the Ottoman authorities in the neighbourhood of the Republic.

There are very few documents in which Jewish people are referenced to in the series. For example, the records show that in 1757 Ragusan authorities wrote to the governor of the Bosnian eyalet about a certain Jew by the name of Samuel who had to pay some customs duties to the authorities, and about another Dubrovnik Jew, Hai Tolentino, who was imprisoned by the authorities of the Republic because of his debts to Ottoman merchants (vol. 4, ff. 97, 122, 123).

The series contains the drafts of letters and instructions of the authorities of the Republic to Dubrovnik emissaries, tribute ambassadors, consuls, administrators of Dubrovnik consulates, chargé d'affaires, or merchants in the cities of the Ottoman Empire. The preserved registers date from the middle of the 17th century to the 60s of the 18th century.

The series contains a small number of letters addressed to some Jewish people from Sarajevo, such as Abram Meramet, Abram Levi, and others (e.g., vol. 1, no. 25).