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Lamenta politica; Lamenti politici (Political disputes)

  • HR-DADU-19
  • Fonds
  • 1312-1313, 1417-1419, 1441, 1537-1544, 1547-1563, 1570

The fonds mainly contains data on court cases with topics that could be potentially sensitive or even dangerous for the stability of the Republic, and which were the responsibility of the Minor Council. Some of these cases thus reference to investigations led against local people who, together with Uskoci, plundered the neighbouring areas under the Ottoman rule, or to investigations against those who would spy for foreign countries. This fonds also contains documents that are not of a political nature, such as, e.g., wine smuggling, quarrels, insults, and physical confrontations.


There is very little reference to Jewish people in the fonds. Some references can be found in a lawsuit and a related investigation against a sea captain from the Republic who in 1547 attempted to kill some Jewish merchants on his ship (vol. 5, f. 13), and another reference found is in a reported conflict from 1550 between a Dubrovnik physician Isaac and other Dubrovnik physicians (vol. 5, f. 164).

Josip Gelčić (1849-1925)

Diversa Cancellariae (Various documents registered at the Chancellery)

  • HR-DADU-15
  • Fonds
  • 1282-1286, 1295-1297, 1305-1306, 1312-1314, 1320-1323, 1325-1330, 1333-1337, 1341-1345, 1347-1352, 1354-1356, 1362-1377, 1381-1418, 1422-1452, 1454-1815

The fonds covers the period from the end of the 13th to the beginning of the 19th centuries and contains the data on public legal and judicial affairs and also on those private legal affairs for which the Public Notary was otherwise in charge. Thus, just like the fonds Diversa Notariae, this fonds is an excellent source of information on all aspects of political, economic, cultural, public and private life in the Republic of Dubrovnik.


The fonds is, therefore, very important for the research of the history of the Jewish people. It provides relevant data on business and private connections of Jews in Europe, mostly Southeast Europe, then in North Africa and the Middle East, in the period from the 14th to the beginning of the 19th centuries. The earliest reference found so far dates from 1368, when David from an Albanian city of Durrës, in the presence of witnesses Moshe, the son of Matthew, and Solomon, also from Durrës, registered a declaration of receipt of a financial deposit from a certain Venetian (vol. 21, ff. 71v, 72). A few more examples from earlier times illustrate well the diversity and relevance of this fonds. Astruch, the son of Jacob, called "Bonaventura", found his runaway son-in-law, Joseph Farrer from Padua, in Dubrovnik in the year 1400. They both signed an agreement at the Public Notary, in which it was stated that Joseph must return to his wife Astrucha within seven months. If he failed to do so, he would have to pay a fine of 20 perpers, and 10 perpers of this amount would be paid to Astruch (who found him). In the same document, Joseph also pledged to reimburse his father-in-law for the costs of the search. Witnesses to the agreement were Vives, the son of Astruch and Moshe, the son of Joseph (vol. 33, f. 183). In 1414, a medical examiner Samuel, signed a contract with a blind Ragusan Pripko Kaličević. The contract states that if the doctor managed to cure Pripko's eyes, he would be awarded 10 golden ducats, and if he failed, he would get nothing (vol. 40, f. 27v). The fonds also references other prominent and well-known people from that time such as: Abner Alfarin, Isac Ergas, Daniel Rodrigues, Nehemia Hia Haion, Solomon Oef, David Pass (Passo), Didacus Pyrrhus and some members of a highly respected Dubrovnik Jewish family, the Coens. Some members of Dubrovnik Jewish families Ambonetti, Campos, Fermo, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Maestro, Pardo, Russo, Terni, Tolentino, Valenzin, Vitali were also referenced many timesare mentioned a lot. There are also many references to Jews who remained in Dubrovnik for a very short time, or to those who only passed through it or even never came directly but did business through the city with the help of intermediaries. One will was also registered in the books of this fonds. It is the will of Moshe Alfandrino, which was composed in 1584 in Venice. Two years later, Mira Alfandrino, Moshe's widow, also registered her will at the Public Notary in Dubrovnik (vol. 174, ff. 21v-22v a tergo).

Chancellery of the Dubrovnik Republic

Grassia; Grassa (Food supplies)

  • HR-DADU-36
  • Fonds
  • 1500-1590, 1595-1609, 1616, 1622-1625, 1627-1655, 1662-1809

The fonds contains registers of expenses related to the purchase of various types of cereals (sorghum, millet, wheat, barley), as well as the purchase of olive oil, rice, or beans. Some registers in the fonds provide information on the distribution and sale of these food products to the inhabitants of the Republic. Among other documents in the fonds, there are also registers of debtors, and various transcripts of Senate decisions regarding the purchase and delivery of food products. According to the data, domestic and foreign traders would deliver food to the Republic and the authorities of the Republic would then organize the purchase of food abroad (primarily on the Apennine Peninsula and in the Ottoman Empire) as well as its delivery to Dubrovnik. One of the responsibilities of this office was also to provide food to the poor at lower prices, either on loan or even free of charge.


There is very little information about Jews in the fonds. The data in the fonds demonstrate how Jews participated in food procurement and provide information on different ways how they benefited from the services of this office. According to the data, some members of Dubrovnik Jewish families such as Cittanova, Levi Mandolfo and Terni were involved in the acquisition and delivery of food to Dubrovnik in the 18th century. The sons of a renown Dubrovnik merchant Raphael Coen, Aron, Abram and Moshe, distinguished themselves in the process of food acquisition from Ancona. The data show that Dubrovnik Jewish community procured food using the services of this office (e.g., vol. 28, under the letter S).

State office for food supplies of the Dubrovnik Republic

Officiales rationum; Officiali delle cinque ragioni (Main state accountants)

  • HR-DADU-35
  • Fonds
  • 15th century - 19th century

The series contains various accounting books and lists of state revenues from the 15th to the 19th century. In six volumes, the costs of missions to the sultan and Ottoman dignitaries from Bosnia to Istanbul were recorded, as well as the costs of missions to the Venetian general provider of Dalmatia (18th century). After a thorough consideration, accounting officers either accepted or rejected the costs, and recorded accordingly those expenditures in notebooks bearing the names Partite accetate and Partite ributtate. Rejected expenditures were sent to the Senate for further consideration.


There are only few references to Jews in this series. Those references can be only found in volumes no. 11 and 12, entitled Riscossioni dell'Officio (recoveries of state revenues, 1711-1740). In these references Jews are referred to mostly as tenants of residential and commercial premises belonging to the foundation Opera pia. A very prominent Dubrovnik merchant Raphael Coen, as well as his sons Abram and Aron (e.g. vol. 11, f. 28) are those Jewish people mostly referred to in these volumes.

Office of the main state accountant

Archivium Operum piarum (Foundation Opera Pia)

  • HR-DADU-50
  • Fonds
  • 14th century -19th century

The fonds consists of treasury journal and accounting books of the Foundation from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These documents contain data on calculations of income from principal invested in foreign banks; calculations of income from renting residential premises, business premises and land. They also contain books of expenditures and income and accounting books of individual foundations that were an integral part of the Foundation Opera pia. The fonds also contains books with official letters written by the state treasurers and legal representatives of the Cathedral to Dubrovnik consular and diplomatic representatives, agents and confidants in Italian and Ottoman cities and in Vienna (Copia lettere dei Signori Tesorieri e Procuratori di Santa Maria Maggiore). Primarily, the topics of these letters were financial investments in Italian and Viennese banks, or investments in the Venetian mint and companies in charge of customs leasing, or in charge of the purchase of expensive Italian fabrics and fragrant oils intended for diplomatic gifts to Ottoman dignitaries; financial transactions for the settlement of the tribute to the Ottoman sultan; and for slave redemption.


The fonds does not contain a large amount of data on Jews, but the data in the fonds primarily relate to the private and business lives of the Dubrovnik Jews, as well as to their cooperation with the authorities of the Republic. Part of the data can be found in the income books of the foundation, in which the revenue from renting apartments, business premises and land is stated. References to Jews can also be found in the books of maritime affairs (18th and 19th centuries). The books contain references to Ragusan Jewish families such as Ambonetti, Cittanova, Costantini, Janni, Levi Mandolfo, Maestro, Pardo, Russo, Tolentino, Valenzin (vols. 25, 58, 36, 111, 118, 119, 125, 134, 135). In these documents the Jewish community appears as a debtor for business premises (1811-1812) (vol. 135, index, letter S). Two volumes are particularly important for the research of business affairs of the Jewish population in Dubrovnik: vol 125 (Conti Marittimi del 1789; Arboracci, Divisioni e Rimese), which lists the co-owners of Dubrovnik ships and their co-ownership shares in the period from 1789 to 1794, and vol. 134 (Libro di Negotio del 1781) in which Salvator Levi Mandolfo and Benedict Volterra are repeatedly mentioned as traders in leather, wool, and rice (e.g., vol. 134, f. 29). One part of the data that provides the information about the Jews, which speaks of their cooperation with the state authorities, is found in the books that contain letters of the treasurers of the Cathedral to the agents and confidants of the Republic in Ancona. There are references to Jews in the 18th century, mostly to Aaron and Moshe, who were the sons of an eminent Dubrovnik merchant Raphael Coen. Reference is also made to Raphael's grandson Felix. Aaron, Moshe, and Felix lived in Ancona and performed various jobs for the Opera Pia Foundation (e.g., vol. 40, August 30, 1790).

Foundation Opera Pia

Sanitas (Office of Public Health)

  • HR-DADU-52
  • Fonds
  • 16th century - 19th century

The fonds consists of two parts. The first part contains 14 registers of the movement of people and goods through the Lazarettos in Ploče, in the eastern suburb of Dubrovnik (18th century). Those registers were kept by the Captain of Lazarettos. The registers contain the following information: the date of the passenger's entry into the Lazarettos, the name and surname of the passenger, the name of the place from which the passenger arrived, the list of merchandise the passenger had brought, the number of the specific lazaretto where the passenger would be quarantined and the date of release from quarantine. The second part of the fonds (16th-18th centuries) consists of volumes with the following data: provisions of the Office of Public Health and the Senate which were related to the protection against the plague, expenses of the Office, investigations conducted by the Office of Public Health against persons who violated the measures for the protection against plague, and lists of health officials who were deployed throughout the territory of the Republic at the time of the danger of the plague.


The registers containing data of the movement of people and goods through the Lazarettos in the 18th century are very important to the research of the business affairs of the Jews from Sarajevo as well as for understanding their relationships with the Jews from Dubrovnik. Many of these records testify about the arrival of Jews in the Lazarettos almost all of whom came from Sarajevo (e.g., vol. 11a, ff. 10v, 39, 39v, 41v, 48v, 59, 64, 74v, 76, 80, 81, 82c, 85, 91c, 97, 101c, 102c, 103, 104, 109, 116c, 127). The records show that most of these Jews were originally from Dubrovnik and were returning home from Sarajevo, and there are also records of Jews from Sarajevo who would come to Dubrovnik for private or business reasons. There are also references to members of the following Jewish families: Abinun, Abramović, Altarac, Asser, Atias, Campos, Cohen, Danon, David, Escenasi, Fermo, Finzi, Forte, Franco, Gabai, Gaon, Haion, Joel, Jona, Levi, Montiglio, Musafia, Musafir, Papić (Pappo), Pinto, Saba, Saltiel, Seferović, Tedeschi, Tolentino, Vitali and Zevi. Apart from the Lazarettos, other facilities located in the suburbs of Ploče were also used for the purposes of quarantine. Among those buildings was the house of a famous Dubrovnik merchant Samuel Ambonetti. His house has been used as a quarantine area since the late 1750s, and the data shows that it was named the “old Ambonetti lazaretto” (e.g., vol. 7, f. 13v). There are less references to Jews in the second part of the fonds. Those references are primarily to Jewish bookbinders who bound books for the needs of the Office of Public Health. There are also references to the taxes imposed on the Dubrovnik Orthodox community and sea captains from Dubrovnik as well as taxes imposed on the Jewish community for the costs of protection against a very strong plague epidemics that ravaged the Dubrovnik hinterland in the 60s and the 80s of the 18th centuries (e.g., vol. 2, August 20, 1767). Particularly interesting is the reference to Abram Abuaf, who in 1691 during the epidemic, treated plague patients in the city of Dubrovnik (vol. 7, f. 12).

Office of Public Health for the Dubrovnik Republic

Ecclesiae et monasteria; Chiese e monasteri (Churches and monasteries)

  • HR-DADU-49
  • Fonds
  • 14th century - 19th century

There are no references to Jewish people in the fonds.
The fonds contains monastery accounting books, books of the Dubrovnik Archdiocese and various decisions of church administrative bodies (e.g., decisions on the organization and daily activities of monasteries). The books of the fonds were created in the period from the 14th to the beginning of the 19th century.

Various religious institutions

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