Showing 76 results

Archival description
Only top-level descriptions
Print preview View:

Privata (Books and documents from private archives)

  • HR-DADU-63
  • Fonds
  • 1427-1829

The fonds is an important source for researching the life and business affairs of the people living in the Dubrovnik Republic in the period from the 15th to the 19th century. It consists primarily of accounting books of debts and receivables (dare et avere), trade journals (giornale), various notes (squarçio, libro picolo, quaderno), general ledgers (libro grande, maestro) and accounting books of different stores (quaderni stacionis).


Volume no. 23 of this fonds is an accounting book which contains various monetary claims of Isac Vita Campos, with an alphabetical index according to the first names of his debtors. It can be assumed that this book contains data on both Isac and his brother Samuel, two prominent Dubrovnik merchants who ran a very successful trading company in the 18th century. The data provide evidence that seven generations of the Campos family lived in Dubrovnik from the 17th to the 19th century. Some accounting books of various Dubrovnik merchants, for example Vicko Stefani, Martolo Đurđević and Benko Resti, also contain data on their affairs with Jewish business partners (vols. 32, 43, 44).

Josip Gelčić (1849-1925)

Procurae Cancellariae; Procure de Cancellaria (Powers of attorney registered at the Chancellery)

  • HR-DADU-17
  • Fonds
  • 1470-1475, 1580-1815

The fonds contains books of various types of powers of attorney registered in the period from the 15th to the beginning of the 19th century, in which, in addition to citizens residing in the Dubrovnik Republic, citizens from other countries are also referenced either in a role of authorised proxies or principals. The topics of these documents are mainly related to the conduct of various types of business both in Dubrovnik and in other, foreign countries, mainly in the Ottoman Empire and in the countries of the Apennine Peninsula.


The fonds is very important for the reconstruction of the Jewish business network in the Mediterranean and the Balkans. There are many references to Jewish people in the fonds: some references relate to the Jews who lived in Dubrovnik at the time, while others relate to those from other countries. The data show that many of the powers of attorney that were registered at the Chancellery were written in various cities of the Ottoman Empire (Belgrade, Sarajevo) or Italy (Ancona, Venice). The main topics of these documents are the collection of debts, the conducting of business affairs, and the representation at in-court and out-of-court settlements of commercial disputes. To illustrate, the following is an example of a power of attorney signed by the principal and written in Hebrew letters. The document refers to a certain Jew by the name of Solomon Barelia from Belgrade who came to Dubrovnik in 1674 and, at the Chancellery, authorized Jakob Almoslino to collect debts for him in Dubrovnik, Ancona, Venice, and in other cities in Italy (vol. 59, ff. 194-195v). Principals would often give a so-called general power of attorney in which they would declare the people they authorised as their alter ego. It is important to point out that a significant number of Jewish women are also referenced to in this fonds, most often also in the function of principals or of those who gave a power of attorney to someone else. Judita Luzzena is one of the few women to appear as a proxy: her husband Samuel Luzzena declared her to be his alter ego in 1795 (vol. 82a, f. 173). References can be found in this fonds to some members of Dubrovnik Jewish families, such as Ambonetti, Campos, Cohen, Fermo, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Maestro, Pappo, Pardo, Russo, Terni, Tolentino, Valenzin, Vitali; to some of their relatives who lived abroad; as well as to members of some other Jewish people from foreign countries, such as Barrafael, Bianchi, Della Tomba, Mucciaccio.

Chancellery of the Dubrovnik Republic

Procurae Notariae; Procure de Notaria (Notarized Powers of Attorney)

  • HR-DADU-11
  • Fonds
  • 1434-1439, 1446-1449, 1459-1463, 1467-1497, 1502-1569, 1573-1590, 1592-1595, 1600-1602, 1607-1814

The fonds contains various types of powers of attorney registered in the period from the 15th to the beginning of the 19th centuries, in which, in addition to citizens of the Republic of Dubrovnik other non-resident citizens are also referenced, either in the roles of proxies or principals. The content of these documents was mainly related to various types of business activities conducted both in Dubrovnik and in foreign countries.


The fonds is very important for the historical reconstruction of the Jewish business network in the Mediterranean and in the Balkans. The references in the fonds provide information on Jews who lived not only in the Dubrovnik Republic but also in other countries, mainly in the countries of the Ottoman Empire and the countries of the Apennine Peninsula (most often in the Italian cities of Ancona and Venice). The content of these powers of attorney mainly relate to collection of debts, conduct of commercial affairs, representation in court, and out-of-court settlements of commercial disputes. According to the data in the fonds, Jews would mostly choose other Jews as their legal representatives and would seldom choose Catholics in this role. One of the exceptions is Jacob Tobi, who in 1594 authorized a famous Florentine merchant Bartolomeo Borgiani to conduct business on his behalf in Florence (vol. 31, ff. 104, 104v). Jewish people are referenced less in this fonds than in similar fonds Procurae di Cancellaria (HR-DADU-17). The most relevant difference between these fonds is that there is very scarce data on Jewish women in this fonds. Among the women referenced to in this fonds, for example, there is a reference to Mira, the widow of Moshe Alfandrino, who in 1585 authorized Moshe Malamed to collect debts in Sarajevo that remained unpaid after the death of her son Jacob (vol. 28, ff. 106v, 107). Another woman referenced in the fonds is Simha, the wife of Samuel Maestro. In 1613, with the permission of her guardians Jacob Coen de Herrera and David Senior, she authorized her husband to conduct all her business affairs on her behalf (vol. 34, ff. 132, 132v). Apart from Jacob Coen de Herrera, his brother Abraham Coen de Herrera is also referenced to in this fonds (vol. 33, f. 187, 187v). Some members of other Jeiwish families such as Abeatar, Abenun, Abenmelech, Abuaf, Azubi, Baruch, Bencastiel, Bendanon, Calderon, Calvo, Cidi, Cohen, Gaon, Graciano, Israel, Jeshurun, Lanciano, Luzzena, Maestro, Miranda, Mursa, Sasson, and Sarfatin are also referenced to in the fonds.

Public Notary of the Dubrovnik Republic

Punctaturae; Punctature (Penalties to nobility)

  • HR-DADU-06
  • Fonds
  • 1534, 1540, 1576, 1591-1592, 1599, 1632-1808

One part of the fonds is related to the collection of fines for nobles who were unjustifiably absent from the sessions of the councils (vols. 1-3, 5, 14, 14b). Other volumes contain proposals for debates submitted to the Senate by the Minor Council (vols. 4, 7-13; 1591-1592, 1673, 1694-1808). The topics of these debates are mostly related to the internal affairs of the Dubrovnik Republic. If the motion for a debate is crossed out, the date on the margin of this entry indicates when this debate was held in the Senate. Nevertheless, that does not necessarily mean that the debate was de facto recorded in the Senate registers.


There are not many references to Jews in this fonds. Approximately, in one volume of the fonds, there is an average of 2 to 4 entries concerning Jews (e.g., vol. 10, ff. 14v, 29, 42, 75v; vol. 12, ff. 47, 49; vol. 13, pp. 63c). For example, a proposal to discuss the bankruptcy of Solomon Vitali, and his son and brother, was entered on 25/7/1772. The proposal was crossed out and a note on the margin indicates that the debate was to be held in Senate on the same day (vol. 11, f. 47). However, there is no record of that debate in registers of the Senate.

Office of the Secretary of the Dubrovnik Republic

Reformationes (Decisions of the Councils of the Dubrovnik Republic)

  • HR-DADU-01
  • Fonds
  • 1301-1306, 1311-1336, 1343-1353, 1356-1368, 1378-1392, 1395-1399, 1402-1404, 1407-1415

The fonds contains the decisions of the Major Council, the Minor Council, and the Senate, or of the three supreme institutions of government of the Dubrovnik commune. The books of the fonds date from the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century, and they contain various decisions on all aspects of the policy of the internal and foreign affairs of the Dubrovnik commune and are very important for the research of the earlier history of Dubrovnik.


The fonds contains very few mentions of Jewish people. The references found are from the first half of the 14th century, but they do not seem to be directly connected with the Jewish people. Namely, probably under the influence of church presentations and performances, the people of Dubrovnik would disguise themselves as Jews or Carbonos before Easter, blackening their faces and dressing up in a certain way. Disguised like this they would attack passers-by and use this as an opportunity to deal with their enemies. Authorities forbade them to disguise themselves in such a way, and the first ban under threat of a fine of 25 perpers dates to the time before Easter in 1319. Prohibitions of disguise to Carbonos or Jewish people were repeatedly issued in 1320, 1323, 1329 and 1335. In 1331, the authorities in the Republic allowed such a disguise.

Central offices of the Dubrovnik commune

Salinaria (Salt office)

  • HR-DADU-42
  • Fonds
  • 15th century - 18th century

The fonds contains books of expenditures for the maintenance of the salt basins in the Dubrovnik Republic and the costs of the fees and salaries of state employees such as guards, weighers, porters, or noblemen who managed the Salt Office, etc. The fonds also contains registers of purchases of foreign salt, registers of sales of domestic salt, registers containing entries on payments of fees to boat owners who transported the salt produced in the Republic for sale to Gabela (the Neretva River) at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century.


The bookbinder Manuel (Emanuel Coen), who in the early 17th and the 18th centuries bound books for the needs of the Salt Office (e.g., vol. 37, no. 45), is most likely the only Jew referenced to in this fonds.

Salt office

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

Sententiae Cancellariae (Judgments of the Chancellery)

  • HR-DADU-18
  • Fonds
  • 1352, 1376, 1388-1406, 1414-1811, 1814-1815

The fonds contains the judgments of the judicial councils Curia maior and Curia minor as well as those rendered by civil judges (consuls) in the period from the mid-14th century to the early 19th century. In fact, in the 13th and the 14th centuries, civil and criminal cases were handled by the judicial councils Curia maior and Curia minor (for disputes worth up to 5 perpers). The members of these councils would be elected from the Minor Council (Lat. iudices). The Rector held the central position in the judicial council until the 15th century. While the Civil Court was established in 1416, initially there were six judges who presided, but their number later increased. The fonds provides information relevant for the research of the professional lives and business affairs of Dubrovnik Jewish people as well as of their business relationships with their Christian fellow citizens. It also preserves data on some famous figures of Jewish history such as Isac Ergas (who acted as the representative of Gracia Mendes in Dubrovnik), Isaac's brother Samuel, and Jacob Coen de Herrera (the brother of Abraham Coen de Herrera) (e.g., vol. 184, f. 99). The data in the fonds mainly relate to Jews who were living in Dubrovnik at the time, and were members of Jewish families such as Abeatar, Abenun, Abuaff, Almoslino, Altarac, Ambonetti, Arari, Azubi, Bensahen, Campos, Cittanova, Coen, Costantini, Danon, Esperiel, Fermo, Franco, Gaon, Israel, Lanciano, Levi, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Maestro, Miranda, Oef (Ohev), Pappo, Pardo, Penso, Piade, Ribero, Russo, Salama, Saralvo, Sarfatin, Terni, Tobi, Tolentino, Valenzin, Vitali. To some extent, the fonds is also important for the reconstruction of the Jewish business network in the Balkans and the Mediterranean, since the names of Jewish merchants from Italian and Ottoman cities occasionally are referenced in the documents related to the affairs of the Civil Court.

Chancellery of the Dubrovnik Republic

Sequestra (Confiscations)

  • HR-DADU-27
  • Fonds
  • 1766-1815

The fonds contains records of confiscations ordered by the Civil Court at the request of the plaintiff. The preserved registers of these decisions were created in the period from the 60s to the beginning of the 19th century. The fonds contains various data on Jewish people, and there are approximately thirty references per volume, which are relevant for the analysis of their business in Dubrovnik. The records primarily reference to confiscations that were made, at the request of Jews, and were ordered by the court to either Jews or Christians. The fonds contains references to some members of Dubrovnik Jewish families such as Baraffael, Campos, Cohen, Costantino, Levi Mandolfo, Luzzena, Pardo, Russo, Terni, Tolentino, Venturra, Vitali. According to the data, money, jewellery, and merchandise were the most confiscated items.

Chancellery of the Dubrovnik Republic

Results 61 to 70 of 76