The subseries consists of four types of sultans’ documents: charters (Tur. ahdname, ahitname), decrees (Tur. ferman), decrees of special importance (Tur. hatt-ı hümayun) and diplomas (Tur. berat), which were issued in the period from the middle of the 15th to the beginning of the 19th century. The documents of this subseries primarily deal with trade, shipping, customs, or the acquisition of cereals from the Ottoman Empire and other food for the needs of the Dubrovnik Republic. Documents also refer to other topics such as: land and sea bandits, espionage of the Dubrovnik Republic for the Ottomans, exchange of prisoners of war in neutral Dubrovnik, monopoly on the sale of Dubrovnik salt to Ottoman subjects, monopoly of neutral Dubrovnik ports for interstate trade, or transport of Ottoman goods and passengers by Dubrovnik ships. A fairly large number of sultans’ receipts for the tribute that the Republic paid to the Empire has also been preserved, as well as other sultans’ decrees according to which sea captains from the Republic were protected from attacks of North African corsairs in the second half of the 18th century.

An analytical inventory was made for this subseries, which indicates that only fifteen documents refer to Jews. In these documents Jews are referred to as: Ottoman customs officers (vol. 5, no. 214; vol. 8, no. 394; vol. 10, no. 459), as both debtors and creditors (vol. 10, no. 484; vol. 45, no. 1586; vol. 46, no. 1629) and as competitors to Dubrovnik merchants (vol. 59, no. 1952). In the first half of the 17th century and in the 20s of the 18th century, Dubrovnik government complained at the Porte about the Jews who damaged the house in Edirne owned by the Republic. When the house burned down, the Jews occupied the land on which it was located. In four of his decrees, the sultan demanded that the Jews should compensate the damage to Ragusans and return the land they had occupied (vol. 16, no. 799; vol. 20, no. 952; vol. 22, no. 1050; vol. 37, no. 1457). The Sultan Selim II asked the authorities of the Republic to organize a safe trip to Venice for the Jew Menachem and his servant (vol. 6, no. 299). Trade rights and prohibitions on trade for Jewish merchants can also be found in some documents of this subseries (vol. 18, no. 886; vol. 47, no. 1648).

The subseries contains orders (Turkish: buyrultu) of the governors of the Bosnian Eyalet and Herzegovinian sancakbeys, which were issued in the period from the middle of the 17th to the beginning of the 19th century. The orders deal with many issues and problems, from politics and trade to robberies, that were happening on the Ottoman-Dubrovnik border.

There is only one buyrultu in which Jews are mentioned. Referring to trade rights from an existing treaty between the Ottomans and the Republic, Dubrovnik authorities complained in 1807 to the governor of the Bosnian Eyalet and the Herzegovinian Sancakbey, Husrev Mehmed Pasha, stating that Jewish merchants in Sarajevo were interfering with the business of Dubrovnik merchants. Pasha issued an order to the kadi of Sarajevo to prevent such actions (no. 321).

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 subseries contains correspondence between the authorities of the Republic and the authorities of Spain, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and the states of the Apennine Peninsula during the 17th century. It also contains correspondence between the authorities of the Republic and Dubrovnik consuls, confidants and diplomatic representatives in Italian, Spanish, Austrian and Ottoman cities, mostly in Rome (The Holy See), Ancona, Naples, Vienna, Madrid, Istanbul, Edirne, and Sofia. In addition, the subseries includes correspondence between the authorities of the Republic and local authorities in the territory of the Republic. Most letters sent by the Dubrovnik authorities to the fore mentioned addressees are also in the series Litterae et Commissiones Levantis (HR-DADU-8.1) and Litterae et Commissiones Ponentis (HR-DADU-8.2).

The subseries also contains a collection of judicial investigations and a small number of documents with references to Jewish people. Nevertheless, it is considered to be important for further research offering data about Jewish trade networks in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, the relationship of the civil and judicial authorities of the Republic towards the Jewish people, and the data on the types of cooperation of the Jewish people with the Dubrovnik Republic in general. The subseries contains a small number of letters written by Daniel Coduto and Angiolo Coduto, who were Dubrovnik consuls in an Albanian city of Vlora (e.g., vol. 1936, no. 1). Several Jewish merchants wrote to the authorities of the Republic from Venice, such as David and Samuel Abeatar, Michael Penso, Gabriel Habibi, Daniel Valenzin, and some letters from Jewish merchants from Sofia have also been preserved. There are also some references to Jewish people in approximately ten judicial investigations, three of which concern the families of Venetian converts Banchieri (Sulhani), who, on their way to Sarajevo, spent a short period of time in Dubrovnik. While in Dubrovnik, they declared themselves as Jewish, and were given hospitality by a Dubrovnik Jewish family Cavaliero (e.g., vol. 2051, no. 189). One judicial investigation was conducted against a well-known Jew, Nehemiah Hia Hayon, a former Sarajevo rabbi and Kabbalistic scholar, accused of forcibly extorting money from his debtors (vol. 2053, no. 55). Some court investigations also reference to other Jews such as Raphael Cohen, Samuel Pappo, Jacob Saralvo, Samuel and Muscia Maestro, and the Penso family. Other references to Jewish people are expected to be found also in the correspondence of the authorities of the Republic and the Holy See, as well as in the correspondence of the authorities with the emissaries of the Republic in the Ottoman cities.

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 Republic of Dubrovnik bordered the Herzegovinian Sancak along the entire border, and Sancak was a part of the Bosnian Eyalet. Since Herzegovinian sancakbeys and Bosnian beylerbeys were Dubrovnik's closest neighbours, Dubrovnik authorities sought to maintain as close relations as possible with them. Ragusan ambassadors often visited these dignitaries, and abundant correspondence between them has been preserved till today. The letters of Herzegovinian sancakbeys and the Bosnian beylerbeys reveal, among other things, which problems were to be resolved between the Republic and the Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to problems in the field of trade, customs duties, and food procurement in the Bosnian area for the needs of the Republic, there were other issues that were often referenced to in these documents such as robberies, thefts, injuries and murders, which had been most often committed by Ottoman subjects against peasants living in border villages of the Dubrovnik Republic. Herzegovinian sancakbeys and the Bosnian beylerbeys often addressed the authorities of the Republic with various requests. The data thus show that they would be looking for a physician, construction workers, food for the needs of their courts, or just for help in organizing overseas trips for their people. Most of the documents of this subseries are not dated.

There are not many references to Jews in this subseries, and these can be found in approximately fifteen letters. In most cases, these references concern debts, and, in these letters, Jews appear both as debtors and as creditors. For example, Samuel Ambonetti and Hai Tolentino were debtors of many Ottoman subjects (Beylerbey Mehmed Pasha Kukavica, no. 36, 207, 211, 226; B 11, no. 9, 23. Beylerbey Mehmed Pasha Silahdar, no. 328; CT 2, no. 92 Beylerbey Süleyman Pasha Bostanci, No. 269. Sancakbey Ali Pasha Cengic, B 23, No. 9. Sancakbey Musli Pasha, B 23, No. 34). The remaining letters deal with several trade disputes, as well as the abduction of a servant of a Jew from Sarajevo (Beylerbey Ahmed Pasha Seydi, no. 997. Beylerbey Abu Bekir Pasha, no. 398. Beylerbey Mehmed Pasha Silahdar, no. 238).

The subseries contains correspondence between the authorities of the Republic and its diplomatic and consular representatives in Vienna, St. Petersburg, several Italian cities such as Rome and Venice, and in some North African cities. The subseries also includes correspondence between state authorities and local authorities in the Republic, as well as the correspondence between Republic authorities and Austrian, Russian and French consuls in Dubrovnik. Most letters sent by the Dubrovnik authorities to the fore-mentioned addressees are also in the series Litterae et Commissiones Levantis (HR-DADU-8.1) and Litterae et Commissiones Ponentis (HR-DADU-8.2). The subseries also contains examples of correspondence between the state authorities and the French military authorities in Dubrovnik (1806-1808).

There is scarce evidence of Jews in this subseries. The references can be found in several letters written by the administrator of the consulate of the Republic in Algeria, Naftali Busnak, to the Dubrovnik authorities (vol. 598, no. 111-118). References to Jews are also expected to be found in the correspondence of Republic authorities and its representatives in Rome, as well as in the correspondence of the authorities and the ambassadors of the Republic in the Ottoman cities.

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).

There is no reference to Jews in this subseries.

The subseries contains agreements on topics of peace, friendship, and trade cooperation between the Republic and various cities of the Apennine Peninsula (e.g., Monopoli, Bari, Recanati, Molfetta, Ravenna), some Dalmatian cities (Šibenik, Split, Zadar, Omiš, Trogir) and rulers of the Dubrovnik hinterland. The series also contains various papal documents, and documents on the affairs of the Archdiocese of Dubrovnik. Some documents give an insight on relations of the Republic with Venice, such as agreements on the subordination of the Republic to Venice, or pledges of Venetians appointed as Dubrovnik Rectors and confirmations of salaries that they received from the Ragusans, or various business contracts.