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Secreta Rogatorum (Undisclosed decisions of the Senate)

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.

Sententiae Meledae (Judgements of the Chancellery of the Autonomous Commune of the island of Mljet)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
The series contains judgments of the Chancellery of the Autonomous Commune of the island of Mljet passed between the beginning of the 16th century and the beginning of the 19th century.

Diversa Cancellariae (Various documents registered at the Rector’s Chancellery in Slano)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
The series consists of various documents registered at the Chancellery of the Rector in Slano from the beginning of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century. These documents are primarily written statements and testimonies, documents on sequestrations, verdicts of the Criminal Court in Dubrovnik, texts of the public proclamations of the decrees of the Rector of Slano, etc.

Apolitiae (Monetary transfers)

The series consists of books that comprise the period from the middle of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, and is entitled Polizze Ordinarie, while Polizze Extraordinarie are also recorded a tergo. The content of the series primarily deals with the registration of various monetary transfers, i.e., payment of salaries, advances of salaries, and seemingly, also loans to all state employees of the Dubrovnik Republic, to church officials and to certain institutions such as the hospital Domus Christi and monasteries. All series of the fonds Apolitiae have not beenresearched at all so far, and thus their content is difficult to connect to other fonds and at this moment it is only possible to connect the content of this series with the series Strapazzo delle Polizze (HR-DADU-45.2). Each entry in this series contains a certain number, and a more detailed description of a specific monetary transfer can be found under this number in the series Strapazzo delle Polizze.


The reimbursement of a four-months' salary to a state surgeon Abraham in 1589 is probably the only reference to Jewish people in this series (vol. 6, f. 118).

Naula et securitas Notariae; Noli e sicurtà de Notaria (Maritime transportation insurances registered at the Public Notary)

The series contains records of maritime insurance for merchandise that mainly arrived from the area of the Ottoman Empire and was primarily transported to Italian ports (mostly Ancona and Venice). The records contain the following data: the name of the sales representative, the name of the merchant, i.e., the owner of the merchandise, sometimes the name of the city where the merchant lived, details of the merchandise (type and quantity), place of loading, name of ship, name of captain, place of unloading, name of insurer and price insurance. The records of the series are from the middle of the 16th century to the middle of the 18th century.


Between 1564 and 1646, the record shows that approximately 4,000 maritime insurance contracts were registered with references to Jewish population. The series is, therefore, very important for the research of business affairs of Jews and for reconstructing their business network in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Jews appear in this series both as merchants and as trade representatives. It is also apparent that Jewish merchants who sent their goods through Dubrovnik, would choose, almost always, Jewish trade representatives. Most of these sales representatives, who were in charge of securing the goods and of shipping these from Dubrovnik, were members of Jewish families such as Abeatar, Abendana, Abenun, Azubi, Benmelech, Cabiglio, Coen, Cusi, Danon, Ergas, Maestro and Oef. Among them, Samuel Ergas, the consul of the Ragusan Jews, Aron Coen, a famous Dubrovnik rabbi, and David Coen de Herrera, the father of Abraham Coen de Herrera (vol. 49, ff. 92, 92v) stand out as famous sephardim of that period. Jewish merchants came from Ottoman cities such as Sofia, Vlora, Sarajevo, Belgrade, Skopje, Bitola. The goods that were sent via Dubrovnik to Italian ports (Ancona and Venice), were usually wool, wax, various types of leather, raw silk and spices. The significance of this series for the history of the Sephardim, can be better understood taking into consideration a doctoral thesis written by Benedetto Ligorio Le reti economiche e sociali degli ebrei nella Repubblica di Ragusa e la diaspora commerciale sefardita, 1546-1667 (Roma, Sapienza, 2017).

Naula et securitas Cancellariae; Noli e sicurtà de Cancellaria (Maritime transportation insurance registered at the Chancellery)

The series contains records of maritime transportation insurance of merchandise that mainly arrived from the area of the Ottoman Empire and was transported to Italian ports, mostly Ancona and Venice. The records contain the following data: name of the sales representative, name of the merchant, i.e., the owner of the merchandise, sometimes even the name of the city where the merchant lived, details of the merchandise (type and quantity), place of loading, name of ship, name of captain, place of unloading, name of insurer and price insurance. The records of the series date from the period from the 60s to the 30s of the 17th centuries.


Between 1564 and 1646 an approximate number of 4,000 maritime insurance contracts were registered which show references to Jewish population. Most of these records are part of the series Naula et securitas Notariae (HR-DADU-54.2). A very small part of these records, approximately a dozen of them, were recorded in this series which consists of only 6 volumes. Jews appear in this series in the role of both: merchants and trade representatives. Jewish names belong to certain members of Ragusan Jewish families such as Benaso, Bono, Ergas, Feri, Levi, Saba, Sabadul, Trigo, who were residents of different towns Dubrovnik, Leš, Sarajevo, Skopje. Related to the type of merchandise that was shipped to Ancona via Dubrovnik, it mostly consisted of wool, wax, and various types of leather.

Registrum apolitiarum (Register of monetary transfers)

There are no references to Jewish people in this series.
The series of the fonds Apolitiae have not been researched so far and it is difficult to establish the connection between the documents. Similar to the series Apolitiae (HR-DADU-45.1) and Strapazzo delle Polizze (HR-DADU-45.2), this series also contains documents that provide data into salaries of the state employees of the Dubrovnik Republic and into various other state expenditures. All documents that indicate monetary transfers are marked with ordinal numbers and separated on a yearly basis. The series primarily covers the period between the 70s of the 16th centuries to the beginning of the 17th century.

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