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Testamenta Notariae; Testamenta de Notaria (Wills registered at the Public Notary)

The series consists of wills of citizens, i.e., residents of the Dubrovnik Republic, as well as the wills of non-residents of the Republic, in the period from the end of the 13th to the beginning of the 19th century. The series is a very important archival source for both researchers of the legal history of Jewish people and for those who research the history of their everyday life and daily routines.


Approximately 20 wills of Jewish people have been preserved in the records of the State Archives in Dubrovnik, dating from the 16th to the 18th century. Out of this number, 16 wills were recorded in this series, and the names of the testators indicate some prominent and famous persons such as Didacus Pyrrhus (vol. 51, ff. 27v-28v), Aron Cohen, a famous rabbi of the 17th century (vol. 55, ff. 164v-166) and his descendant Raphael Cohen, a distinguished merchant and benefactor (vol. 74, ff. 66-67). The wills of Abram Abinun (vol. 59, f. 33v; 1628), Nathan Ambonetti (vol. 87, ff. 67v, 68), Rica Barrafael (vol. 80, f. 149v), Moshe Calderon (vol. 43, ff. 182, 182v), Abram Campos (vol. 66, f. 33v), Isac Vita Campos (vol. 81, f. 33v), Joseph Esperiel (vol. 55, ff. 21-22), Ester Maccioro (vol. 63, ff. 94v-95v), Ester Maestro, the wife of Moshe (vol. 58, ff. 168, 168v), Ester Maestro, the wife of Solomon (vol. 78, ff. 62, 62v), Solomon Pardo (vol. 84, ff. 129v), Decora de Silva (vol. 72, ff. 39, 39v) and Bona Vitali (vol. 81, ff. 49v, 50). The remaining wills are in the fonds of Diversa Notariae (HR-DADU-9), Diversa Cancellariae (HR-DADU-15), Diversa et possessio de criminalibus (HR-DADU-24), Miscellanea (HR-DADU-61) and in the series Diversa de Foris (HR-DADU-30.2). Most wills have been published.

Testamenta Meledae (Wills and testaments registered at the Chancellery of the Autonomous Commune of the island of Mljet)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
The series contains wills and testaments that were registered at the Chancellery of the Autonomous Commune of the island of Mljet between the middle of the 15th century and the beginning of the 19th century.

Testamenta de Lagosta (Wills and testaments registered at the Chancellery of the Autonomous Commune of the island of Lastovo)

There are no references of Jews in the series.
The series contains the wills and testaments mostly made by residents of Lastovo from the 70s of the 14th centuries to the 20s of the 15th century and from the beginning of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century.

Sultans’ Documents

  • HR-DADU-07-HR-DADU-07.2-HR-DADU-07.2.1
  • Subseries
  • 1458, 1460, 1462, 1468-1469, 1471-1473, 1475-1476, 1478-1493, 1495–1511, 1513-1521, 1523-1534, 1536-1541, 1543-1547, 1549-1687, 1689-1691, 1694-1698, 1701, 1703-1707, 1709-1713, 1715-1746, 1748-1772, 1774-1787, 1789-1795, 1797-1799, 1801, 1803-1805
  • Part of Acta et diplomata (Acts and documents)

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).

Turkish Chancellery of the Dubrovnik Republic

Strapazzo delle polizze (Drafts of monetary transfers)

There are no references to Jewish people in the series.
All the series of the fonds Apolitiae have not been fully researched and it is very difficult to establish the connection between them. The only possible connection found so far is to the documents of the Apolitiae series (HR-DADU-45.1). For each entry in the Apolitiae series a certain number is recorded indicating the existence of a more detailed description of the type of compensation made to state employees of the Dubrovnik Republic at the end of the 17th century, and in certain periods of the 18th century.

Stabilia (Testimonies in civil disputes concerning real estate)

  • HR-DADU-25
  • Fonds
  • 1465, 1470, 1472, 1475-1480, 1482-1499, 1503-1510, 1520-1522, 1529-1530, 1535, 1537-1538, 1543-1545, 1570-1573, 1575-1577, 1581-1583, 1586-1587, 1589, 1591, 1593, 1597, 1600, 1602-1604, 1607-1815

The lawsuits addressed to the Civil Court and the first statements of plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses were registered in the volumes of the fonds Intentiones Cancellariae (HR-DADU-22). If it was deemed necessary, the Civil Court would continue with the proceedings by hearing prosecutors, defendants, and witnesses. If these were real estate proceedings, the hearings would be then recorded in the books of this fonds, which covers the period from the mid-15th century to the early 19th century. The volumes of this fonds consist of two parts: Stabilia ordinaria and Stabilia extraordinaria. Some proceedings were terminated with a final verdict. The date of the verdict and the page number of the sheet of paper on which the verdict was entered, are noted on the margins of the document. This procedure makes it easier to find the actual judgement in the fonds of the civil court sentences (Sententiae Cancellariae; HR-DADU-18).


There is very little reference to Jewish people in this fonds. Nevertheless, the references found are still significant since, according to these references, Jews also acted asrepresentatives of Christian defendants. For example, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Ruben Vita Ambonetti repeatedly appeared as a representative of a sea captain Bartul Pezer (e.g., vol. 235, ff. 17v-19v).

Chancellery of the Dubrovnik Republic

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