Donation to Eternity: Cash Waqf Records in Balat Court Records (1555-1838)

Abstract

In the Ottoman State, also named as the Waqf Civilization, services like education, health, public works, municipality, religious affairs, and social security that are the sources of human and social capital and that need to be performed by a social state were supplied by the contribution of the waqf institution. The information related to the prevalence, comprehensiveness, and management procedures can be accessible by means of examining the content of the endowments that have survived until today. In these endowments, various types of information such as assets, architectural works of art, the related staff, legal transactions, and the family members of the waqf founder can be reached as well. Especially the architectural works which have gone missing make the analyses of endowments quite important. In the endowments belonging to cash waqfs, details regarding the endowed cash, management procedures, accretion rates, and use of revenues to be acquired are also available. The aim of this study is to put forth the operation principles of cash waqfs and study the socio-economic contributions of these waqfs to the Ottoman social life.