XVI. Century Waqf of Salonika: the Institutions of the Waqf of Yakub Pasha and his Endowments

Abstract

Yakub Pasha, one of the viziers of Bayezid II, is known to have had a mosque, a derwish lodge and a fountain constructed in the centrum of Salonika in the early XVI. century and founded a religious foundation, together with numerous books donated, possibly to establish a library affiliated with the latter. These works of waqf, which are told to have been constructed in the district of "Bayır" according to the foundation charter, expanded over time so as to include an "imaret", the continuation of whose services soon became a priority for the waqf. Yakub Pasha, in order to guarantee the continuation of the services of the institutions of the waqf, endowed a predominantly non-muslim village called Maruda/ Karoye and a big house and donated a good deal of moveables wchich were intended to turn into cash and invest in estates as a source of income for the waqf. Later on, another muslim village called Virlanova/Virlaniç and numerous households and shops were added to the sources of income of the waqf. The taxes of the villagers, the rents and the amounts paid for title deeds assured the continouity of the services, which involved the payment of the salaries of the staff and the financing of all kind of expenditures associated with waqf institutions. This research, based on the foundation charter of the waqf, makes use of certain archival materials and reviews the state of the waqf through the XVIth century. The life of the waqf, actually, lasted longer and, throughout the Ottoman sovereignity in Salonika, its sources of income and the services of the waqf institutions were maintaind in line with the stipulations of the endowment.