A waqfanama with two tughras of Murad III (r.1574-95), Turkey, Ottoman, dated 996 AH/1587 AD

Arabic and Ottoman Turkish manuscript on polished paper, 67 leaves plus 3 fly-leaves, 9 lines to the page, written in naskh in black or gold ink, some works in blue, rules in blue and gold,  f.1a and f.49a with gold and polychrome tughras of Murad III (r.1574-95), in brown morocco binding with a central stamped medallion, with flap

In good condition, the margins are clean, with early Ottoman ownership stamp, inscriptions at the beginning and the end, the tughras with minor smudges and minor stains but bright, the binding restored but with the medallions in good condition, as viewed.
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This volume contains two Turkish waqfnamas, both of which have been confirmed with the tughra of Murad III (r.1574-95), giving the endowment by Hüsrev Pasha, the governor of Van district, of various charitable institutions. The first is of the Hüsrev Pasha complex in Van, comprising a mosque, madrasa, school and fountain. The document lists the huge number of properties, the revenues of which are to be used for the endowment, including a pair of hammams, numerous shops, various gardens, watermills and meadows. At the end of the document, in the left margin, is the date Dhu’l-Qa’dah 987 (December 1579 AD). The second waqfnama is for the endowment of a Caravanserai in Rahva in the neighbourhood of Bitlis. This is also known as the El Aman Khan and was one of the largest caravanserais in Anatolia, including kitchens and a mosque. The revenues from properties around Bitlis are endowed for the running of the caravanserai and the salaries of the various officials are stipulated. The document is not dated, but at the end, in the lower margin, is a much later (nineteenth or twentieth century) inspection note by the Department of Pious Endowments (Vakif Idaresi).

The document is followed by a long list of names of officials of Van, presumably various signatories to the document. At the end of this is the information that Hüsrev Pasha died on 6 Muharram 996 (7 December 1587 AD), next to the seal impression of an ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad.

The use of a tughra above the introductory content on f.1a is not unusual and demonstrates the tradition of its use as a sign of approval. Since the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (r.1520-66) the volume of documents that passed through the court to be approved grew considerably, surpassing 150,000 every year. Tughras painted over the text and even stamped on illuminated frontispieces were thus common. For an example of a stamped tughra over an illumination see a manuscript in the Nasser D. Khalili collection (inv.no.MSS230), illustrated in Rogers 1995, p.83.