Ottoman Archives fund of the Gazi Husrev-Bey Library

The Ottoman archives fund of the Gazi Husrev-bey library in Sarajevo is an archive fund as part of the public Gazi-Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fund is founded in 1552 in a complex which houses Gazi Husrev-beg Medresa. It holds one of the most important collections of documents in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The collection survived through Bosnian war and Siege of Sarajevo. The archives also store a sizable number of newspapers and photographs.

A documents kept by archives represent a source for studying of the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As part of the larger complex of Gazi Husrev-begova Medresa, the library facilities housing the Archives are designated the National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina by KONS.

Foundation
In 1537, the Ottoman Empire governor of Bosnia, Gazi Husrev-beg, established a madrasa for the education of the people of the region. In the charter for its creation, the governor stipulated that "whatever money remains from the construction of the madrasa shall be used for purchasing good books, which will be used in the madrasa by readers, and for copying from them by those who engage in science."

A majority of the fund is composed of 4.967 various documents and registered archive units with around 7.000 heterogeneous Ottoman documents such as firmans, ordinances, legal documents, fatwas, invoices, orders, petitions, decrees, testimonies, letters etc. These include a defters from Gazi Husrev-bey's Endowment.

The archive collection contains documents in Ottoman Turkish language. These are issued by various local, provincial, and central authorities of the Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the present time this archive fund holds 88 sijils of the Sharia Court in Sarajevo, from two periods, 1552-1565 and 1725–1852. They are important for studying of the political, cultural, and economic history of both Sarajevo region and Bosnia and Herzegovina as they include information on life of citizens and their professions, material status, etc., but also on culture and education, since these documents include information on books owned by some families.

The collection contains some 1.500 endowment charters of which 421 are originals and the rest are verified copies. Endowments kept here are sources for studying of the history and development of towns and religious, educational and economic buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The copies are rewritten into three books. There are also testaments, writs, advertisements, legal evidence papers etc.,while a part of collection are teaching licenses (Idžazetnama) which are used for studying of history of education in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other educational centers of Ottoman Empire. Besides, these teaching licenses have an particular value for their artistic form.

The archives fund also holds a collection of translations of archive materials that kadi Abdulah Polimac translated from Ottoman Turkish to Bosnian, for Gazi Husrev-bey Library.

Destruction and safekeeping
In 1697, an Austrian general Eugene of Savoy, raided the library, destroying many historical works. Some of the most important documents to be lost were the Sarajevo court registers, chronicling land ownership, marriages, and other important legal events.

During the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s, much of the city of Sarajevo was under siege by forces of the Army of the Republika Srpska. Many of the printed books were moved to the Careva Mosque for safekeeping. The manuscripts were moved eight times during the nearly four-year siege of the city. The 500 most valuable manuscripts were placed inside the vaults of the Privredna Banka, where they were hidden. They remained there until the siege was lifted.

As part of the larger complex of Gazi Husrev-begova Medresa, the library facilities are part of the National Monument designation.