Barbarossa Waqfiyya versus Barbarossa Waqfiyya: A Documentary Analysis of Fake and Authentic Two Waqfiyyas

Abstract

Barbarossa Khayreddin Pasha is one of the most prominent actors in Ottoman maritime history. His fame in the Mediterranean was due to his well-deserved and strong position in the military field. However, beyond his piratical past and heroic profile in naval battles, the foundation he established in Beşiktaş contains valuable details providing information about a different aspect of Barbarossa. There is a waqf deed dated 1534 which is attributed to him and currently kept in the Archive of the General Directorate of Foundations. However, there are facts concealed by this waqf deed, which clearly does not reflect the Barbarossa Foundation in its entirety. In other words, as a result of this document, issues such as the foundation’s establishment, functions and scope are shrouded in a halo of riddles, rather than being clearly explained. On the other hand, a second waqf deed dated two years after the pasha’s death, is also preserved in the Ottoman Archives. While the first waqf deed covers only the foundation and its assets in Istanbul, the second deed, which is dated 1548 and which has not been analyzed previously, is an addendum that not only reinforces the first one to a certain extent, but also reflects the foundation’s Lesbos component. Therefore, it can be said that this second waqf deed completes the missing pieces in the literature on the Barbarosssa Foundation and reveals the details masked by the first, falsified waqf deed. Moreover, in addition to the further information provided, evidence is presented that makes the degree of authenticity of the first waqf deed seem quite weak. This study aims to produce a holistic picture of the Barbarossa Khayreddin Pasha Foundation and, in doing so, to bring the second waqf deed, which has remained unnoticed or unaccounted for so far, into the literature. After a brief evaluation of the pasha’s life, the aforementioned wakf deeds will be analyzed together to determine the original structure of the foundation, and also the first document will be criticized in terms of its authenticity. At the end of the work, the contents of both waqf deeds are given as text and tables in an appendix.