Tunisia Probate Records

Africa Tunisia

Registers of Endowed Properties (Waqfiyt)
Research use: Good for family historians because of lineage linked information. The waqf system was not limited to Muslims.

Record type: The waqf is similar in some respects to the concept of a will.

Time period:1200 to present.

Contents: Name of donor, donor’s descendants, including wives and daughters through several generations. May also include extended family including brothers and sisters and their children as well as freed slaves. Some waqfs kept track of the deaths of beneficiaries also.

Location: At Islamic law court [sharia] archives in various cities.

Population coverage: Approximately 30%. Pertains to property owners only.

Reliability: Excellent.