Tunisia Probate Records

Registers of Endowed Properties (Waqfiyāt)
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 [sharia] archives in various cities.

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

Reliability: Excellent.

Inheritance Transactions (Mukhallifāt)
Research use: These records are a good source for specific information about deceased individuals. They also provide relationships helpful in lineage linking.

Record type: Legal proceedings concerning distribution of inheritance to heirs of deceased persons. The distribution of inheritance among heirs was prescribed in great detail in Islamic law. A propertied person’s death ordinarily entailed registering his assets with the local Islamic judge [quadi], indicating the name and legacy of each inheritor along with his or her relationship with the deceased. Islamic law courts [sharia] handled litigation concerning inheritance.

Time period: 1200 to present.

Contents: Names of deceased persons, dates of death, lists of assets, lists of heirs with relationship to deceased.

Location: At Islamic law court [sharia] archives in various cities.

Population coverage: About 20%; these records pertain to Muslims with property only.

Reliability: Excellent.