A Temporal Analysis of Cash Waqf Formation and Capital in the Ottoman Balkans, 1500–1921: Founders’ Titles and Social Status

Abstract This study investigates the long-term dynamics of cash waqf formation and capital in the Ottoman context with a focus on temporal variations. This examination, based on cash waqf deeds in the Balkan provinces, reveals that the real average capital levels generally declined from the mid-sixteenth to the early twentieth century. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the cash waqfs of titled individuals possessed higher capital than those of untitled individuals, but this trend shifted in favor of the latter from the second half of the nineteenth century onward. Additionally, the novel dataset used in this study allows us to explore the main trends in services funded by cash waqfs regarding founders’ social status. This study provides an overview of cash waqf formation in the Ottoman Balkans and sheds light on the relative positions of the titled groups in this process.