Historical Contextualization of the Document by Which the Branković Brothers Purchased Gethsemane Garden From Madrasa al-Salāḥiyya 1681

Abstract

This paper presents a document dating from 1092/1681: the document confirms the sale and endowment of figs and olives seedlings as well as the other properties on land of Madrasa al-Ṣalāḥiyya in Jerusalem, which was implemented by the means of the so-called al-ḥikr. The brothers from Sarajevo, Pavle, Jakov and Antun, have purchased the this particular property and bequeathed it to the Franciscan monks who live in the monastery al-’Amūd (Monastery of the Holy Saviour) in Jerusalem and to the poor Christians that required alms from the brothers. The curious issue in this case is the prevailing opinion of scholars that the space that is the subject of the sale in this document is space Gethsemane garden, one of the most important Christian holy sites.