الوقفيات كمصدر تاريخي : وقفية المدرسة التنكزية في القدس كدراسة حالة

Abstract EN

I attempted in this study to examine the importance of the waqf documents as a historical source by studying the waqf document of the Tankiziyahschool in Jerusalem, as a case study.

This document provided us with detailed information in many historical fields of study such as architectural history, urban history, geographical history, economic history, religious history, social history and in the field of Arabic philology.

This study examined in more details the different institutions which made up the Tankizyah waqf in Jerusalem such as theFiqh school, the Hadith school, the Ribat of the Sufis, the Ribat of the women, the mosque, the Taharah, the Sabil, the well, the two baths, the village of ‘Ayn Qinyah, the Khan of Tankiz, and a number of shops in the Qattanin market in Jerusalem which was established by Tankiz.

The study also dealt with the budget and the management of the waqf, and with the daily human activity in Jerusalem and in the village of ‘Ayn Qinyah.

The Tankiziyah waqf document indirectly also mentioned many important issues such as al- ‘Arrub Canal, the sewage system in Jerusalem and many other issues.

Unlike other historical sources, the information contained in the waqf documents is accurate and not affected by feelings and biases of the author because it is abstract and descriptive information describing the reality and the circumstances which existed during that period.

In addition to that, the kind of information that we find in the waqf documents are rarely found in other historical sources, which makes these documents of great importance to historians.