El Bessi Family Manuscript Collection

171 volumes with binding covers; 18 additional fragments without binding covers; 216 family documents grouped into three batches by category.

The majority of the manuscripts date to the late-17th-to-late-19th centuries, during the period the mosque's operation. Several manuscripts are copied on non-watermarked paper produced (likely) in either western or central Asia prior to the 16th century. Unlike European watermarked paper, these manucsripts are far more difficult to date.

Almost all items are in Arabic, although Turkish appears occasionally as a language of commentary or marginal notes.

The manuscripts originally belonged to the endowed collection of the al-Bāsī mosque in Waligh, Jerba (Tunisia), which operated from the 18th to the early-20th century. In the 20th century, they were transferred to the private residence of the El Bessi family.

NB: The titles refer to the original title given in the manuscript itself. Manuscripts without titles are listed as "Untitled" with additional information. For those manuscripts whose titles we have guessed based on the contents or on the previous inventories of the collection, the title appears in square brackets [ ]. Titles with multiple volumes have been standardized for easy reference.

Arrangement: Several iterations of inventories exist, either prepared by members of the El Bessi family or the French colonial authorities. The bound manuscripts therefore already had a shelfmark prior to starting the project.

Custodial history: Mongi El Bessi and his brother Hicham are the two main caretakers of the collection, which is stored on the family estate in Houmet Souk, Djerba. The collection was founded in the 18th century by members of the al-Bāsī family. The books in the collection were made into a religious endowment (waqf) by the family and were stored in the al-Bāsī Mosque on Djerba until the 20th century. Following the end of the waqf endowment system in Tunisia in the mid-20th century, the collection was moved to the al-Bāsī family estate where they remain to the present.

This collection contains the following two series.

  • EAP993/1/1: El Bessi Family Manuscript Collection: Core Collection [1308-1944]
  • EAP993/1/2: El Bessi Family Manuscript Collection: Additional Documents [1513-1914].