This article examines the institutional transformation of Augusta Victoria in Jerusalem from its foundation under late Ottoman rule to its emergence as a humanitarian hospital after 1948. Drawing on Ottoman archival documents, German institutional records, and international reports, it reconstructs the changing legal status, administrative organisation and political functions of the institution across successive regimes, including the Ottoman Empire, the First World War, the British Mandate, and the Lutheran World Federation. The article argues that Augusta Victoria should be understood not as a static missionary or medical institution but as a dynamic institution continually reshaped by imperial politics, state regulation, war and humanitarian intervention. By foregrounding the interactions among sovereignty, institutional governance, and foreign influence, this study offers a new perspective on the relationship among imperial policy, health institutions and political transformation in modern Jerusalem.
