Geniza Lab

Fragment of a partnership document (per FGP), involving R. Shemuel, Abū l-Faraj al-Yatom, Yiṣḥaq ha-Dayyan, Abū l-Bishr. Written by Mevorakh b. Natan, during the reign of Shmuel b. Hananya ha-Nagid, so we can date it to 1150-1160 (AA).

Late family letter in Judaeo-Arabic sent to Shemuel Ḥalafta in Fusṭāṭ, perhaps from his brother, rebuking him for the lack of letters ("your poor mother's heart is confounded on your account"). Mentions Yaʿaqov al-Gabbay. "Your sister and Munsiyya and Yeḥiel [send their regards]." Regards are sent to [...] al-Ḥāmī, al-Sitt al-Muṣaffa (?), al-talmidim Muhadhdhab and Yehuda, al-Zaqen Abū Pinḥas, al-Shaykh Pinḥas, and Avraham. ASE.

Verso: The end of a family letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The addressee is called "my brother," and he may be an actual brother since the sender swears "by my father." He is urging the addressee to give financial help to a poor man to pass the winter and to return to his mother. Mentions a benefactor of 'the Alexandrians,' but the context is unclear. Greetings to the addressee's siblings and to Khallūf. The sender intends to pass the winter 'in the house' and tells the addressee to look after it. On recto there is an Arabic-script document (see separate record). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: State correspondence in Arabic script. The sender says he has informed القوس(?) of something. Needs examination. (Information in part from CUDL)

Fragment of a business letter in Judaeo-Arabic to Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm (?), mentioning someone who died in Balad al-Rūm and licorice (sūs). The handwriting is distinctive, probably known.

Exemplars of epistolary style, headed א and ב (probably 16th or 17th century). (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a family letter, same writer and addressee as T-S NS 338.71, mainly rebuking the addressee for the lack of letters. "Your mother and sister send you regards and adjure you by God to not cut off your letters from us more than this, for you have burned our hearts with fires, especially when we see on this blessed [holiday]. . . everyone in health. And Muslim got sick and suffered hardship and, thanks to God, returned to health. You should send regards to him and congratulate him on his health, even if you do not see fit to write to any of us. . ." ASE.

Fragment from a 16th-century letter in rhymed prose. (Information from CUDL) On the verso a name appears possibly as the recipient of the letter: Abraham Qraqusha[?] "קרקושאה". A variant of this surname's spelling is also repeated on the verso as "קיקושאה". MCD.

Verso: Note addressed to ʿEli ha-Kohen. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Written in a crude hand. The main text in Hebrew is entirely blessings. The marginal text in Judaeo-Arabic may contain a request. There is also one line present from the Arabic document on recto. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: State document. Possibly an account synthesizing multiple streams of revenue: capitation tax (māl al-jawālī), a tax on palm produce (? māl al-nakhl), and a tax on the market (māl al-sūq). The name ʿAbdallāh appears at bottom right. Needs examination.

Accounts of Shaykh Abū l-Surūr. (Information from CUDL)

The opening of a letter, from a Gaʾon, to Meshullam and Isaac, sons of Yehoshuaʿ. Arabic text on verso. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a letter from Peraḥya b. Yosef (Yiju) to Seʿadya ha-Zaqen Pe'er ha-Soḥarim b. Avraham ha-Zaqen ha-Ḥasid. Almost nothing remains apart from the opening verses and the address. He sends regards to Abū Maʿālī and Abū l-Faḍā'il.

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to one of his brothers. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). Yefet previously informed him about the arrival of Yaʿaqov and the salt. The addressee is asked to pass on regards to Abū l-Surūr from his son.

Fragment from the opening of a letter, from Maṣliaḥ ha-Kohen Gaʾon b. Shelomo ha-Kohen Gaʾon. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic historical chronicle mentioning al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh, the governorship of Damascus, the appointment of a certain Muṭahhar (?) after him, and Manṣūra. A new section begins in the middle of the page with the basmala.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, in an elegant hand with tall, flamingo-like lameds. The sender appears to be a well-connected physician or medical student. Dating: Probably 1170s–90s, based on the mention of Qarāqūsh. Some excerpts: "... I have not found a stable position... in Cairo until that thing is fulfilled... in Fustat... I sat... our Rabbi... the head of the physicians (muqaddam al-ṭibb)... a physician and said to me... Cairo, and sometimes with Abū l-Riḍā, and I stay with him two nights a week and learn from him... your excellence, for 30 dinars' brokerage... entered to Qarāqūsh (likely Bahāʾ al-Dīn Qarāqūsh, active in Egypt 1169–1201) and told him the situation, and he fired him. Your excellence should be reassured, because everything is going well for you. Your excellence should kindly send a letter to 'our master' (Sayyidnā) thanking him for his advocacy for you... does not open his door to a Jew... your slave Abū Isḥāq (=the sender?)... and Abū l-Riḍā and his mother kiss your feet... and Abū l-Ṭāhir sends his regards." (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Fragment from the end of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. "You have left me to die in this grief. A person would think that there is no more care (iftiqād) between you and me. You have lit an inextinguishable fire in my heart. As for... your shop, he said he won't pay a penny until your letter arrives. As for the turban, it came out to 45 dirhams for Bishāra the ghulām of al-ʿArīf...." (Information in part from CUDL)

Fragment of a business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions logistics regarding boats; someone named [...] al-Fāsī; flax; someone named al-ʿArīf; "Bint al-Sunna" (?) intends to travel; Abū Isḥāq Avraham b. [...]; the writer's cousin (bin ʿammī) Yehuda.

Awaiting description - see Goitein's index card.