Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Fragment (lower left corner). Mentions Armenian bole, Abū ʿImrān, Marāzībī tutty, and greetings to various people. Verso: Legal jottings in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. One is for a document involving Sitt al-Ahl bt. Avraham ha-Levi and her husband Manṣūr b. ʿEli. (Information in part from CUDL)

Recto: Fragment of a letter from a group of people ("his slaves") to an unidentified dignitary. in Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. Verso: Accounts, probably, in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Yosef ha-Kohen, in Alexandria, to the well-known merchant Abū Zikrī Yehuda b. Yosef ha-Kohen, probably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: early to mid-12th century. Most of the substance of the letter is missing, but it opens (after the eloquent greetings) with a reference to the "inflation and famine" that occurred the previous year. Writing exercises have been added on verso. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: Document in Arabic script, probably a letter. Verso: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment. Mentions business dealings, Qalyūb, and someone called al-Dimashqī.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment. Very faded. Mentions a certain Shemuel, an Arabic letter, and the jamāʿa.

Accounts, written in two columns on verso. (Information from CUDL)

Informal note from somebody to his mother. Probably a draft abandoned partway through. In Judaeo-Arabic.

Recto: rhymed letter in Hebrew. Verso: unidentified Judaeo-Arabic text (possibly a letter). (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment. Refers to the addressee as "adonenu" and mentions bibles (maṣāḥif).

Recto: Remnants of an Arabic-script document. Verso: Informal note in Judaeo-Arabic asking the addressee to do something because the writer cannot.

Informal notes in Judaeo-Arabic, one on each side. Neither note seems complete. Recto: inviting al-Shaykh al-Nafīs to "come out (perhaps from Fustat to the Rif) and enjoy yourself." Verso: Asking the writer's father to kindly obtain for him an ounce and a half of raw quince syrup.

no image available. According to Mosseri Catalogue this MS contains small notes in Arabic regarding ordering of drinks. AA

Letter from Barhun b. Yishaq al-Taharti, from Mahdiyya, to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1045. Nahray is probably in Alexandria. Nahray is sending goods to the Maghreb and selling goods that he receives from Barhun and vice versa, Barhun sells goods in the Maghreb and sends goods to Egypt. They both also buy goods. The writer mentions a business collaboration with Abu Nasr Hesed ha-Tustari and a partnership with Abu l-Qasim Abd al-Rahman in trading gems. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #377) VMR

Note to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. In Judaeo-Arabic with some Hebrew. Concerning the items that have gone missing from a female orphan’s inheritance (or possibly trousseau, qumāsh). The Nagid is urged to 'act in solidarity with her for the sake of Heaven.' (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim, from Alexandria, to Yosef b. Eli Kohen Fasi, Fustat. Around 1055. Regarding trades of iron and coins, especially Byzantine dinar quarters. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #260) VMR

Letter from Yisra'el b. Natan to a relative in Egypt. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1060 CE. The fate of the addressee was apparently a cause for great worry. Yisra'el mentions the fact that many people died and much proprety was lost in the Magreb. The letter also discusses prices, the addressee's going to the Fayyūm, and the problem of the quarter-dinars brought by refugees from the west. Information from Gil.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Needs examination.

Opening of a letter from a man to his son, headed with על שמך. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Mordechai. Dating: probably 16th century. It is headed by an ornate בע''ה. Verso and the margin on recto contains jottings (signature practice) in a different hand and ink. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from She'erit to Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm al-Talmid. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer heard from Abū l-Barakāt that the addressee is sick (ḍaʿīf) and is very preoccupied and hopes for a letter with news of his recovery. Abū l-Munā is also anxious for news of the addressee and his wife. The bearer of the letter, Yūsuf, is a friend of the writer, and the addressee is to help him sell the items he has with him. Regards are sent to Abū l-Faraj. ASE.