Geniza Lab

Letter from Yosef b. Yaʿaqov al-Iṭrābulusī (Alexandria) to Yosef b. Yaʿaqov b. ʿAwkal (Fustat). Gives information about ships arriving in Egypt, their consignments and passengers. Mentions shipments of flax (probably on their way to Sicily or Maghreb), which were kept in Alexandria in the dār al-sulṭān, and shipments of wax, bought by the sultan. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 492.) About Ifrīqiyan goods sent to Rosetta. Beginning of 11th century. (Information from S. D. Goitein, Index cards.)

Letter from Peraḥya b. Yosef Yiju to Abū l-Fakhr Seʿadya [b. Avraham Ibn al-Amshāṭī]. In Hebrew (for the introduction) and Judaeo-Arabic (for the body). This is an extremely deferential letter thanking Abū l-Fakhr for helping Peraḥya's son Yosef 'and his orphan girl,' in the same way that Abū l-Fakhr had helped Peraḥya himself in the past. Information from Friedman and Goitein, India Book III, 41–42 n. 40.

Letter from a cantor or teacher to his boss in Cairo. The cantor had been “accused of having assembled a group of young men and danced a zuhdī dance with them" — presumably an allegation of homosexual behavior. The cantor lived in a small place outside Cairo, but on learning that his boss had been informed, he immediately set off for the city. “I contracted fever and, following it, dizziness. When I was about to recover, I received a note from you that you had heard about me that I assemble young men and dance a zuhdi dance with them. When I learned about this matter, I became alarmed and relapsed. I decided to go to Cairo to clear my honor from that talk about me; but when I arrived at the Nile, I fainted. Such an occurrence is not unknown. But I wish to clear my honor against the one who told this about me. If people have indeed given witness about this, whatever I shall be obliged to do, I shall [not] dodge.” On the reverse side, where the sender would normally include well wishes for the deliverer, the cantor wrote “Cursed be he who does not bring this to the attention of R. Joseph.” Information from Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, Volume 5, 202-203, and from Alexandra Kersley ('19), seminar paper on homosexuality in the Geniza, Fall 2018.

Note from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to his brother, the physician Abū Zikrī, written in an extremely cursive script. He informs Abū Zikrī that the turban and ten rings (or seals) have arrived. The old woman (their mother Sitt Rayḥān?) is ill with a cough, headache, fever, and chills. ASE.

Yizhaq ha-Kohen al-Nafusi (from Nafusa, Libya) who was thrown off by a donkey and was lying in the building of the synagogue of Alexandria without being able to work asks Moshe Tiferet ha-Kohanim for help. Information from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter from Yeshuʿa b. Ismaʿīl al-Makhmūrī (Alexandria) to Nahray b. Nissim, ca. 1060. The writer tells Nahray b. Nissim about the news in Alexandria and informs him about the arrival of traders from Byzantium. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 4.) The Byzantine traders cannot access the quality of the goods and buy high and low quality goods for the same price. (Information from Goitein notes linked below.)

Letter of appeal for charity. In Judaeo-Arabic. Possibly a formulary, in the most general terms, written in large, monumental script. (Information from Goitein’s index card.)

Letter in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, in Fustat, to his relative and in-law Abū l-Faraj, in Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic. Opens with the usual expressions of longing. The sender reports that his wife (ahl al-bayt) is well. The sender is agitated that the addressee is staying in Alexandria "in the middle of the prison/captivity" (fī wuṣṭ al-ḥabs) and urges him to try to get out of Alexandria and save himself, because the news from there is dire. "May God the exalted reassure our hearts and your hearts for the sake of His name, and not cast you into the hands of your enemies." Greetings to "our father" Abū l-Ḥasan; to al-shaykh al-najīb al-ḥakīm (the physician) Abū l-Barakāt; to "the boy" and his wife or family (ahl baytih); to "my maternal aunt" Umm Abū l-ʿIzz and her son Abū l-ʿIzz. The sender's wife (ahl al-bayt) yearns for Umm Abū l-ʿIzz and sends her regards. The next part of the letter is in her voice; she rebukes the addressee for not sending her a letter ever since she left. She continues, "Give my regards to the neighbors.. greetings to my paternal uncle and to his son ("renewed to him" (?)) and to his wife, and to my grandfather (jiddī) Abū l-Ḥasan and to my (grand?)mother (sittī) and to my maternal uncle Abū l-ʿIzz, and I miss you all greatly. The next part might still be her voice, or might be back in the voice of Shelomo. "O Abū l-Faraj, please let us know the news of the house... the documents of rent in the name of my sister Milāḥ the wife of Abū l-F[...]... in her share, the quarter of the aforementioned house, and do not neglect. (Identification of the scribe from Goitein’s index card.)

Certificate in the hand of the judge Mevorakh b. Natan. Location: Fustat. Dated: Middle decade of Kislev 1473 Seleucid, which is December 1161 CE, under the authority of Netanʾel b. Moshe ha-Levi. Stating that the perfumer Abū l-Fakhr Seʿadya b. Avraham Ibn al-Amshāṭī ("son of the comb-maker"), had acted as collector of mezonot, or money for bread for the poor, on the same date. Witnessed by Shelomo b. Yehuda ha-Kohen and Tiqva b. Simḥa b. Mevasser he-Ḥaver. The document is crossed out with a vertical stroke. See BL OR 5542.23 for a letter addressed to the same Abū l-Fakhr Seʿadya Ibn al-Amshāṭī. (Information from Goitein's index card and Med Soc II, Appendix C, #81.)

Letter from Eliyya ha-Kohen b. Yaʿaqov al-Siqillī to Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq Al-Mutaṭabbib Ibn Furāt, in Ramla. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Dating: ca. 1050 CE. The sender is an old, sick man in a foreign land who asks for (unspecified) help. Ends with the rhyming motto ישע יוחש לעם שאין בו נחש (an allusion to Numbers 23:23).

A letter from Abū Zikrī (also called al-Samaw'al) in which he informs al-shaykh al-rashid al-Shemuʾel that upon returning from traveling, he was informed that he held a debt of 95 dinars as a result of false accusations by witnesses against his son Avraham, who lost 132 dinars. He asks al-Rashid to ask the Nagid Avraham what to do. He also congratulates the recipient on his recovery from his illness or injury. On the verso, he includes another question for the Nagid regarding owing 3 dinars of interest a month, and mentions his own illness. (Information from Goitein’s index card and PGP researchers AE and OZ)

Recto: calligraphic note (complete) to Abu 'Imran regarding the binding of a book. Also mentions the color of the silk. As for a certain person coming to see the writer, he strongly discourages it. He refuses to see him at all. This person suggested something that his ears have never heard the like of. The identities of the people are not clear because of the allusiveness. Information from Goitein's note card. Verso: longer letter in the handwriting of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (and signed Musa) to a respected personage involving book business. R. Anatoli seems to have reneged on various promises, and his bad behavior became public knowledge. R. Anatoli said he would only give the Commentary and Masekhet Niddah. Moshe said to him, "But the buyer already [paid to] bind them!" He said, "I'll pay the price of the binding." The convoluted story goes on. The color of silk is mentioned -- so recto and verso must be related, though it is not clear exactly how. The writer is sitting in his house awaiting instructions. ASE.

Calligraphic letter to Abu 'Ali Ḥasan b. Surur b. 'Eli, also known as Yefet b. Sasson (and also had a son named Sasson), confirming that 9 7/8 dinars collected for orphans in the recipient's community had been properly delivered, together with other sums collected by the writer, to Rabbenu Hillel Nezer ha-Nesi'ut Rosh Kalah. See Med Soc III, IX, C, 4, n. 142. Information from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Accounts in the hand of Nahray b. Nissim. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, pp. 303-304.) See PGPID 469 for transcription.

Letter from Barhūn b. Yisḥaq al-Tāhirti to Nahray b. Nissim. Dating: 1045–96 CE. The sons of the late Nagid, who are owed favors, have asked Barhūn to help their cousin (ibn khāl) travel to Alexandria. Barhūn wonders if Nahray might take him along when he travels. Barhūn has already asked a certain Abū Isḥāq (apparently another Barhūn) to give the cousin 50 dirhams. Nahray should make sure Abū Isḥāq has done that, and perhaps he can also contribute some money of his own. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, pp. 303-304.)

Communal letter from the Iraqi Gaʾon Shemuel b. ʿEli (active last third of the 12th century). In the hand of Yosef b. Yaʿaqov Rosh ha-Seder? (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Beginning fragment of letter from Yeshu'a Gaon to communities in Fustat ca. 1010.

Legal document. Dated: Monday, 2 Iyyar 1398 Seleucid, which is 1087 CE. Location: Fustat. Moshe b. Elḥanan comes before the court and declares that he has appointed Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon b. Shelomo ha-Levi ("known as Ibn Levi") as his agent for his affairs while he is Yemen. The agent is to look after his compound (rabʿ) in Fustat in Sūq al-Baṭṭāṭin, which consists of two houses. There are a few words in Arabic script on verso referring to a deposit (wadīʿa). (Information from Goitein's attached notes.)

Will of Yaʿaqov b. Dunash b. Yehuda Resh Sidra, dealing mainly with expenses for his burial in Jerusalem. He appoints his brother-in-law Natan b. Shelomo the executor, and leaves 5 dinars to Shalom b. Natan, the son of his sister and brother-in-law. Dated 9 Adar II 1064 CE (4824), Fustat. See Med Soc III, IX A 2, n. 64.

Legal document. Deed of compensation / bill of release. Dated: 1337 Seleucid (1025–26) CE. Location: Fustat. Written in the hand of Avraham, son of the Gaon. From a woman named Turayk ("Little Turk") to the wakīl al-tujjār Muḥsin b. Ḥusayn and a number of his family members: three sons, three daughters (Sarwa, Fāʾiza, and Nabīla) and his wife, Fahda. Turayk had lived in Muḥsin's house for more than 10 years, so her heirs might have been able to argue that she should have given part of it to the female members of the household, who had meanwhile come of age. (Information from Med. Soc. 3:45)