Geniza Lab

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, in Jerusalem, to his father Judge Eliyyahu, in Fustat. Reporting on 'irregularities' of his brother Abu Zikri. See Goitein Nachlass material

Account. Computation of sums handled by a Parnas, ca. 1151. An anonymous parnas apparently farmed out the revenue of a certain section of the estates of the qodesh, for a period of 16 months. He had to pay the qodesh 16 dir. a month. He is credited with various sums which he has paid in the meantime and which are to be deducted from the sum owed by him. Mention is also made of his father, who also took part in the operations. Written in the hand of Judge Hiyya b. Yitzhak. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 267 #53)

Letter from Ibrāhīm b. Ṣadaqa the perfumer, in Ashqelon, to Abū Saʿīd Netan'el b. Ṣadaqa the perfumer, in Fustat. Dating: Ca. 1116 CE. Written in Hebrew, in a strange flowery script. The addressee is asked to hand over to Tiqva b. Aharon ha-Ashqeloni 5 [dinars?] of the money belonging to his wife Wuḥūsh which is deposited with the addressee. Same writer and addressee as T-S 13J13.3, which is dated Elul 1457 Seleucid (1116 CE). The content is also very similar, except that in T-S 13J13.3, the addressee is supposed to hand over 5 dinars to the writer's relative Abū l-Ḥasan Rajā. Information from Goitein's note card.

Legal document. Location: Fustat. Involves Barakāt al-Kohen, Mūsā known as al-Raṣṣāṣ, a widow, Abū l-ʿAlā', the Nagid, someone who insists that he is no relation of Barakāt al-Kohen, an inheritance, a tawqīʿ, and payments to 'the orphans.' The fragment is quite damaged and the story is difficult to piece together.

Letter of business to Judge Eliyyahu, mainly about small quantities of sugar candy-- see Goitein Nachlass material

Letter from Yosef b. Farah from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1045. The writer wrote the letter in the Hebrew month of Iyar, before the sailing season is about to start and the merchants starting to negotiate the prices for shipments. Yosef wants to travel to Tripoli, Libya, but he needs to travel to Palermo before that. The writer adds a recommendation for Avon b. Ṣedaqa, from his town, Gabès (Qābis). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #509) VMR

Letter from Akhlābū b. Aharon ha-Kohen, in Alexandria, to Yosef b. Eli Kohen Fasi, in Fustat. Around 1051. The writer charged 10 dinars and wrote their details. Wahb b. Sulaymān al-Mawṣilī returned to Upper Egypt, with sorrow, because of the riots (it is not clear what he means). The writer asks to know the prices of pepper and flax in the commercial center in Fustat (“Kaluz”). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #703) VMR

Letter addressed to Avraham b. Natan Av Beit Din. In Hebrew. The first 28 lines of the introduction are preserved. Written in an elegant style. Sharp-edged ('Talmudic') script. Large empty space at the top of the page. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter addressed to Aharon ha-Memunne b. Efrayim Ibn Ṭarsūn. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The first five lines of the letter are in a different hand than the body; perhaps a professional prepared a form letter addressed to the notable Aharon, and the writer filled in the rest with his specific requeest. The writer comes from a distant country (but writes in Arabic). He asks the addressee to attend his sermon on Shabbat in the synagogue, and to treat him in his capacity of scholar differently from other wayfarers. See tag for similar invitations to sermons. Information from Goitein's index card.

Legal: partnership agreement. Dated: Thursday, 10 Kislev 5319 AM (חושה), which is 1558/59 CE.The partners Yehuda Castro and Namir Viryuti (? וריוטי) enter into a partnership for selling (ostrich) feathers (נוצה) in Venice. Namir has obtained 140 raṭls of feathers, and Yehuda has shipped them to Venice for the price of 116 gold Venetian ducats and 24.5 medins, apart from the costs of shipping and customs. Yehuda is to receive 3/4 of the profits and Namir 1/4. Information from Avraham David's edition on FGP.

Letter from David al-Qalʿī, perhaps in Minyat Zifta or nearby, to Yosef al-Faranji (it seems his uncle), perhaps in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: mid-16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment and identification of the people named. The letter deals mainly with a request for the addressee to send wheat to the writer, and gives details about how the wheat market is faring in his location. Information in part from Avraham David's edition (FGP).

21 pages from a large ledger recording donations from the early years of the 19th c. See tag for several other shelfmarks containing pieces of the same ledger.

25 pages from a large ledger recording donations from the early years of the 19th c. See tag for several other shelfmarks containing pieces of the same ledger.

Legal document. Partnership. Dated: 1215-1216 CE. This fragment emerged from the court of Avraham Maimonides. The partners ʿImrān Moshe al-Iskandarī b. Bū Manṣūr ha-Zaqen and Abū al-Ma‘ālī b. Ḥalfon ha-Levi ha-Zaqen contract a partnership. The division of profits and losses is not retained in the preserved portion of the document, but allusions to it in line 15 indicate it was outlined clearly. Line 12 suggests it was an "‘isqa under the rules of a commenda", in which case the active partner would have received 1/3 of the profits and not have been responsible for losses. The active partner, apparently Moshe, was to journey as far as Aden; that the partners were to be separated by distance suggested by the fact that Moshe takes upon himself "the avoidance of betrayal". (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", pp. 275-276)

Legal document written and signed by Natan ha-Kohen, in which Abu al-Faraj the physician permits his debtor Abu al-Ḥasan b. Mu'ammar b. al-Batt to pay him a debt of 22 dinars and 70 dirhams in rates of one/fourth dinar each month, beginning with Tevet 1441/ December 1129. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 252, and from Goitein's index cards)

Account of Abu al-Faraj the physician upon his arrival from Damietta. Dated to ca. 1130.

Legal fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Shevat 1341 Seleucid, which is 1030 CE. Written by Bishr b. Yefet ha-Ḥazzan b. David ha-Ḥazzan. Validated by Shemuel ha-Kohen b. Avṭalyon. The purpose of the document is to attest that Manṣūr b. Yosef gave to Barhūn b. Thābit al-Ṣā'igh the power-of-attorney to make out a bill of divorce for his wife Surūra. This was attested in "al-Ṣaʿīd al-Fawqānī" by Ghālib b. Faraj and Abū Saʿīd Maymūn b. Dandūsa. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter from one of the Sughmār family to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1080. The main part of the letter is a recommendation for a person named Isḥāq, the student of Isḥāq al-Ifranji. The writer also mentions business matters: dinars exchange and a request to pay the rent for two houses that he rented to Nahray in Alexandria. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #626) VMR

Court record. This is a copy of the marriage contract (ketubba) between Shemuel Kahna b. Nissim and Fā'iza bt. Yūsuf, originally dated Tuesday, 2 Heshvan 1357 Seleucid, which is 15 October 1045 CE. The copy of the marriage contract is introduced with a statement that Fā'iza came to the court and asked them to copy the marriage contract into the court ledger ('shimmush') so that it would serve as a proof, because she intends to send an agent to claim a bill of divorce and her mu'akhkhar (delayed marriage payment). Information from Goitein's note card.

Court record in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Dating: Mentions the date Av 1425 Seleucid, which is 1114 CE. This is a post-divorce settlement. The former husband, Seʿadya b. Avraham, and the former wife, Jawhara bt. Seʿadya known as Abū l-Yumn b. al-Baṣal, release each other from all claims. She initiated the divorce by agreeing to forego the delayed payment from her marriage contract (this is known as "ransom" or iftidā'), and the court obligated him to give her the bill of divorce. The ex-husband does commit to maintaining their infant daughter by giving Jawhara 10 dirhams each month and 8 pieces of clothing each year. Information from Friedman's edition and from Goitein's index card.