Geniza Lab

Letter of recommendation concerning one of the chief people in Sunbat, who had to flee because he could not afford to pay his own and his son's capitation tax. (Mentioned by N. Golb in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 33 [1974], p. 142)

Court notebook. Location: Fustat. Ff. 1r–2r: Betrothal contract between Sitt al-Kull bt. ʿEli from Fusṭāṭ and Moshe b. Yisrael from al-Maḥalla, in which the bride agrees to follow her husband to his domicile. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, and signed by Ḥalfon and Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen. Dated Ḥeshvan 1443 Seleucid, which is 1131 CE. F. 2v: Betrothal (erusin) contract. Fiancé: Yosef b. ʿEli Ibn Qashqūsh. Fiancée: [Sitt al-]Jamīʿ bt. Shelomo, a virgin. Dated: middle decade of Ṭevet 1443 Seleucid, which is 1132 CE, under the authority of Maṣliaḥ Gaon. Marriage payments: 1 + 10 = 11. This means that Sitt al-Jamīʿ was extremely poor. Written and signed by Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen. Also signed by Ḥiyya b. Meshullam. The postscript states that he divorced her and she received the geṭ (before the consummation of the wedding?). T-S AS 148.16 is their bill of divorce. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Almeria; Monday, 29 of Av, 4898; August 8, 1138 This is a short letter written by Yiṣḥaq b. Barukh, certainly from Almeria, to Ḥalfon, who was apparently staying in Lucena, and hinted that the subject of the letter was Abū l-Rabīʿ al-Lusani, that is, a man of Lucena. The writer sent sixty Mitkal, through three different messengers, 'by Rabbi Yehuda b. Giyat', referring to the sixty out of the hundred that, according to certificate ח30, were received from Tilimsān and which b. Giyat had to deliver to Yehuda ha-Levi. One of the two ships that sailed from Alexandria, mentioned in certificate ה30, arrived at Almeria. One of the passengers was Abū l-Barakāt b. Harith, who said that peace be upon Ḥalfon’s brother, he is Eli the Judge. Abū l-Barakāt did not see the letters Ḥalfon sent to Egypt before he left Egypt. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Letter from Avraham b. Farah from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1055. Regarding ships movement from Alexandria to Sicily and back. Mentions several ships, including the ship of Abu al-Husain b. al-Shari and Ibn Avi Akil. Also mentions a shipment of oil that arrived in bad condition and that he is worried about the situation in Alexandria. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #549) VMR

Letter from Musa b. Abi al-Hayy from Alexandria to Yosef b. Musa ha-Tahirati, Fustat. Around 1055. The writer is available to work because Avraham b. Farah prevented him from selling trading goods that he had. Mentions details about ships in the Nile which are about to depart. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 3, pp. 530-533, #459). VMR

Recto: Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to someone with the title al-Shaykh al-Rashīd. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 1218–38 CE, based on the name of the sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil, which appears on verso. Shelomo begs forgiveness (mustaʿdhir) for something having to do with his need to study more (? al-qirā'a ʿalā _____) and benefit from the addressee's wisdom. Verso: Remnants of accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and jottings in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script, including phrases from a formal letter/petition. ASE.

Letter from Avraham b. Faraḥ from Alexandria, to ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣedaqa, Fustat. Around 1050. Regarding shipping fabrics and sending dinars to Fustat for exchange. Also mentions other shipments of goods, including of crocus. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #542) VMR

Letter from Yosef b. Yeshu'a, Alexandria, to Yosef b. Awkal (1028 or 1029).

Letter segment from Avraham b. Saadya the Hebronite, Bilbays, to Shelomo b. Shelah, probably in Fustat, beginning of the twelfth century.

Letter from Barhun b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Tahirtī, in al-Mahdiyya, to a younger relative. Around 1050. Barhūn informs that a shipment of goods is on its way, mentions that a few relatives are in Sūsa, and shares his willingness to send his father's bones to Jerusalem (his father died in 1049). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 3, pp. 302-303, #383). VMR

Recto: Letter of appeal from Mahfūẓ b. Mūsā and his brother Musallam/Muslim. In calligraphic Judaeo-Arabic. The writer describes the humiliation his family (or wife?) has experienced at the hands of the authorities (al-sulṭān) because he is delinquent in paying the capitation tax (here called kharāj) for the last two years ('years 8 and 9'). He asks for help. Verso: Document in Arabic script, which looks like it mentions various quantities and saffron. Information in part from CUDL. ASE.

Letter from a merchant in Alexandria to a business associate in Fustat, advising him to dispose of goods costing a large amount of money and, “This letter of mine is your proof in court.” The writer also notes he received a loan of 80 dinars from a compatriot and asks that all consignments to himself should be turned over to his creditor. Eleventh century. (S. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, 1:254, 291, 464, 272; 2:337, 601) EMS

Letter from a widow, with one orphaned daughter and whose house had collapsed, petitioning a high-ranking official in the community for assistance. The woman employs the common strategy of appealing especially for her fatherless daughter, and indicates furthermore that she herself was an orphan. (Mark Cohen, Voices of the Poor, 89) EMS

Maybe Alexandria; End of 1139 - middle of 1140 Ḥalfon writes to Yūsuf Ibn al-Khāzin, one of the dignitaries of Almeria, Spain, and asks for his help in delivering a dispatch sent by the Egyptian judge Rabbi Elʿazar b. al-Kasabi to his brother in Lucena. This note, which was apparently attached to a letter already written by Ḥalfon to the addressee, is one of three notes dealing with the same matter, which he wrote to different people in Almeria. See certificate ה61, which is also one of the three. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Recto: Letter from an unknown writer, in Ramle, to an unknown addressee, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 11th century. "When, on a rainy day, the qadi of Ramle ordered a Jewish merchant to proceed to Egypt under the supervision of a guard (which was a costly affair), Muslims and Jews present (in this order) had mercy for him and persuaded the qadi to grant him a stay of fifteen days." "The writer carried with him goods belonging to Abū Naṣr, probably the famous Tustari, of Cairo, for which he had no sufficient authority. A delegate of the qadi was to accompany him so that he might not sell part of the goods on his way, for instance in Ascalon. Fifteen days were pIenty of time for a letter going to Cairo and coming back with Abū Naṣr's instructions to the qadi. The writer mentions also that he did not feel well that day (wa-anā wajiʿ). For the legal term rassam, see Med Soc II, 372 and 609, n. 46." Verso: list of names, including Abū l-Surūr and Abū Manṣūr. Information from CUDL and Goitein, Med Soc V, 534–535.

Letter from Salman b. Harun, maybe from Mazar, to Aaish b. Sedaka, Alexandria. Around 1045. The writer asks Aaish to take care of two shipments that he shipped to Egypt so they will not be left on the seashore. In addition, he asks him to collect some of the debts that people (probably) from Fustat owe him. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 519-521, #770). VMR

Letter from Natan b. Avraham to Ḥalfon. Dating: ca. 1037 CE. The writer excuses himself for not seeing the recipient off. The writer was not the host, but he had talked to the recipient a few days before his departure. His excuse is that he had an intense pain, like colic, and he could hardly sit down, let alone stand or ride. The illness persisted for most of the day, and when it relented and Natan asked after Ḥalfon, he was told that he had already departed. Information in part from Goitein's note card.

Draft of a financial (partnership?) agreement between Nathan ha-Kohen and ʿArūs, regulating what happens if the partners die, etc. (Information from CUDL)

Verso: Text (possibly a sermon) dealing with death, pain after losing a loved one and similar issues, with marginal jottings in Arabic and Hebrew script. (Information from the Cambridge Genizah Research Unit via FGP).

Letter fragment from Ṭoviya b. ʿEli ha-Kohen to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. The carrier of the note is an in-law. The writer's handwriting is known from other letters, and he signed his name on verso of this one. EMS. ASE.