Geniza Lab

Very effaced record of testimony with partially visible date reading Iyyar 15?5.

Letter from Yaʿaqov to his father. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer had not received a letter from the addressee for some time (arjū shughl khayr). It seems he heard bad news about the addressee from the ghulām of [...] and was very worried. Someone else came down with a terrible illness (maraḍa maraḍ shadīd), but he is now in good health. This person cried out (yastaghīth) "sīdi, sīdi!" all day long. The writer mentions Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAllān. A third person was sick for 20 days with a fever, but he too is better now. It appears that the father began his response on verso. ASE.

Fragment of a letter mentioning proudly the writer's son and reporting the affairs of two men (perhaps brothers or traveling companions).

Fragment of a letter informing the recipient about the arrival of the sender's uncle at Fustat from Alexandria, to whom the recipient should deliver cash on the writer's account. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter fragment from Yosef to Abū l-Faḍl b. ʿAmrīṣ. In Judaeo-Arabic. Containing remarks about business transactions including the delivery of a consignment of glass.

Letter apparently referring to Crusader persecutions. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century. The letter consists essentially entirely of formulaic phrases, and it may even be a formulary or draft based on the appearance of "fulān" twice at the bottom of verso. However, Abū l-ʿAlā' is greeted in the margin of verso.

End of a letter from the Iraqi Gaʾon Shemuel b. Ḥofni to a friend who traveled to Fustat. Dated: Ḥeshvan [1]310 Seleucid, which is November 998 CE. He asks the addressee to convey his gratitude to the Persian Qaraite David b. Bābshād (a.k.a. Bapshād). He also asks his friend to influence the Maghreb community in Fustat to improve their relationships with the Gaon. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #48) VMR. This was published by Goitein, “A Letter of the Gaon Samuel b. Hofni, Dated 998, and its Implications on the Biography of the Spanish Poet Isaac b. Khalfon,” Tarbiz, vol. 49, no. 1-2 (October 1979 – March 1980): 199–201 (Hebrew). It is discussed in depth in Rustow, Heresy, pp. 148–50, where there is a partial translation: “I would like to have there [in Fustat], may God be your support, something like what I have here [in Baghdad], [a means] to prod the notables to make contributions,” he wrote. “If you have dealings with or see any of our colleagues [aṣḥābinā] from the Maghrib, may God be their support, please do on my behalf as is your custom among them in prompting them and reminding them about contributing [to the yeshiva] according to their positions of merit. For it is among the punishments that God has visited upon me that He has weakened my position among them.”

Court record in which the wife of Bishr b. Semah, who had stood security for her husband, declares in the presence of two witnesses to his creditor Abu al-Maymun b. Avraham al-Saluki (from Seleucia) that she is no longer responsible for him. Abu al-Maymun replies that he holds only her responsible. Written and signed by Yefet b. David; dated 1339 of the Seleucid Era (= 1028 CE). (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS. Alternate description: F. 2v: Court record concerning affairs between Abū l-Maymūn b. Abraham, Bušr b. Ṣemaḥ and his wife, dated 1339 of the Seleucid Era (= 1028 CE); signed (?) by Yefet the cantor b. David. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document. Shemuel b. Moshe b. Sahl brings Menashshe b. Yaʿaqov b. al-Nihmi to court. The latter promises to pay him one and one-fourth dinars until Iyyar 1028 CE; he owed him three and one-eighth dinars. (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS. Alternate description: 2r: Release from debt by Samuel b. Moses b. Sahl for Menashshe b. Jacob Ibn al-Nihmī, 1339 of the Seleucid Era (= 1028 CE) in Fusṭāṭ. (Information from CUDL.)

1r-v: Agreement between Sari b. ‘Eli and Sedaqa b. […] with regard to goods left by Musafir b. Yish‘i. Shari undertakes to pay after his return from Alexandria, no later than after 40 days. Dated Iyyar, 1028, and witnessed by seven signatories, headed by Yosef ha-Kohen, the judge. (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS

Beginning of a court record. Location: Fustat. Dated: Tammuz 1402 of the Seleucid Era (1091 C.E.). Avraham b. Ṭoviyya ha-Levi is mentioned, no other details preserved. EMS. Probably a join with T-S 8J8.7 + T-S AS 150.120, in which case this is a debt contract certifying that Ibrāhīm owes money to Meshullam. Join by Oded Zinger.

Verso: Letter in Arabic script. Probably related to the legal document on recto, since some of the same names appear. At the top the names Bishāra and ʿAllān b. Saʿīd appear. The letter mentions: someone's in-law Abū Isḥāq; Abū Saʿd al-Ḥalabī; collecting money from someone; Yūsuf; and various business reckonings and instructions. Concludes by mentioning a letter for Sayyidnā al-Rayyis al-Nāsī. Needs further examination.

Recto: Legal document. Partnership record. Dated: February 1092. Location: Fustat. T-S 8J4.11 and T-S NS J6 are part of a record of a trading partnership between Yaḥyā ha-Kohen b. Samuel and ‘Ulla ha-Levi b. Joseph al-Dimashqī, investors with Bishāra the freedman. The full document is comprised of T-S 8J4.11and T-S NS J6 (this record), and T-S 8J4.12 (PGPID 7624). Bishara is to journey to Aleppo and Antioch and to sell goods purchased there in Fusṭāṭ. Bishāra is under instructions to sell only for cash and not to accept credit. Yaḥyā and ‘Ulla are to take two-thirds of the profit, having invested 155 and 1/3 dinars together. Bishāra contributed 20 dinars, and was entitled to one-third of the profit as well as expenses related to the merchandise. Bishāra is not to receive any further daily allowance. Bishāra takes on “the faith of the Heavens”, and agrees not to cheat his partners. Lieberman speculates that T-S Misc 27.4.29 (PGPID 8366) may be a renewal of this partnership relationship. See T-S 8J4.12 (PGPID 2094) for further information about this agreement. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 172-173) Alternate description: Legal document. Partnership record. Dated: February 1092. Location: Fustat. T-S 8J4.11 is part of a record of a trading partnership between Yaḥyā ha-Kohen b. Samuel and ‘Ulla ha-Levi b. Joseph al-Dimashqī, investors with Bishāra the freedman. The full document is comprised of T-S 8J4.12 (this record), and T-S 8J4.11 and T-S NS J6 (PGPID 7623). Bishara is to journey to Aleppo and Antioch and to sell goods purchased there in Fusṭāṭ. Bishāra is under instructions to sell only for cash and not to accept credit. Yaḥyā and ‘Ulla are to take two-thirds of the profit, having invested 155 and 1/3 dinars together. Bishāra contributed 20 dinars, and was entitled to one-third of the profit as well as expenses related to the merchandise. Bishāra is not to receive any further daily allowance. Bishāra takes on “the faith of the Heavens”, and agrees not to cheat his partners. Lieberman speculates that T-S Misc 27.4.29 (PGPID 8366) may be a renewal of this partnership relationship. Witnessed by Ṣedaqa ha-Kohen b. David, Yakhin he-Ḥazzan b. Abraham and Yiṣḥaq b. Elʿazar. Confirmed by Abraham b. Nathan, Avraham b. Shemaʿya he-Ḥaver and Shelomo b. Yosef ha-Kohen. This document was written in duplicate and given to the two investors, Yaḥyā and ‘Ulla. Bishāra, the active partner, seems not to have received a copy. See also T-S 8J4.11 and T-S NS J6 (PGPID 7623). (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 172-173).

Three unsigned court depositions. Location: Damascus. Dating: July 1094 CE and March 1095 CE. They have to do with properties owned by the Zawbaʿa ("Tempest") family. The elder brother was named ʿUthmān b. Yefet. The second brother was Maṣliaḥ b. Yefet known as ha-Gizbar ("the Treasurer"), i.e., he was a government officer. (This Maṣliaḥ is also known from Megillat Evyatar as the man who brought up David b. Daniel b. ʿAzarya.) There were two tyrannical governors in Damascus: Ḥaydara Ibn Manzū (r.1063–64) and Muʿallā Ibn Manzū (r.1068–69). One of these expropriated the property of Maṣliaḥ in the Dār Quzmān neighborhood (near the eastern gate of Damascus, in the Jewish quarter), and the two brothers Maṣliaḥ and ʿUthmān fled the city for Egypt. Some 25 years later, Yefet the son of Maṣliaḥ returned to his birthplace and sued to regain the property abandoned by his father and uncle. In the meantime, another uncle had moved into one of the houses, encroaching beyond the border of the neighboring property owned by his wife. The uncle insisted on bringing the case to the Muslim courts, and Yefet b. Maṣliaḥ here testifies that he was compelled to go to the Muslim courts and did not want to. (Information from Goitein's edition.)

Legal document recording that the parnas Eli ha-Kohen and his colleague testified in court that three orphan girls had received ten dinars bequeathed to them by an uncle in Tyre, which had been sent by Abū al-Khayr b. al-Muʿassal; from 1098. (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS

Legal document. Court record (copy). This document concerns the settlement of an account between Abū al-Mufaḍḍal Netanel b. Yefet and Abū al-Ḥasan Ṭoviyya b. Avraham ha-Levi. Netanel brought a court-validated document specifying that Ṭoviyya owed him 65 dinars. Ṭoviyya claimed that he sent the amount in various commodities (15 pounds of silk worth 15 dirhams, and fragrances worth 15 dinars, in addition to kābulī murabbā (preserve of chebulic myrobalan), as well as 10 dinars in cash) by means of the agent Abū al-Faraj to be sold in Tunisia. It is unclear whether the 65 dinars is a partnership account or a debt owed Netanel by Ṭoviyya. However, that the commodities were sent to be sold in Tunisia (see T-S 8J4.9) suggests that Ṭoviyya has a financial interest in the sale. Depositing the funds with Abū al-Faraj, Netanel and Ṭoviyya have contracted a partnership of sorts for repayment of Ṭoviyya's debt. Lieberman speculates that the Abū al-Faraj al-Wakīl mentioned here may have been Abū al-Faraj Yeshu‘a b. Isma‘īl al-Maghribī, a well-known Tunisian merchant from the late 11th century (see T-S 12.566, PGPID 3181; and T-S 10J20.7, PGPID 2953). A draft copy of this document also exists; see (see T-S 8J4.9, PGPID 2128. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 177).

Two contrary depositions in court concerning a sum of 47 dinars, a female slave, and an apartment. Mentions Abū al-Munajja Thiqat al-Mulk Sulaymān b. Sahl and dated 28 Elul 1098. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society 2:356, 605; and Goitein’s index cards) EMS

Legal document recording that Hārūn b. Joseph undertakes to pay his former partner Masʿūd b. Efrayim two dinars remaining from their former connection in installments of a quarter dinar per month. Kislev, 1098. (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS

Lengthy testimony describing that at the arrival of the ships from the West in Alexandria, Shelomo b. Hillel from Aleppo and Amran b. Yosef from Tyre had a dispute regarding 4 dinars, which was settled after the intervention of colleagues. 21 Av 1098. (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS