Geniza Lab

Beginning of a petition from Yosef b. Moshe asking the addressee, his lord and master (mawla and sayyid) for a favour, describing himself as modest, shy (muhtashim). Address on verso.

Deed about paying a debt in installments, probably by a husband (Meshullam, known as Abu al-Makarim) to his wife (Sitt al-Baha bt. Yehuda). The document likely includes the condition that if the husband were to claim that he has paid without it being written on the back of the deed or corroborated by two witnesses, his claim would be void. (Oded Zinger, Women, Gender and Law: Marital disputes according to documents of the Cairo Geniza, 150-1) EMS

Left part of a letter from Nahray b. Nissim, who also wrote the letter enquiring about commercial matters and conveying greetings. Ca. 1055.

Fragment of a letter from Nahray b. Nissim, probably to Busir to an unknown addressee. Around 1055. Mentions several products and sends greetings, including to the people who were involved in buying flax. Verso contains illegible lists in the hand of al-Tahirti (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #259) VMR

Business letter mentioning Ismāʿīl and conveying greetings to him (on recto). The writer informs the addressee that he has sent him some wares and instructs him to purchase some other commodity.

Introduction page for a book of praise ‘originally sung from the Temple’, translated into Arabic (possibly a translation of Psalms). On both sides are jottings in Arabic and Hebrew script. (Information from CUDL)

Financial settlement between Shela b. Yoel Ibn al-Sofer and his divorced wife and the mother of his child, Ḥusn bt. Avraham ha-Kohen. Dating: Probably second half of the 13th century. The former wife will keep and nurse the boy in exchange of a daily payment of 1/2 nuqra from the moment the child was born. The arrangement is initially for one year with the prospect of further agreements. In case she wishes to retain the boy after that period, she has no further claim on him. The name "Yoel" is vocalized, as it was a rare name. On verso there are several entries recording monthly payments in Arabic script; one of them appears to mention the year 68[.] AH, which would be 1281–91 CE. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Legal document draft in which Mevorakh b. Shelomo, known as Ibn al-Natira, declares to owe Meshullam b. Mevasser b. Pinhas al-Damiri 120 and one-half dinars. Dated 1409 of the Seleucid Era (Iyyar 1100). (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS

Legal transaction made in front of witnesses in which Nethanel b. Shelomo acknowledges to owe Amram b. Nafia three dinars for a sold commodity.

Letter probably in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (d. 1230s) addressed to someone he calls "the great rabbi." In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter consists entirely of expressions of deference, blessings for the holiday, and greetings to various people, including 'the noble lady' (al-sitt al-jalīla), 'the mother,' and Bū Zikrī (probably Shelomo's brother). (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein's notes.) EMS

Betrothal agreement between Perahya b. Arah and Sitt al-Ahl whose trustworthiness is mentioned in the document. Both the bride and groom are fatherless. The bride's representative, a brother of her mother, received twenty dinars as betrothal silver. At the wedding she would receive another fifty dinars as the first installment of her marriage gift. The second half was seventy or ninety dinars. In addition she was promised a khila, a festive attire consisting of a robe, a tiara and a wimple for the wedding. Her dowry included a house (or parts in it) and half a store. Ca. 1100.

Partnership (sharika) agreement. In Arabic script. Dated: 24 Shawwāl 450 AH, which is 14 December 1058 CE. The three partners are Wuḥaysh b. Saʿīd b. Ibrāhīm the Jew; Barakāt b. Ismāʿīl; and Futūḥ b. Nassāj b. Rajā. The partnership is for the trade of horse-cloth in the shop known as 'horse bit' in the compound (rabʿ) of Sulaymān b. Kisā. The capital is 173 dinars. Wuḥaysh is assigned 23, and the remaining money is divided equally between Barakāt and Futūḥ. Wuḥaysh attests that he has received all the money due to him. See Khan's edition for the term "compound" (rabʿ) and the other potential meanings if it is to be read rubʿ instead. (Information from Khan.)

Letter of appeal for charity from Abū l-Majd to the physician (ḥakīm) Yeshuʿa ha-Levi. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer needs help paying 20 silver dirhams (nuqra) which he still owes on account of his capitation tax. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter from an unknown writer in Qūṣ to an unknown addressee in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 12th century. The writer reports that the children and their mother arrived safely in Qūṣ after a terrible Nile voyage that lasted 45 days. The writer sends various instructions to be executed in Fustat. He mentions numerous people including Abū Naṣr, Abū Surūr b. al-Amʿaṭ, Abū l-Makārim Ibn Nufayʿ (whose son also arrived safely in Qūṣ), Abū l-Munajjā, and Abū ʿAlī. Information from Goitein's attached transcription.

Letter from Yosef b. Yaʿaqov b. Yahaboy, probably in Amalfi, to a partner, in al-Mahdiyya. Dating: ca. 1040. Describes a long sea voyage that lasted about 70 days on board a Christian ship. The journey probably started in Alexandria and went through Constantinople, Crete and Amalfi. Yosef b. Yaʿaqov b. Yahaboy asks his partner to sell some flax and indigo and instructs him what to do with the money that he will receive. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 390.)

Letter from Abū Isḥāq. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer is in difficult straits due to a business matter and dealings with the dīwān. Repeatedly mentions a qisṭ (payment due?), Ibn al-Qasṭallānī, and ṣāḥib al-ḥawāla. Needs more examination.

Court record concerning the inheritance of Abū ʿImrān Mūsā b. Yaʿaqov Qābisī, of the Ibn Jāmiʿ family, left to him after the death of his father Yaʿaqov b. Mūsā in Palermo and of his brother Sahlūn in Alexandria. Mūsā b. Yaʿaqov presented to the court in Fusṭāṭ an earlier document issued by a court in Qayrawān on Wednesday, 20 Elul 4792 (1032). The Qayrawān document showed that Yosef b. Yaʿaqov Ṭarābulusī was authorized to govern the inheritance. It also contained a statement of Yaʿaqov b. Mūsā’s widow that she had no claims to the inheritance. Two years later Mūsā b. Yaʿaqov appeared before a court in Fusṭāṭ asking them to issue a document exempting Yosef b. Yaʿaqov Ṭarābulusī from responsibility for the inheritance, which Mūsā has now received in full. The document was issued on Thursday, 21 of the second Adar 4794 (1034). The surviving Fusṭāṭ court record was prepared at the end of Adar 4794. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 406.)

Booklist

Fragment of a book that belonged to the Head of the Gola Daniel b. Hisdai, end of the 12th century. Seems like the book was given as a gift to Nahum ha-Kohen b. Mansur, and belonged to Daniel b. Hisdai from April 25, 1135, then to Ya’aqov b. Eli from August 1174, and then was given to Nahum. The book contains parts written by Rav Se’adya Gaon and Rav Shemuel ha-Kohen Gaon b. Hofni. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #92) VMR

Rough draft of a ketubba (marriage contract), with instructions to the scribe for drawing up the final version. Possibly written by the judge Ḥayyim known from other documents as a judge in the court of David I Maimonides and a relation by marriage. Dating: late 13th century, perhaps 1291–92. Written under the authority of the Nagid David b. Avraham b. Moshe Maimonides. The groom, Avraham, redeemed a woman who had been taken captive in ʿAkko, and now wishes to marry her. His wife consents for him to take a second wife and to even take two more wives after her (for a total of 4). Friedman deduces that the year is probably 1291 or 1292, because David Maimonides was in exile in ʿAkko from his enemies in Egypt from approximately 1285–89, and the Muslim conquest of ʿAkko from the Crusaders in 1291 is a likely occasion for a Jewish woman to have been taken captive and need to be redeemed. The Nagid David, back in Cairo, could have presided over this legal case due to his connections to the remaining Jewish community in ʿAkko. This is a very unusual document, and Goitein went so far as to call it, "the most bizarre Geniza document, both in content and outer appearance, I have ever seen." (Information from Friedman Polygyny, pp. 95–106.)