Geniza Lab

Accounts in the hand of ʿArūs b. Yosef (the addressee of the letter on recto).

Goitein suggests that this letter was addressed to Arus b. Yusuf al-Arjawani because reference is made to 'Allan, his sister's son, and to his partner Siba. The writer is about to embark on an Andalusian ship to go to Spain. Wool is mentioned, the price of which is six dinars per qintar. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Medical treatise in Judaeo-Arabic.

Medical treatise in Judaeo-Arabic. Dealing with skin and hair.

Text of the oath that Bū ʿImrān must swear to his brother Abū l-Maʿānī concerning his mercantile activities, the price of a house, and the payment of the capitation tax during the time when Abū l-Maʿānī was absent (in Yemen or India). In the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. On verso there are also entries about the sale or exchange of books, perhaps in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. Information from Goitein's attached notes.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Faded.

Letter from a man to his son-in-law. In Ladino. Dating: Perhaps on the earlier side, 16th or 17th century (based on hand and vocabulary). The left side is torn off, so the content is difficult to reconstruct. There are business instructions, perhaps dealing with jewellery (anillos + las dos piedras). The sender may also mention his daughter once or twice. Mentions the currency 'ducado' (last line of the margin). There may be a name in the lower right margin: it looks like פייגוז אבו סבאק, which may be the sender's mercantile company.

Accounts in Ladino.

Literary text in Hebrew. Late. Questions and answers, numbered.

Recto: Legal document in Arabic script. Describing a property. Beautifully written. Needs further examination. On verso there is a piyyut in Hebrew. FGP Joins Suggestions yields dozens of fragments that resemble verso and that have Arabic script on the other side. Information in part from Goitein's note card.

Jewish (not Muslim) religious text. Written mainly in Arabic script but with some Hebrew mixed in. Having to do with the Exodus. Some of the phrases sound like biblical translations, but identification of exact source verses is tricky.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. A jeweler notes jewelry brought, polished and repaired, and sold. Important for study of profit. Mentions sharika and בשכאס(?). (Information from Goitein's note card.)

Recto: Literary text in Arabic script. Historical or philosophical. Containing various questions; the first is attributed to Amīr al-Mu'minīn and mentions Muʿāwiya. Verso: Judaeo-Arabic poetry. Information from FGP.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and in Arabic script. Partially written in red ink and with large letters.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Many names are mentioned. Almost every line is crossed out.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Looks old, maybe 11th century.

Right column: Judaeo-Arabic love poetry. A blazon of the beloved, mentioning, among many other things, his "gaze of Babylonian enchantment." Left column: Written in larger letters but probably the same hand. At first glance it reads like a draft of the opening of a standard Judaeo-Arabic letter. But it is heavier on the lovesickness than usual, and this is poetry, not prose, which is given away by the rhyme and the long vowels of qalaqī and taḥtariqī. Further, the speaker is not addressing the recipient but rather the bearer (not necessarily human) of the love letter: "Deliver my letter to my master and in{f}orm him that great is my longing and distress. / I am deprived of all joys and pleasures of the world because of his absence, my heart blazes in the fire." ASE

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic, with one line in Arabic script. On recto there appears to be an itemized bill for (ʿalā) Abū l-Ḥasan for the year '16. The portion on verso mentions entering Alexandria.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script (including li-ʿAbbās adāma llāhu ʿizzahu). Dating: Probably 11th or 12th century.

A few words in large Arabic script (fragment of a decree?). "... an nudhkirahu li-nakhruja ilā dīwān..." On verso there is a discussion of Purim in Judaeo-Arabic.