Geniza Lab

Memorial list. Merovrakh ha-Dayyan, Natan ha-Dayyan...

Two interesting spells for binding demons to obey you. The handwriting is similar to that of the cantor Abu Sahl (Levi), father of Yedutun and Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (click on the "Abu Sahl Levi" tag for other documents for comparison). Recto: A spell for binding demons by the power of the seal of Solomon. Specific ones conjured include the Cloudy Maymun, the Black Persian Maymun, Shamhorash, and 'Abd al-Rahman. It continues, "O tribe of the Jinn... residents of the wind and the valleys and the deserts and the graves...." Verso: A spell for "tahayyuj." It is to be written Thursday morning in saffron on the parchment of a gazelle and hung up in the wind. "I bind you, o tribe of the Jinn, the Shaytan, the Iblis, the Faqtash, the Zawba'ah... from East and W[e]st and South (Qibliyyan) and North (Bahriyyan)... or from the earth...." Needs further examination together with the join. There is at least one missing line between the two fragments (T-S AS 145.71 + T-S Ar.30.81), but the subject matter of recto and verso are exact matches. Join: Alan Elbaum.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions: Hillel b. Abū [...], the mint (dār al-ḍarb), Damascus, Alexandria, reaching the city/fortress (thaghr) of the sulṭān Sayf [...]; Abū l-Munā Ibn al-Dumyāṭī. The name Shelomo appears on verso (part of the address?). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Legal document in the hand of and signed by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Involves a woman named Sitt al-ʿIrāq. (Information in part from CUDL)

Note in Judaeo-Arabic stating that the amir Timurbugha (תמרבגא) assumed rule on Saturday, 9 Jumādā I 872 AH, which is December 1467 CE. The month is referred to as "Jumādā al-Fard" (גמאדי אלפרד). This is followed by the blessing "may it be a good sign for all Israel. Amen Neṣaḥ Sela.” From other sources, we know that Timurbugha became sultan on Saturday, 5 December 1467 CE and ruled under the name al-Malik al-Ẓāhir before being deposed by Qaitbey two months later. (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein’s index card.) ASE

Order of one raṭl of olive oil (zayt ṭayyib) by Abū Zikrī Kohen. (Information from Goitein’s index card.)

Order from Mordekhai Ḥafeṣ to a cheesemaker (al-muʿallim Yaʿīsh al-Jabbān) to hand over to the bearer of the note 2 ½ [pounds? cheeses?]. (Information from Goitein’s index card.) Goitein notes that from the 13th century onward, workers were addressed as 'muʿallim.' This note may be substantially later.

Verso: Note accompanying payment. Shelomo b. Eliyyahu pays Abū l-Munā 3 of out the 6.5 dirhems he owes. See T-S AS 145.23. (Information from Goitein’s index card.)

Recto: Lower part of a note from an unknown sender to unknown addressee. In the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (like verso)? It seems this is a response to a request for medical prescriptions. There is written ויצף לה ("there is prescribed for him") followed by a blank space, but this is followed by "I showed them... to the noble ones, and these are the papers of his prescriptions....," which is followed by blessings for a speedy recovery.

Bill of divorce (geṭ). Location: Fustat. Dated: 14[..] Seleucid, which means no later than 1188 CE (and probably several decades earlier). The husband appears to be Yosef, and either he or the wife's father is named Abū Saʿd. The word 'his fiancee' appears, so perhaps this is the breaking-off of a betrothal. Witnesses: Yeshuʿa b. Yoshiyya "Nin" and Natan b. Shemuel(?).

Deed of release. Location: New Cairo (where Avraham b. Natan was judge). Date not preserved. Yefet b. Marwān releases the clothier (al-bazzāz) Abū l-Faḍl Yosef b. Avraham ha-Levi from all obligations. Signed by Araḥ b. Shelomo, Merayhot b. Meshullam and Elʿazar b. Menaḥem. The document is written by by Avraham b. Natan Av Bet Din, who signs the validation (qiyyum) together with Avraham b. Shabbetay, Elʿazar b. Yosef ha-Levi and Yosef b. Avraham ha-Levi. On verso there are rhymed wishes including citations from Psalms 115:12 and Malachi 3:16. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Letter from a father to his son. "I heard that you are diligent with your teacher and honoring your mother... My son, you are no longer small. Others of your age are already married. All that I ask of you is to look after your siblings...." He mentions 5 dinars. Greetings to the son's mother, brothers, and sister, and to the teacher who is a ḥaver. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Yosef b. Musa al-Tahirti, from Mahdiyya, to Yeshua b. Isma’il al-Makhmuri, Fustat. February 2, 1063. Mentions a disaster in the sea, and that the ships of b. al-Awad and b. Shiblun were involved in it. The writer does not have any details about what happened and about the losses. Also mentions details about a shipment in the sea from and to the Maghreb. The letter contains details about the political and security situation in Sicily even though the trades with Sicily are still going on. Mentions that Mahdiyya is secure. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #372) VMR

Letter from Yūsuf b. Mūsā al-Tāhartī, to Yeshuaʿ b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī (according to Gil) or to Nahray b. Nissim (Ben-Sasson) in Fustat. Mentions Abū Ibrāhīm (Isḥāq) b. Khalaf, who had written to tell al-Tāhartī that he had sent a pouch containing 500 rubāʿiyya (quarter-dinars) in Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ's ship (r, II. 10–11); also mentions details of maritime transport to and from the Maghreb, a ship accident, and the security and government situation in Sicily, whereas by contrast al-Mahdiyya under Tamīm b. Muʿizz is safe. Dated end of Shevaṭ; Gil notes that the same events are discussed in T-S 16.163, which is dated 8 Elul and mentions the year 453H, and so dates this letter to February 2, 1063. T-S 13J23.18 is the lower part; the upper part (lines 1-4) is T-S AS 145.81. (Information from Gil and Ben-Sasson)

Recto: beginning of a testimony, dated Elul [...] of the Seleucid Era. Verso: short note. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The addressee is called 'my brother.' Unusual handwriting and wide space between the lines.

Legal document dated 1507 of the Seleucid Era (= 1196 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Record of debt with values measured in Venetian zecchini (Ar. bunduqī, a coin minted 1284–1797).

Deed of sale. Dating: Second half of the 16th century. Ṣemaḥ Alanj (? אלנג׳) sells Shemuel Cordoba 19 pounds of a particular kind of coral (מרגאל גשים קצף) for 17 peraḥim and 2 coronas. Shemuel pays 6 peraḥim at this time and still owes 11 perḥim and 2 coronas. The document is signed by Avraham Sambari. There is an addendum written in between the lines at 180 degrees, mentioning the wife of Makhlūf. Ṣemaḥ Alanj is also mentioned in T-S AS 145.87, a deed of release from the year 5329 AM (1568/69 CE).

Memorial list ('bayt al-sofer'). The part containing the names is torn off. On verso there are biblical verses ('is there no balm in Gilead?').