Geniza Lab

One side: Possibly a panegyric poem addressed to someone named Ibn Yaghmūr: يا ابن يغمور في الولايا . . . / وتعاطيت فوق قدرك . . . / وتحجبت عن عيون البرايا / وعليك الدعا في . . . / وبنو عمك المشدين . . . /. There is also a line of upside down text mentioning Fāṭima. The other side: Very faded text in Arabic script mentioning al-Ḥājj Ibrāhīm.

Top of a letter in Arabic script addressed to Sittī al-Wasṭāniyya (cf. T-S 10J11.11 for this as a woman's name). Only the first four lines with the formulaic greetings are preserved. Begins "ruqʿatī ilā ḥaḍrat sittī al-wasṭāniyya wa-l-ʿazīza ʿalā qalbī wa-ʿindī...."

Document in Arabic script. Tax receipt?

Recipes and lists of materia medica, including simples such as rose oil, salt, copper filings, and sal ammoniac. On verso, two different hands and inks, plus Coptic numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Receipt or order of payment, probably. In Arabic script. Mentions a name, 5 dinars, and a date. Additional jottings on verso.

Minute fragment

Too little text remains to identify; possibly a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Two folios. List of dozens of names and houses/households. In Arabic script. Most entries are crossed out. Entries are separated by a circle with a dot in it. Mentions people such as Riḍwān al-Qūṣī, "the man from Giza," and the amīr Faraḥ/Faraj. Gives landmarks such as "Khawkhat Sūsū" (the covered alley of Sūsū). Also Nūr al-Dawla the brother of the wālī. Join: Alan Elbaum. Merits further examination.

Note/order in the handwriting of Avraham Maimonides. In Judaeo-Arabic. He tells Eliyyahu the Judge to go together with Abū l-Faḍl al-jābī (the collector) and the messenger of the amir to the house of the glassmaker (or 'the house of glass (manufacture?)'), to honor the messenger, and to fulfill the order of the amir by paying the rent of the מכנאס(?). AA. ASE.

Family letter in Arabic, in Arabic script. There are a handful of Hebrew words, also in Arabic script. Dating: Likely 11th century, based on the reference to the Tustaris. After the opening greetings, the sender reports on somebody who was sick with fever (ḥummā) and chills (bard) for 40 days but who then improved. Mentioned next: a house, rent, a banker (al-Ṣayrafī), 2.5 dinars paid in nuqra every year, and renovations (tarammum/tarammama). In the upper margin of recto, mentions a woman planning to travel; also mentions the Tustaris (al-Dasātira) and Umm Abū l-Khayr(?). On verso the sender is talking about another woman (Umm ʿAzzūz?) and says more about the house — cleaning it and its roof (naẓẓafnā al-dār kullhā... al-saṭḥ...). There is a line that contains the Hebrew word "dreams' (الحلوموث). The letter concludes with a report on the children, who are all well. One of the female family members wishes to travel. She has been studying a tafsīr but has finished (qad faraghat). Sittūna (a female name) is studying the book of Kings. Abū Manṣu{r?} is studying the book of Samuel. Someone is studying the Torah with Shelomo Ibn al-[...]. This letter offers a rare glimpse into the religious education of girls, perhaps upper-class Qaraite girls, based on the casual reference to the Tustaris. Merits further examination. ASE

List of materia medica. (Information from CUDL)

List of materia medica, including simples such as celery, false bdellium, turpeth, aloes, sarcocolnla, and wormwood. (Information from CUDL)

List of materia medica, including simples such as tamarind, saffron, jujube, berbers, and plums. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Arabic script to the writer's father Abū Isḥaq Ibrāhīm b. Sunbāṭ al-Siqillī. Only the opening greetings and the address are preserved. The writer is most likely Shemuel b. Ibrahīm, the same writer as T-S 10J11.22. ASE.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Accounts in Arabic script and Coptic numerals

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Recto: Letter, probably. In Arabic script. Too rubbed to be read clearly.

Verso: Copy of a receipt of payment for two months of ground rent (ḥikr) in Qasr al-Shamʿ issued to the elder Abū Ḥasan b. Efrayim b. Maḥfūẓ, written by Ismaʿīl b. Ḍiyā. The total payment was 1/4 dinar in cash. Dated: Jumādā II 439 AH, which is 1047 AH. (The payments themselves were for Rabīʿ ī and Rabīʿ II 439 AH.) (Information from CUDL and Khan.)