Geniza Lab

Deed of acknowledgment (iqrār). In Arabic script. Dated: 5 Ṣafar 520 AH, which is 2 March 1126 CE. Sayyid al-Kull b. Jaʿfar, a clothier in Fustat (al-bazzāz bi-Miṣr), acknowledges a debt of 270 dirhams to the Jew Abū Hiba(?) b. ʿImrān.

A vocalized Hebrew letter mostly faded. The addressee is the son of Abu Sahl. In the margins the name Bundar is visible.

Letter in Arabic script, beautifully written. The upper part and the lower part are missing. On verso there is part of the Passover Haggada. "We heard from a group of the merchants arriving from Fustat/Egypt that there arrived a lot of the merchandise (? al-ḥaml) which comes from Yemen, and it must be sold 'whether by money or loss' (in shāʾa bi-l-naqd in shāʾa bi-l-faqd). They have not been freed with it (? mā tatakhallaṣū bihi) from the Byzantines or the [...]." Might then mention brazilwood (baqqam) and lac. "And if the [...] does not sell (in kāna kāsid), by God, we have taken a beating (? ḍuribnā), I and Abū l-Barakāt, from distress and demands (al-ḍīqa wa-l-muṭālaba). We ultimately settled with the Maghribīs concerning the customs for the wheat which they must pay, 39 dinars [...]." (There are more specifics about the customs duties given, but they are difficult to read.) "And we wrote the receipts (al-wuṣūlāt), but they were not content, and this is part of the distress and demands. And there passed between Abū l-Barakāt...." When the letter resumes in the margin, there is a ṣalwala and ḥasbala, and the continuation is too fragmented to make sense of. ASE

A draft of a pre nuptial agreement between husband and wife, contains most of the known stipulations found in marriage documents during the 12th century such as the monogamy clause, the wife permission to work, domicile stipulation, husband behavior. On the bottom of the page pen trials. On recto a poem. AA

Official letter. Maybe a petition? Dated 4 Shaʿbān 566 (or 567 or 568?) AH, which is 12 April 1171 CE, if read correctly. The tarjama refers to the sender as from "al-dīwān al-shamsī al-saʿīd"—potentially a bureaucrat in the service of Shams al-Dīn Turanshah (Saladin's brother). After the date, refers to a sum of money. On verso there is Hebrew piyyut.

Medical prescription in Arabic script. On recto there is Hebrew literary text.

Huge model of a begging letter. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. From one who boasts to have belonged to ‘the owners of money’ (aṣḥāb al-amwāl) and became one of those who lost their riches (מיורדים מנכסיהם). Written on a bifolium. One of the pages has Ezekiel 1, another has love poetry in Judaeo-Arabic. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Long Arabic letter. Calligraphic, chancery-esque hand. The scribe wrote with a nicked nib (which may facilitate finding a join). Needs examination for content. There is a Hebrew dirge on verso.

Document of appointment. In Arabic script. Dating: 11th or 12th century. The appointment is likely for a position in the army, mentioning an ‘affair of the Turks’ that the appointed person had dealt with successfully. On verso there is Hebrew poetry including Judah ha-Levi’s יה למתי צפנת. (Information from Khan and CUDL.)

State document in Arabic script. Three lines and the last word of a fourth are preserved. Bestowing titles on the judge Abū Isḥaq (al-qāḍī al-rashīd al-muwaffaq al-sadīd). Dating: 11th–13th century. In between the lines there is a list in Hebrew script—calendrical? On verso there are Hebrew poems. One composition has the heading משה, another the Judaeo-Arabic heading הגר אלדלאל. (Information in part from Khan and CUDL.)

Accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. E.g., "Owed by Ibn al-Kaʿkī...." Various dates are mentioned, but it is not clear if the full year is preserved anywhere. On recto there is a Hebrew/Aramaic text in the hand of a prolific scribe (see Joins Suggestions). Fols. 1 and 3 join; fol. 2 is a small unrelated fragment with unidentified Arabic script (with a bit of Hebrew).

Opening of a petition to an Ayyubid sultan, possibly Al-ʿĀdil I (13th century). On verso there is a piyyuṭ, possibly for Yom Kippur. (Information from Khan and CUDL.)

Unidentified text in Arabic script, likely literary. On the other side there is Hebrew literary text.

Small fragment of a state document, likely a decree. Only two lines are preserved, written in very large letters with huge space between them: "... wa-akmal niʿma wa-afḍal umniya..." Reused on recto for piyyut.

State correspondence. Five lines are preserved, and possibly a copy of a sixth line. Almost all the preserved text is flattery and expressions of loyalty and blessings. Notably, it refers to "continuing in (state) service (fī l-khidma) in Damascus," likely in reference to the sender. On verso there is Hebrew piyyuṭ.

Fol. 1v: Muslim marriage contract. In Arabic script. Groom: Zayd b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. 1.5 (dinars) are mentioned. May be dated. Fol. 2v: Fragment of a deed of sale for real estate. In Arabic script. Fol. 3v: Accounts in Arabic script.

Most of the page contains series of poems. On one page there is a short note addressed to Eliyyahu the Judge from an in-law of his. "In which I inform Rabbi Eliyya: If I were to describe the severity of my illness and my pain, you would say, 'How can this one walk on the earth?!'" The sender goes on to complain about the difficult circumstances in which he sent this poetry (so maybe he is the author of the poetry on the other three pages). Greetings to Eliyyahu's wife (called Umm al-Rayyis Abū Zikrī), her daughter, her son, and her siblings.

State document in Arabic script. Reused for Hebrew piyyut.

State document. The right halves of 14 lines are preserved. Maybe an account of some kind. Mentions someone's servants (wa-ghilmānuhū), half of something, and installments (aqsāṭ). On verso there is piyyuṭ. Needs examination.

List of contributors, on verso of page from a siddur: Musaf rosh hodesh. Coptic figures. Headed by 'our lord R. Avraham' (Maimonides?) (Information from Goitein index cards)