Geniza Lab

4 slips of paper in Latin script. Italian? Needs examination.

Recto: Philosophical/linguistic discussion (lafẓ, maʿnā, majāz...), in a hand which resembles but is not identical with that of Maimonides. Verso: Related discussion, in both Arabic script and Judaeo-Arabic, it seems in the hand of a different scribe.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand is reminiscent of some of the 12th-century India traders, but it awaits proper identification. This is a large section from the middle of the letter, missing both top and bottom. Mentions the letter (or epistle) of Rabbenu ha-Dayyan, sent with [...] al-Qazwīnī; an excuse for the delay and not having sent it the prior year; the arrival of Abū Saʿd; a shipment of musk; Ibn al-ʿAkkāwī; Ibn Alqāsh(?).

Chancery document in Arabic script. Two lines are preserved on recto. There is some Arabic script on verso, unclear whether it is related (فهو لا يزداد علما...). Reused for Hebrew poetry

Informal note from Seʿadya to an unidentified addressee. In Judaeo-Arabic. Asking him to send a 'khidma' informing him whether it is the 3rd or the 4th year of maḥzor 263 (4979–97 AM), i.e., whether it is currently 4982 AM (1221/22 CE) or 4983 AM (1222/23 CE).

Legal documents. Two fragments, both torn and fragmentary, under one shelfmark. 1 recto is a ketubba signed by [...] b. Avraham, Ghālib b. Ḥasan, Ṣedaqa b. Hasan, Khalaf b. Barikh, ʿUthmān b. Hudhayl (or Hadhal? See Friedman, JMP, II, 429). 2 recto Is the dowry list of the ketubba in fol. 1, probably torn from the upper part of the leaf. On the verso of both leaves is biblical exegesis (Leviticus Behar 25:14–16; data from FGP by Ephraim Ben-Porat).

Bifolio from a ledger of accounts. One page contains a list of names; another two pages contain Hebrew poetry along with various jottings. The fourth page consists of Judaeo-Arabic accounts, probably of a broker in the slave trade. Dated: Ramaḍān '70 AH. Based on the handwriting, reasonable candidates for the year are 970, 1070, or 1170 AH (corresponding to 1563, 1660, or 1757 CE). There are 5 entries. The currencies are not named, and the financial accounting is not entirely clear. (1) Buyer: al-Ḥajj Yāqūt. Seller: Shāma bt. Aṣīl al-Dimyāṭī the agent of [...] Fāṭima. Slave: A black woman named Dāma l-Surūr. (2) Buyer: Muṣṭafā b. Raṣīl(?). Seller: Yūsuf b. ʿAbdallāh. Slave: A black woman named Mubāraka. (3) Buyer: ʿAlī b. ʿAbdallāh. Seller: Not named? Slave: An Abyssinian man named Rayḥān. (4) Buyer: Ḥusayn b. ʿAbdallāh. Seller: Asmāʾ Tamʿa(?). Slave: A black woman named Ḥasbī Allāh. Apparently the purchase was completed without cash. (5) Buyer: Ḥusayn al-Rūmī. Seller: al-Ḥājj Abū Naṣr b. Muḥammad. Slave: A black woman named ʿAdīla or ʿUdayla.

Court ledger. Six bifolios (five under T-S K22.27 and one under T-S K25.140.2). Dating: The entries on T-S K25.140.2 are from Adar I and Adar II 5453, which is 1693 CE. The name Gabriel Conforte appears after many of the entries. Other witnesses include Yisrael Romano, David Ḥayyim [...] and Moshe Vidal. All of the entries require examination.

Trousseau list. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (bottom part only). Rudimentary hand. Entries include Dustarī/Tustarī fabric, other garments, and a female slave valued at 30 dinars. The early and delayed marriage payments (muqaddam wa-muʾakhkhar) amount to 150 dinars.

Earlier document: Accounts in Arabic script. State document? Needs examination.

Recto and verso (reuse): Letter addressed to Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon containing a report on the conflict between Ṣedaqa and his wife. Initially there was an agreement involving him divorcing her, but later they might have reconciled. The neighbors are mentioned several times. Someone named Abū l-Faraj is also involved. At one point someone says to Ṣedaqa "lā khayr wa-lā karāma!" (roughly "shame on you!"). Needs examination.

Letter of appeal for charity, probably. Dating: Perhaps 14th–16th century. Few details are preserved. NB: Verso does not seem to be digitized; the image listed as verso on FGP actually belongs to T-S K25.157.

Legal document, draft. Settlement concerning a house in which a man, a woman, and the government had shares. Dating: ca. 1230 CE. (Information from Goitein's notes.)

Legal document. Partnership agreement. A deal between an investor, possibly named Ibrahim, and three unnamed indigo dyers opening a workshop in Damietta. The active partners agree to behave according to industry norms and business practices in Damietta. The active partners will receive two-thirds of profits and losses (except for the first ten dinars of losses due to ordinary business operations). The investor is responsible for the daily maintenance of the active partners and assumes responsibility for losses due to force majeure, though in such cases the active partner is required to swear an oath disclaiming negligence. Notably, the partnership structure is a hybrid of both the partnership model ("torat ʿisqa") and the commenda model. The active partners’ testament to “ward off treachery and fulfill good faith” indicates that the investor isn't present in Damietta, but he retains a modicum of control over their business activities. If the assets of the shop are found to have declined in value, the partners are to communicate with Ibrahīm and to follow his orders; if he fails to respond, they are free from liability for misconduct. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 245-246)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (lower part only). Dating: Likely 12th or 13th century, based on handwriting. Addressed to a woman. The sender mentions the number 700; the possibility that (s)he will encounter a delay more than 5 days after the 'promise' (s)he made to them (a promised date of return?); greetings to the people of the town, to someone else, and to the wife of Fakhr.

Accounts in Ladino.

Recto: three recipes of folk remedies in Ladino, integrating magical elements. The ingredients include turpentine and organic foodstuffs like sardines. Drawn at the bottom of recto are magical characters, the Tetragrammaton, pentagrams and the name of the angel Sama’el. Verso: scribal exercise with formulae for book endings, in which the scribe makes his writing-implement talk in the first person. Information from CUDL.

Awaiting description - see Goitein's index card.

See T-S 12.47 for description.

Awaiting description - see Goitein's index card.