Geniza Lab

A poem, might be from an opening of a poetical letter. On verso few words in Arabic - needs examination.

An Arabic note on verso - needs examination.

Report to al-Afḍal. The join between T-S NS 201.132 and T-S AS 116.410 + T-S AS 103.49 + T-S NS 209.47 is very probably but it is not a direct join. On verso, liturgy for Yom Kippur in the hand of the same scribe as T-S NS 325.232 + T-S 16.114 + T-S 24.57. Joins: Alan Elbaum. (Information in part from CUDL.)

On verso few letter from an official Arabic document - needs examination.

Late account in Arabic numerals

Treatise on alchemy in the hand of Ḥananʾel b. Shemuel (active from the end of 12th century – ca. 1249).

Piyyut is written in between the lines of an official state document - needs examination.

State document, likely a decree. The ends of three lines are preserved. "... bi-l-istiʿmālāt al-mubāraka... wa-ʿarrafanā ijtihādaka... al-maḥmūl ʿaynan wa-l-aṣnāf...." Acknowledging the good service of a subordinate? In between the lines there is additional Arabic text in much smaller letters. On verso there is piyyut.

Remains of Arabic state document - needs examination.

Arabic letter on verso - needs examination.

List of names from Mahala al-Kabirah. The year is only partially preserved 14[...] = 11[...].

Few Arabic words in verso - needs examination.

Arabic letter on verso - needs examination.

Names of women? the context is unclear

Deed of acknowledgment (iqrār). In Arabic script. The muqirr is ʿAbdallāh b. Muḥammad al-M[...]ī. The content is unclear. Reused for business accounts in Arabic script.

Original use, probably: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 11th or early 12th century. Fragment (vertical strip from the right side of recto). The sender may be Hillel. The address is partially written on verso and partially at the bottom of recto ("to Fustat, God willing") and the name Abū Yūsuf appears at the bottom of recto. The letter mentions Abū Yaʿqūb, who seems to be sick; Abū Isḥāq; instructions to sell something; and something which sayyidī/sīdī al-kohen says. Not much more is preserved.

Subsequent use, probably: Drafts of petition text in Arabic script addressed to al-maqām al-[...] al-Ḥāfiẓī (dating to the reign of al-Ḥāfiẓ, 1132–49). On the other side there is one line of Arabic script which may be from an actual document, with the phrase al-ḥamdu lil-lāhi wa-ʿalayhi tawakkaltu underneath.

Mysterious document in Arabic script. Begins with the glyph, then two sections, separated by a horizontal line. Underneath and on verso there is piyyut. (1) A record about previous correspondence? Excerpts: "... a letter to the dear brother, the shaykh... on Sunday, 3 Dhū l-Ḥijja 600 AH (= 2 August 1204 CE)... and with him a letter... for Bū l-Maḥāsin b. Sayyid al-Kull. (2) A record about the rising of the Nile to 4 cubits on the 4th of Dhū l-Ḥijja.

Probably a fiscal register (compare BL OR 5566B.3 and the other shelfmarks cited there). Mentions various dates and the name ʿAbd al-Ṣamad. Reused on the back for a Judaeo-Arabic prayer of praise for God.

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Damaged & faded. Dating: Probably 11th century. The sender is writing from Damsīs. Mentions trade in indigo and business in the Rīf. Also contains the intriguing phrase, "I wish someone would come and knock on the door and [...]." Needs further examination.