Geniza Lab

Poems, probably. In Arabic script. There are also a couple lines of sums in Greek/Coptic numerals.

Verso and upper margin of recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded.

Recto: Small fragment of a deed of acknowledgment (iqrār) in Arabic script. The one making the acknowledgment may be named Salmūn b. Isḥāq al-Māwardī.

Magical spell formularies. Includes a spell apparently intended to arouse and agitate (tahyīj and izʿāj) a female target (fulāna bt. fulāna) for a male (fulān b. fulāna). But then the direct objects in the next part are masculine: "If he is standing make him sit down, if he is sitting make him stand up, if he is sleeping awaken him, and have no mercy on him (wa-lā tajʿalūh al-birr) either day or night."

Upper part of a deed of acknowledgment (iqrār) in Arabic script. The name and the city of the person making the acknowledgment are given. Needs examination.

Mysterious text mainly in Arabic but with some words which are not Arabic. Might be a magical invocation of some kind. Looks late. Needs examination.

Petition. In Arabic script. From Yaḥyā al-Tājir. The nature of the request is not clear, nor is it clear how much is missing from the bottom. This may be a nearly complete document, since he gets to the point very quickly without buttering up the addressee first: المملوك يحيى التاجر يقبل الارض ويسل الانعام عليه والاحسان اليه بالفسح(؟) عنه بالخط الكريم زاده الله شرفا ونفاذا بالهلا . . السعيد(؟) . . . . . . . . . . .

Arabic, literary. Cites Galen.

Letter fragment in Arabic script. Seems to be a private letter but is written in formal/deferential terms ("... jamaʿa al-shaml bi-khidmatih...") and most of the text preserved consists of blessings. Reports that the children (al-ṣighār) are well.

Pen trials and jottings in Arabic and Hebrew.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. (In fact the handwriting looks Ayyubid, and the date seems to be 7 Muḥarram 607 AH = 1 July 1210 CE. The payment is made (min jihat) by a government employee (al-mustakhdam); the name Fakhr b. Yūsuf appears at the end of the line.)

Likely a fragment of a fiscal account. There are four text blocks arranged in a grid, each headed by the name of a person written in larger letters (e.g., Naṣr b. Aḥmad al-Mawṣilī and Maḥmūd b. Ḥasan).

Arabic script (VMR)

Arabic script (VMR)

Arabic script (VMR)

Arabic script (VMR)

Petition from a Jewish man to a Muslim general (al-isfahsalārī > isfahsalār), possibly named Bahāʾ al-Dīn or Bahāʾ al-Dawla. In Arabic script. Fragment (upper left corner). . . . اليهودي الفقير الضعيف الغريب . . . الاسفهسلاري البهآي سلطان جيوش المسلمين . . . انه وينهي انه رجل يهودي ضعيف غريب كان . . . به الحال من الفقر والعدم ولم يكن له ما يقوم . . . باوده وستر قدم اهل ملته اليهود

Business account in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. Neatly arranged in columns on two pages of a bifolio. Mentions goods such as saffron, galangal, pepper, mahlab, and lapis lazuli. Also mentions the name Abū Bakr al-Fāsī.

Arabic script (VMR)

Arabic script (VMR)