Geniza Lab

Letter from Abū l-Faraj b. Sāl[im] to Abū l-Fuḍayl Ibn al-Amshāṭī. In Judaeo-Arabic. Not a great deal of the content remains. It seems that the addressee has sent kohl/antimony and that the writer is sending qumqums.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic in a unique hand yet the paleography helps date the document to the 16th-19th centuries. Below the heading the unit of volume "ardab" or "irdab" appears and the first entry is entitled "אלמביע" indicating a sale of the accompanying items (whose quantity, weight, or prices are indicated in alphanumerical figures). For more information on this unit of volume, see Goitein's brief explanation (Goitein, Mediterranean Society I, 361) though it is crucial to note that this unit persisted beyond the medieval period and in Ottoman-era sources is often transliterated as "ardab" yet it indicates a significantly higher volume of liters per ardab (White, Climate of Rebellion, xv). The same accounting format appears on the document's verso. MCD.

Tiny fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic letter.

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic with occasional Hebrew or Aramaic phrases. Dating: Unknown. Location: Yemen, probably, based on the handwriting and dialect words and names of the protagonists. The document concerns Yaḥyā b. Yehuda al-Ẓefira, his brother Saʿīd b. Yehuda, and Saʿīd b. Dā'ūd al-Abhar, who all jointly own and live together in one house. This is a reconciliation agreement in which each housemate promises not to use the common spaces without the permission of the others. In particular: "No one shall leave his donkey or any beast in the passageway except when tying or loading it. . . . Likewise, the outhouse. No one shall tolerate his own filth (translation slightly uncertain) and leave it exposed, but only use the hole in the outhouse." ASE.

Recto: Possibly a draft of a legal document in Judaeo-Arabic. Needs examination. Verso: Legal document(s) in Arabic script concerning the sale of a house. Unclear if/how related to recto.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Little of the content remains.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. This small piece that survives includes a recommendation for the bearer (". . .the need, urgently urgently urgently. . .") and a request to go to Surūr the husband of Bint al-Shab[...]. On verso there are the customary closing salutations.

Letter from Yaʿīsh b al-Kadīḥī(?) to Sālim b Yūsuf al-Jiyār(?). In Judaeo-Arabic with some Hebrew. Dating: 19th century. The writer asks the addressee to send him with the bearer of the letter the new issue of the jarīda (newspaper? magazine?) that has arrived from Jerusalem, and let him know how much it costs.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Daily construction expenses for 3 Tammuz through 18 Tammuz. Many of the expenses are the same each day. They include the salary of a builder; a carpenter; meals for the workers; and more. Information from FGP.

Legal deed. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dated: Thursday, 29 Tammuz 5437 AM, which is 1677 CE. Concerning the moneychanging (ṣarf) partnership between Eliyyahu ha-Kohen b. Yeshuʿa and Yiṣḥaq Pereẓ b. Yaʿaqov and the arrangements that must be made now that Eliyyahu has died. This is a large and well-preserved document; needs further examination.

Deathbed will. In Judaeo-Arabic. Location: Cairo. Dated: Wednesday, 18 Sivan 1806 Seleucid, which is 1495 CE. ʿAzīza bt. Elʿazar Bek leaves some of her possessions (deposited in Alexandria) to the daughter she had with Moshe פרנשי and who is the wife of Shemuel b. Shelomo כראת, and other possessions to her other daughter Milāḥ, and other possessions are to be divided evenly between the two daughters. This is a large and well-preserved document; needs further examination.

Letter of recommendation, likely a draft, from Fustat. Dated: 5735 (מעֿשֿהֿ) AM, which is 1614/15 CE. The bearer, Avraham b. Shemuel Ashkenazi, fell into Ottoman captivity eight years ago. His captors brought him to Istanbul, but he refused to convert to Islam, managed to escape, "and took shelter in the Beit Midrash of Shem and ʿEver." He has been living in Fustat for the last two years, exerting himself in service of the community. He now wishes to return to his native land, and the anonymous addressee is asked to help him. (Information from FGP)

Commentary in Ladino on the section of the Guide for the Perplexed dealing with the reasons for circumcision makes up the main text. The remaining space on both recto and verso is filled with other jottings, sums, accounts, etc. (Information from FGP)

Letter from Avraham b. Shemuel ha-Levi, Jerusalem, to Nissim ha-Kohen Ṣefanya b. ʿOvadya ha-Kohen, Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 6 Kislev 5439 AM (בקשו ענוה), which is November 1678 CE. Both writer and addressee are Qaraites. This is a long letter; needs further examination.

Letter of appeal for charity addressed to Yiṣḥaq Barukh. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, maybe 16th or 17th century. The writer is a teacher.

Letter (draft) from Avraham b. [...] from Jerusalem to Anonymous regarding financial support

Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dating: [..]19 AM, which is either 1858/59, 1758/59, or 1658/59, or conceivably 1558/59 CE at the very earliest. Of these options, 1758/59 CE may be most likely. The document has to do with a business partnership in the sarraflik (technically, sarraflık) trade. Needs further examination.

Letter from Avraham Castro, in Alexandria, to an unknown addressee, in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: 16th century (Avraham Castro died in 1560). The writer had a position overseeing trade or taxation in Alexandria. This letter is quite damaged, but it seems to deal with ships and 'the tower' and 'the men of the tower' and bribery. Information in part from FGP.

Letter from Daniel b. Azarya to Avraham Ha-Kohen b. Yiṣḥaq b. Furat, Fustat.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). The handwriting is rudimentary and the orthography so idiosyncratic that it is difficult to understand. Probably a family letter; discussing all sorts of distressing matters. Needs further examination.