Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter addressed to Avraham ha-Sefaradi. In Hebrew, often rhymed. Dating: Probably no earlier than 15th century. The writer reports on a man who wishes to marry the daughter of Avraham the Tailor and conveys some of that man's speech in this letter. It is unclear what he wants from the addressee. A learned man named Yehuda חובל is also mentioned. Verso: Alongside the address of the original letter, there is a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, perhaps the response to recto. There is also a name: Binyamin b. אנתה(?). Needs examination.

Three fragments of a Judaeo-Arabic letter, all in the same hand, probably all from the same letter. Mentions the sons of al-Baradānī and R. Natan ha-Ḥaver 'his brother-in-law.'

Lists, grids, sums, writing exercises, jottings. All in Hebrew script and eastern Arabic numerals. Dating: Probably 18th or 19th century.

Recto: Legal document. In Arabic script. Dated: 25 Shaʿbān 1280 AH, which is 4 February 1864 CE. There is one signature in Hebrew script: הצעיר אליאו מופ . . . There are two seal imprints and some sums. Verso: Accounts. In Judaeo-Arabic.

Accounts? on recto (fractions?) mentions rose and sandalwood. Hebrew script on verso.

Magical and/or religious formulae. In Arabic script and magical symbols.

Tax receipt, Fatimid, from the archive of Abū l-Ḥasan b. Wahab with a registration mark "al-ḥamdu lil-lāh ʿalā niʿamih" dated 25 dhū l-ḥijja 403. On the verso, fragment of the top left-hand margin of a petition

Mercantile letter in Arabic script. Fragment (lower half). "... he will/should sell it for him in Tyre and send him the value in the ṣalībī together with the fleet (al-usṭūl). He has appointed him to collect the value of his money/property with [...] Abu l-Faḍl Ibn al-Baṣrī: the value of sugar, the value of tamarind, ]...] and gold, a total of 3 dinars... and to also collect all the dirhams owed by Mukhtār and to send them with his merchandise in the fleet... with Yūsuf." More sums of money are mentioned in the margin. (The ṣalībiyya were the ships that sailed westward in September, named after the Coptic Feast of the Cross; see Friedman, Dictionary, 738, and Goitein, Med Soc I, 317, 481–82 note 31.)

List (FGP)

Letter from Faḍāʾil to his father. In Arabic script. He has sent prior letters but received no response. He mentions several individuals such as Ṣadaqa, Abū l-Maʿālī, Abū Naṣr and news that has spread across the town (wa-qad wallahi shāʿa l-balad) and the ʿĀmil who possibly ruined his/their plan (kharab l-ʿĀmil). Towards the end of the letter he describes that he would rather die “mittu wa-lā ʿishtu” as no one could enter the building(?), he is also unable to fast or observe holidays. It is unclear to determine the ongoing events but it seems like they had a tax farming scheme but the ʿĀmil and the Muḥtasib intervened. Needs further examination.

Letter from Ibrāhīm al-Naqīb to ʿAbd al-Karīm. In Arabic script. Dating: Probably late Mamluk or early Ottoman era. The sender repeatedly asserts that he serves as the representative or head (naqīb) of 'the councils' (al-majālis) in a certain community (al-jamāʿa), and that there is no naqīb other than him. However, the community apparently wishes to receive an order from the majlis confirming him in this position. So the addressee is asked to inform 'them' (the majālis? the community?) and to greet them for the holiday. There is a basmala at the top, a tarjama (sender's name) in the right margin, and the first two lines of the letter are indented. Opens with a brief taqbīl ("kissing the earth") and inhāʾ ("the slave reports...") and ends with a ḥamdala. YU. ASE.

Letter in Arabic script. Faded/damaged. The format is unusual—could this be a formulary? The fifth line from the bottom reads, "Forgive me for my foolishness."

Letter, in Arabic script, well preserved. Begins with basmala and “wallahi laqad ṣadaqa ḥaḍrat maulāya l-shaykh”, my Master was right, and contains the “inhāʾ” (“slave reports..”) formula. The sender seems to be a lower-level (coptic?) administrator or a tax farmer describing his job. He mentions al-Mastay, the town in Nile delta, and reports an affair during the tenure of the addressee (ayyām ʿahdihi/ʿamalihi l-nājiya/nāḥīyya) and that it is a lousy place to be a tax collector as it is difficult to even extract a dirham from anyone "wa mā bihā ṣāniʿ yurjā minhu l-dirham". Needs further examination.

Letter, in Arabic script. Starts with a basmala and contains the "inhāʾ" formula. Mentions difficulties; "ويشهد الله تعلى لقد صنعت علينا غاية الصعوبه والله تعالى يجعلها بجميل...."

very damaged. Probably a draft of a legal deed regarding inheritance of a land. Written by EFraim b. Shemarya. There is also a document in Arabic script on the other side. AA

Legal document, most probably Ottoman (it is not immediately clear if this is a letter, as cataloged). Contains a seal (part of which reads علوالهمة) and two signatures. Needs examination for content.

Document drafts and writing exercises. In Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. Among the jottings there are the beginning of a deed of sale, the beginning of a letter, and some accounts ("load of pepper—price—...")

Document in Arabic script. It is not immediately clear that this is a letter (as cataloged), possibly a state document. Mentions "الراي العالي باطلاقه لك على" in line 3 and also "انشا الله عليه الراي" in the following line. On verso there are accounts in Judaeo-Arabic, in a rudimentary hand. Needs examination.

Letter, probably a correspondence between two officials, in Arabic script, with the "inhāʾ" formula and tarjama. The sender reports (yunhī) on a man who owes him "anna hādhā l-rajul lahu ʿalayya" and seeks the addressee's help in settling his accounts. The addressee, whose name in the tarjama reads as "al-awḥad al-amīr Raḍī l-Dīn", is a military official (walī al-shadd) whom the sender promises to convey news of his area "anā ūkātibuka bi l-khabr". The accounts that the sender is asking the addressee's help in settling could be taxes as the "al-shadd" was a military officer, classified by al-Qalqashandī as belonging to the 'arbāb al-suyūf' 'masters of the sword'. These officers assissted local staff to carry out their duties, especially in the collection of taxes (See Khan, ALAD, pg. 447, no. 117). Needs further examination. YU

List or table, three columns organizing series of words and Coptic numerals with no particular coherence. Some words include دجاج، سكر ، خبز، اجرة قاعة، كنس قاعة، ثاني جمعة. The title could reveal more about the contents and their significance, it reads "الخراج (؟) الذي خرج على ال...؟". Needs examination.