Geniza Lab

Letter from Yisrael ha-Kohen Gaon b. Shemuel b. Ḥofni to one of Shelomo ha-Kohen b. Se’adya’s sons in Fustat. January 1021, in the handwriting of Israel ha-Kohen Gaon b. Shemuel. The writer asks for a donation to the Yeshiva, that Sahlan b. Avraham, the head of the Babylonian community in Fustat, will transfer. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #63) VMR

Legal document written in the court of Ḥananya Av Bet Din b. Yosef Gaʾon, 1318 of the Seleucid era (= 1007 CE), dealing with a legal matter between Efrayim b. Shemarya and Shelomo b. Fashshāṭ. The names Yishaq b. Ṭayyib, Ḥasan b. Wahīb and Abū l-Ḥasan b. Yoshiyyahu are mentioned. Signed by Levi ha-Levi b. Yaaqov, Shemuʾel ha-Kohen b. [...] and [...] b. Ṭoviyya. (Information from CUDL). See also Goitein notes and index card linked below.

Receipt written and signed by Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo, documenting that Abū Naṣr al-ʿAṭṭār received from the court 19 muthallath (triple-weave?) garments, as set forth in the conditions, on Thursday the 10th of Iyyar 1446 Seleucid (1135 CE) in Fusṭāṭ, in the presence of Abū l-Ḥasan b. Ṣāliḥ the brother (?) of Ṣedaqa the deceased. Witnesses: Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo ha-Kohen and Yehuda ha-Kohen b. Yosef ha-Kohen. ASE.

Small fragment from a legal document, mentioning Yefet.

Fragment of a partnership document (per FGP), involving R. Shemuel, Abū l-Faraj al-Yatom, Yiṣḥaq ha-Dayyan, Abū l-Bishr. Written by Mevorakh b. Natan, during the reign of Shmuel b. Hananya ha-Nagid, so we can date it to 1150-1160 (AA).

Late family letter in Judaeo-Arabic sent to Shemuel Ḥalafta in Fusṭāṭ, perhaps from his brother, rebuking him for the lack of letters ("your poor mother's heart is confounded on your account"). Mentions Yaʿaqov al-Gabbay. "Your sister and Munsiyya and Yeḥiel [send their regards]." Regards are sent to [...] al-Ḥāmī, al-Sitt al-Muṣaffa (?), al-talmidim Muhadhdhab and Yehuda, al-Zaqen Abū Pinḥas, al-Shaykh Pinḥas, and Avraham. ASE.

Verso: The end of a family letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The addressee is called "my brother," and he may be an actual brother since the sender swears "by my father." He is urging the addressee to give financial help to a poor man to pass the winter and to return to his mother. Mentions a benefactor of 'the Alexandrians,' but the context is unclear. Greetings to the addressee's siblings and to Khallūf. The sender intends to pass the winter 'in the house' and tells the addressee to look after it. On recto there is an Arabic-script document (see separate record). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: State correspondence in Arabic script. The sender says he has informed القوس(?) of something. Needs examination. (Information in part from CUDL)

Fragment of a business letter in Judaeo-Arabic to Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm (?), mentioning someone who died in Balad al-Rūm and licorice (sūs). The handwriting is distinctive, probably known.

Exemplars of epistolary style, headed א and ב (probably 16th or 17th century). (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a family letter, same writer and addressee as T-S NS 338.71, mainly rebuking the addressee for the lack of letters. "Your mother and sister send you regards and adjure you by God to not cut off your letters from us more than this, for you have burned our hearts with fires, especially when we see on this blessed [holiday]. . . everyone in health. And Muslim got sick and suffered hardship and, thanks to God, returned to health. You should send regards to him and congratulate him on his health, even if you do not see fit to write to any of us. . ." ASE.

Fragment from a 16th-century letter in rhymed prose. (Information from CUDL) On the verso a name appears possibly as the recipient of the letter: Abraham Qraqusha[?] "קרקושאה". A variant of this surname's spelling is also repeated on the verso as "קיקושאה". MCD.

Verso: Note addressed to ʿEli ha-Kohen. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Written in a crude hand. The main text in Hebrew is entirely blessings. The marginal text in Judaeo-Arabic may contain a request. There is also one line present from the Arabic document on recto. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: State document. Possibly an account synthesizing multiple streams of revenue: capitation tax (māl al-jawālī), a tax on palm produce (? māl al-nakhl), and a tax on the market (māl al-sūq). The name ʿAbdallāh appears at bottom right. Needs examination.

Accounts of Shaykh Abū l-Surūr. (Information from CUDL)

The opening of a letter, from a Gaʾon, to Meshullam and Isaac, sons of Yehoshuaʿ. Arabic text on verso. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a letter from Peraḥya b. Yosef (Yiju) to Seʿadya ha-Zaqen Pe'er ha-Soḥarim b. Avraham ha-Zaqen ha-Ḥasid. Almost nothing remains apart from the opening verses and the address. He sends regards to Abū Maʿālī and Abū l-Faḍā'il.

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to one of his brothers. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). Yefet previously informed him about the arrival of Yaʿaqov and the salt. The addressee is asked to pass on regards to Abū l-Surūr from his son.

Fragment from the opening of a letter, from Maṣliaḥ ha-Kohen Gaʾon b. Shelomo ha-Kohen Gaʾon. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic historical chronicle mentioning al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh, the governorship of Damascus, the appointment of a certain Muṭahhar (?) after him, and Manṣūra. A new section begins in the middle of the page with the basmala.