Geniza Lab

Bifolio from a ledger of accounts. Dating: Perhaps 18th century, but conceivably 17th–19th century. The script is entirely Hebrew, with western Arabic numerals. The hand is reminiscent of solitreo. The language(s) are not fully identified, and there is a strong likelihood that this is an argot specific to a certain trade, or even code words specific to this merchant. In one instance, the numeral 1 is written out as אונו = uno (presumably from Spanish/Ladino). There are approximately 16 discrete entries, with a few words floating in between the entries, including one instance of טיפיטירדאר = defterdar = bookkeeper or treasurer (from Turkish). Each entry is followed by a pair of numbers; the first is usually labeled ראיש or עורא, and the second is usually labeled נואיבא or חומשו. It is clear that חומשו (from Hebrew) means 1/5, while נואיבא (= nueva = new) means 1/50 of ראיש and 1/10 of עורא. The word עורא, despite the unusual spelling, may be derived from oro = gold, and may refer to a denomination of money. The word שולטאני appears twice, which may be Arabic sulṭānī, which may also refer to currency. The word דוראקא (Arabic for "peach") and the phrase דוראקא מחרוקא (Arabic for "burnt peach") appear, but presumably not referring to actual peaches, burnt or not. The entire document remains very mysterious.