Geniza Lab

Legal proceedings whereby two friends of Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq testify to the court of how Avraham betrothed his cousin, Sitt al-Ahl b. Yosef Lebdi. Apparently When Yosef Lebdi was alive, Avraham and his mother lived in the Lebdi residence. When both Lebdi and Avraham's mother died, Avraham sought to marry Lebdi;s daughter so that he would still be tied to the great merchant's house. He came to Sitt al-Ahl's house, with two male friends and a certain prominent member of the community to try to secure the match. Lebdi's widow, Sitt al-Ahl's mother, tried to stall and wait until Sitt al-Ahl's older brother, now the man of the house, came back from his journey. Avraham, however, did not want to leave empty handed and pressured the widow to agree. Sitt al-Ahl was summoned and she agreed to the match. Avraham betrothed Sitt al-Ahl with two rings, one of gold and one of silver, and gave her five dinars. All this was done in the presence of her mother and her younger brother. The betrothal was carried out in November 1118 and the court record is from January 1120. Friedman rightly notes that the record was made after it became clear that Sitt al-Ahl was not intending to marry Avraham and, indeed, the court ruled that she is legally Avraham's wife and required a formal bill of divorce. The story can also be read as how a young relative could pressure and almost bully his female cousin to agree to a marriage by coming into her house with two young male friends, while only her widowed mother and young brother were in the house.