Geniza Lab

Letter/petition from an unknown writer to the Head of the Jews. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer complains about ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (probably his son) and his mistreatment of a woman in the house (the son's wife?) for whom he refuses to provide. When the writer confronts him, he shouts at him while chewing his mastic, "My mother left, and you stayed in my face." He refuses to sit like a normal person. The addressee is asked to arbitrate between them, for the wretched petitioners (al-suqamā') are perishing. The letter is written on a reused page of accounts in Judaeo-Arabic, of which a few lines are visible at the bottom of verso. ASE.