Geniza Lab

Accounts of a druggist in a medieval hand, with materia medica listed on the right together with their quantities and/or prices, and names of customers listed on the left. "What was sold from the dukkān of Abū l-Munā b. Ḥasan on the date of Tuesday, the 21st of Dhū l-Ḥijjah."

Accounts of a druggist in a medieval hand.

Petition from al-Ḥasan b. Abū Saʿd probably to a vizier (several of the titles are similar to those of Ṭalāʾiʿ Ibn Ruzzīk). He complains of his poverty and weak state and seems to be asking for protection against the behaviors of the brokers in the drug/perfume trade in Fustat, who have cornered the market and are preventing merchants from doing business with the petitioner. On verso there is the qiddush for Passover in large 'childish' letters. (Information in part from Goitein's index card, MR, ASE.)

Letter from Ṣedaqa b. Aharon (?) the druggist to Abū Saʿīd the druggist, ordering materia medica, including, fine Iraqi saffron; aloe wood (ʿūd); aged camphor (kāfūr); Iraqi turpeth (turbid); Iraqi sulfur (kibrīt); and something Hamadānī (?). He adds a recommendation for the bearer ('from a good family') in a postscript. ASE.

Document in striking red ink. Appears to have the form of a letter (opens with "that which you desire to know:") but consists of a long list of materia medica and numbers. Perhaps an inventory of a drug store?

Accounts of a druggist. In Arabic script. Items include tamarind, various pastilles (aqrāṣ), chebulic myrobalan (kābulī).

Inventory of a part of a drugstore prepared by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu - see Goitein Nachlass material

Letter from Binyām (Binyamin) of Rosetta, probably in Alexandria, to Abū Saʿīd the gallnut merchant, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Containing urgent instructions to sell or to send certain drugs, metallic dyes, and medical plants, ca. 1120. See Bodl. MS heb. d 66/52, esp. r8–10, for their identities. Goods named in this letter include afsantīn (wormwood); kundus (baby's breath); zunjufr (cinnabar); sunbul (spikenard); quṣṭ (=qusṭ, alecost or costus); martak (litharge); salaqūn (red lead); jullanār (pomegranate blossom); qiṭna or qaṭina (a cryptic term which may simply be a derivative of cotton, but in this form means 'omasum' according to the dictionaries); אבר (either abār, meaning lead, or ibar, meaning "needles"); khaskhāsh abyaḍ (white poppy); 1000 dūdīyya li-l-misk (Goitein suggests astringent kermes worms); qurashiyya (Goitein suggests "odoriferous claws"; Lisān al-ʿArab says it is a type of wheat); and asārūn (asarabacca), which [in Rosetta, probably] is going for 1 dinar, due to demand from the Andalusians. The writer will promptly send money, or if the addressee desires, he may take the payment from Abū Naṣr b. Shaʿyā. Information largely from Goitein's attached notes. Cf. T-S NS 321.60, same sender and same addressee. ASE.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 12th or 13th century. Ordering drugs (ḥawā'ij ʿiṭr), some of which may be read on verso, such as quince syrup and rose syrup.

Accounts of a druggist, giving amounts of materia medica in the column on the right and prices on the left.

Accounts of a druggist, giving amounts of materia medica in the column on the right and prices on the left.

Accounts of a druggist. In Judaeo-Arabic.

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.

Recto: Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, Qalyub, to a family member in Fustat. Partial translation from S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:271: "I am sending you with the bearer of this letter 15 dirhems. Please buy for me 1¼ pounds of emblic (amlaj) [“Indian gooseberry,” see above], approximately for 4¼ dirhems or less; 2½ pounds of deep-red rose water (mā' ward), approximately ¾ d.; A fuqqā‘a (bottle of potions), approximately ½ d. or less; 1 pound eye powder, well made, on special order, approximately 2 d. or less; 1 miswāk (tooth-cleaning twig), approximately 2 d.; 1 pound antimony, approximately 3¼ or 3½ d. or less; 2½ pounds cosmetic cream (mathāth), approximately 2¼ d.or less. The writer also sends three drafts of dirges (qinnot) and asks his brother Abū l-Ḥasan (Yedutun ha-Levi) to correct them. Verso: Petition draft in Arabic script to the Amir Sharaf al-Dawla (?). The handwriting is that of Moshe b. Levi (compare ENA NS 68.11). Lines 8-15 are the substance of the petition (وينهي انه قد اشتهى...), which requires further examination. The writer (perhaps Moshe) seems to repeat several times his desire to come to the great city. ASE.

Legal document. Partnership record. Dated: July 1218. Location: Fustat. Emerging from the court of Abraham Maimonides, this document concerns the disintegration and settlement of a partnership in an apothecary which had been managed by Munajjā al-‘Aṭṭār b. Abū Sa‘d al-‘Aṭṭār and Abū al-Khayr b. Abū al-Riḍā al-Naqqād ha-Levi. There are a number of provisions concerning the assets of the concern: first, Munajjā is entitled to one dinar from Abū al-Khayr for fourteen months, a debt recorded in a separate document; second, the balance of all the shop’s merchandise is to be retained by Munajjā; third, the first 800 dirhams of the shop’s debts will be repaid by Munajjā (any excess will be repaid by the two partners jointly); fourth, both partners will share in collecting accounts receivable, with the funds divided equally between them; and, fifth, six copper basins will go to Munajjā (which previously belonged to Abū al-Khayr, as he is held responsible for anything missing from them). (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 228)

Business letter in Hebrew and Arabic script to Abū l-Ḥasan Binyamin requesting the dispatch of merchandise to Qalyub, including medical supplies, via a ghulām, and mentioning the broker Banin.

Letter from Musallam, reporting the arrival of a letter from Saʿadya the cantor and mentioning business matters and a certain Barukh, who is coming to Fusṭāṭ together with a certain Majīd the perfumer on the 17th of Av. Also mentions Abū l-Faraj and Rukn al-Dīn who has just arrived from al-Shām (Syria-Palestine). Ca. 13th-14th century. (Information from CUDL)

Account from a druggist for a delivery to a household. In Judaeo-Arabic. He had already been paid 1 dinar weighing 21 qirat + 2 ḥabbas worth (ṣarfuhu) 36.5 dirhams (i.e., the dinar:dirham rate of exchange was 1:40). From a previous transaction, the druggist owed the customer 50 dirhams, which means that the customer's credit was 86.5 dirhams. The cost came to 89.25 + 1.75 for transport = 91 dirhams. The balance was 4.5 dirhams, to be paid to the bearer. There are 25 items (with quantities). Much different from those in T-S Ar.30.274. (Information from Goitein's note card.) It is not entirely clear from Goitein's notes who owed what to whom, so take this description with a grain of salt.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. List of dozens of items for a druggist's store. Quantities and prices (the latter in Greek/Coptic numerals). Items include Indian myrobalan and Turkish rhubarb. In 11 cases wadāʿa (on commission). The quantities are small: 1/4, 2, 4 ounces. There are also several lines in Arabic script in two different hands. See Goitein's index card for further information.

Accounts of a merchant or druggist. In Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. Very extensive, listing dozens of materia medica and related items: zinjār ʿirāqī, sakbīnaj, zanjabīl, lāzuward, khawlanjān, qurunful, ʿūd rīḥ, zinjār, kāfūr, kābulī, qāṭir, maḥmūda, isfīdbāj, urjuwān, dam akhawayn (perhaps qāṭir and dam akhawayn referred to different varieties of dragon's blood?), and many more.