Geniza Lab

Letter from Jalāl al-Dawla. Dated: 1237 CE. Concerns in part a negotiation between members of the Jewish community and Christians about preventing Jews from entering Jerusalem. The writer mentions that the Christians welcomed him and his companions, and also mentions the town's ruler. VMR.

Legal document. Record of release. Dated: September 1016. Location: Fustat. ‘Ammār b. Joseph the Dyer releases Samuel ha-Kohen b. Moses b. Ṣemaḥ from all claims, and relinquishes any claim to funds owed by a number of named individuals in Malīj. These debts may have been accounts receivable, or may have been partnership investments made by ‘Ammār and Samuel. Goitein suggests that the document was written on 9 Tishri (Erev Yom Kippur) "because people from Malīj, where the workshop was operated, had come to Fusṭāṭ for [the holiday] and were able to witness the release", though Lieberman says there is no evidence that any of the witnesses came from Malīj. Still, the court in Fusṭāṭ may have been busy just before Yom Kippur, with litigants wanting to set their affairs in order before the holiday began – this could explain the number of witnesses. It may be no coincidence that this release from partnership obligations is written just before the festival which marks divine release from transgressions in the year which has just ended. Goitein characterizes this as an "industrial" partnership centered around a workshop, because ‘Ammār is identified as a dyer. But there are no details concerning the object and nature of the partnership itself, and ‘Ammār leaves all claims to Samuel, leaving open the possibility that he was not the principal, but was instead working for Samuel. There are nine signatures, including that of Elhanan b. Shemarya. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 212)

Deeds of sale issued by Ottoman courts in 1519CE, with a possible endorsement on the verso mentioning both 925AH and 926AH (1519CE-1520CE). The ḥujja on the recto was recorded by an unknown qadi court (possibly in Baḥṭīṭ or nearby Bilbeis) in 925AH. The ḥujja on the verso was clearly issued by the chief qadi court in Cairo "al-Bāb al-ʿĀlī" (l. 3v). The properties which are being sold on the recto are in Bilbays (l. 7r, 11r) and purchased by a Jewish dyer from Baḥṭīṭ (l. 2r). There is extensive description of the spatial orientation and perimeters of these properties. This fragment was first cited by Goitein in Med. Soc. III in 1978 and, most recently, by James Baldwin on p.36 of the book Islamic Law and Empire in Ottoman Cairo (2017). For a full overview of relevant citations see the FGP bibliography for this fragment. MCD. (information from Goitein's index cards, Baldwin, and Baker/Polliack catalogue).