Geniza Lab

Letter in Arabic script. Dating: Ottoman-era, perhaps 18th or 19th century. Seems to have been abandoned halfway through. There are a few words in Hebrew script on verso. The letter is written in a rural hand with a couple of colloquial words addressed to a merchant Maḥmūd ʿĀbidīn (if read correctly). The author of the letter, who appears to work for this merchant, mentions his visit to Ṭanṭa in Egypt, where he offered prayers at the shrine of a local Ṣūfī saint Aḥmad al-Badawī (d.1276). He also mentions the stagnant market conditions (al-bayʿ wa-l-shira waqf ḥāl) and states that only a Jewish merchant al-Ḥāj al-Ḥarīrī settled his dues of 41 maqṭaʿ in 91 days. He expresses his intention of traveling to the mediterranean sea and embarking on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Sayyīd Ibrāhim al-Desūqī (d. 1296) to observe his birth anniversary. Towards the end, he requests a letter from Muḥammad Effendī in the name of ʿUmar Aghā, the superintendent of the freights (al-Anwāl) of al-Maḥalla.

Recto: State document, huge line spacing, ends with ṣalwala in a calligraphic hand, probably a decree. On verso there is a letter (see separate record). Perforated for binding.

Verso: Letter in Arabic script, in a book hand. Opens with two verses of poetry, then probably a taqbīl ([... al-a]rḍ), then greetings for the noble addressee (...al-sāmī al-ajall al-mawlā ??? abqāhu Allāh taʿālā...), then a report (wa-yunhī) that God sent health to the sender after an illness and ophthalmia (ramad) which lasted 20 days (...Allāh taʿālā manna bi-l-ʿāfiya fa-taṣṣarafa bi-hā baʿd ʿashrīn yawman...). The sender seems to be thanking the addressee for his generosity in helping him in this period of illness, "for he (the addressee) has never been stingy toward a sick person" (...maʿa kawnih lam yabkhal qaṭṭ ʿalā marīḍ...). Further down, mentions "the distress is severe, and from country to country, the excuse is plain...." Then a judge called al-qāḍī al-ajall ʿAlam al-Dīn.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. Blank verso. Perforated for binding. For the capitation tax of Hiba b. Yūsuf; same dossier as T-S Misc.24.38.1–3 and ENA 3936.3. Dated: Jumādā I 552 AH (=June/July 1157 CE).

Tax receipt, Fatimid. Two registration marks; 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāhi l-muwaffiq li-ḥamdihi' and 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh ḥamd al-shākirīn'. Blank verso. Perforated for binding.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. One registration mark; 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh al-wāḥid al-ḥaqq'. Blank verso. Perforated for binding.

Tax receipt, Fatimid.

Tax receipt, jizyā, dated 507 H (?).

Mercantile memorandum or bill of lading (tadhkira) in Arabic script. Listing items that were shipped with a certain captain (al-rayyis... al-Ḥayfī) for Abū Ṭāhir b. Maḥfūẓ the physician (al-mutaṭabbib) including two Torah codices (muṣḥafayn tawrāt), two codices of another kind, five pieces of copper (qiṭaʿ nuḥās), and a large candelabra (manāra kabīra).

Verso: Tax receipt from the archive of Abū l-Ḥasan b. Wahb, with holes at the margin. Registration mark - al-ḥamdu lil-lāh ʿalā niʿamih, praise be to God for his benefactions.

Recto: Letter with petition-like language. In Arabic script. Fragment (the ends of 7 lines are preserved from the lower part of the document). Concerning farming and safeguarding of land (fī zirāʿatih wa-ḥifẓihā wa-ṣawnihā) for a particular amount of time the parties had asked for (al-mudda alladhī iltamasūhā). Then deferent petition-like language: [anhā maml]ūkuhā dhālika ilayhā wa-raʾyuhā al-muwaffaq. Then urging haste, followed by petition-like language: ...wuṣūluh surʿa surʿa fa-anā muḥtāj ilayhi... wa-raʾyuhā al-muwaffaq in shāʾ allāh.

Tax receipt.

Tax reciept for jizya in the name of [..] b. Ghālib with two registrations marks; 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh al-muʿīn al-dāʾim', praise be to God who is the steadfast supporter, and 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh waḥdahu karīm niʿamuhu', praise be to God who is one, generous are his benefactions. Dated 514 (517?).

Tax receipt, late Fatimid, for the jizya payment of a Jewish person (name difficult to read), with registration mark - 'al-ḥamdu lil-lāh al-wāḥid al-ḥaqq', praise be to God who is One and He alone is the truth. Dated 562/1166-67. MR, YU.

Family letter in Arabic script, from a distant man to his children and wife. Dating: Probably Mamluk era, or possibly early Ottoman era, based on handwriting, names, format, and formulary. The letter goes into detail about previous correspondence and other family matters. One of the sender's sons, who is mentioned a couple of times, is Yāʿqūb and the mother is Umm Aṣīla. He narrates his longing to see his family and may mention recovery from an illness which brought someone close to death, but God dispelled it (wa-l-ḥamdu lil-lāh kunnā(?) aḥad(?) man(?) ilā l-mawt wa-lākin lak ṭāl(!) al-ʿumr lā budd fa-infaraja(?) Allāh taʿāla...)

ENA 3960.6–10 are five distinct but related Mamlūk-era legal documents in Arabic script, all dated 909 H (1503/04 CE), and involving the same people (e.g., Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad b. al-Khwājā Yūsuf b. al-Ḥājj ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Tājir al-Saffār(?) al-Ḥalabī) and the same witnesses (Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Qādir b. [...] and Ismāʿīl [...]). The document is a deed of sale pertaining to 15 black mayzars and 30 sufras for 14 dinars. The genre of the sale document is an iqrār, i.e., an acknowledgement which is also a sub-genre of with Islamic legal manuals (shurūṭ al-fiqh). It is an iqrār (acknowledgement) of ghubn (defect) and barāʾa, meaning that the buyer acknowledges and accepts any (possible) defects in the object of sale (ghubn) and the seller is ‘innocent’ (hence barāʾa) of any allegation of defect, or effective defect, in the object. (For reference, see Asyuṭī, Jawāhir al-Ūqūd). The style of mentioning the price of the object of sale and its half is a typical fashion of indicating prices in a sale deed to avoid any errors. The document is dated 20th Rabīʿ al-Awwal 909 H/21st September 1503 CE.

Tax receipt, Fatimid.