Geniza Lab

Tax receipt for Khalaf b. Ya'qūb.

Magical spell formularies. Includes a spell apparently intended to arouse and agitate (tahyīj and izʿāj) a female target (fulāna bt. fulāna) for a male (fulān b. fulāna). But then the direct objects in the next part are masculine: "If he is standing make him sit down, if he is sitting make him stand up, if he is sleeping awaken him, and have no mercy on him (wa-lā tajʿalūh al-birr) either day or night."

Tax receipt, Fatimid. (In fact the handwriting looks Ayyubid, and the date seems to be 7 Muḥarram 607 AH = 1 July 1210 CE. The payment is made (min jihat) by a government employee (al-mustakhdam); the name Fakhr b. Yūsuf appears at the end of the line.)

Receipt for the capitation tax of Mubārak b. Ibrāhīm Ibn Sabrā, in Fustat. After the basmala, the trigger phrase is "tadhkira bism" (memorandum/receipt in the name of—unusual wording but also found in ENA 3967.25). Registration mark at upper left: al-ḥamdu lil-lāh shukran li-raḥmatih (praise be to God and gratitude for His mercy). At upper right: al-shukr lil-lāh taʿālā (gratitude to God, may He be exalted). Date: difficult to read, perhaps 464 AH = 1071/72 CE. The payer is known from documents ca. 1049–90 CE (see Goitein, Mediterranean Society III, p. 176).

Medical text in Arabic script. Contains instructions for applying flower oil and water lily (nīlawfar) oil over the head, forehead, and a few drops in the nose. It is also advised to eat it after a meal. On the lower portion of verso there are pen exercises.

Fiscal accounting document, probably. Large and well preserved. Needs examination. Alt description: Fragment, recto, and verso both contain what look like pen trials (some repetitions, abusive ligatures, no lines but broken up words and phrases).

Business memorandum in Arabic script. The layout resembles a state document. (Same genre: ENA 3957.11, T-S Ar.35.269, and T-S AS 184.265.) Dated: 18 Ramaḍān 438 = 18 March 1047 CE. Headed by a basmala, next to which appears the name al-Faḍl b. Sahl (= Ḥesed b. Yashar al-Tustarī, presumably the issuer of this document). Begins: "Owed by Nahray (b. Nissim) the associate of the son of Barhūn al-Tāhirtī: two loads of brazilwood (ʿadlayn baqqam), 820 raṭls; vinegar (khall), 10 raṭls...." Sums are given in dinars further down. Similar entries with weights follow on verso with numbers (sums of money) at the bottom. There are several other documents from the 1040s CE concerning business between Ḥesed al-Tustarī, Nahray b. Nissim, and the Taherti family (e.g., Bodl. MS heb. b 3/19–20 = PGPID 5595 and Moss. IV,1 = PGPID 5761). YU. ASE.

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...)

Letter from Manṣūr(?) b. [...] possibly to a younger relative Yūsuf (وينهي ان المملوك مشتاق الى خدمة ولده يوسف). In Arabic script. Looks like a chancery hand and the document opens with expressions of patronage, but it does not seem to be a petition. The sender has been protecting the interests of the addressee (والمملوك حامل هم المولا من جهة...) with regard to Abū l-Faḍl Fakhr al-Dīn, who may have arrived in Fustat from the Fayyūm. The addressee is told that he might still catch him if he comes quickly. The next section is about Jalāl al-Mulk, who may be trying to take over Yūsuf's fief as ḥāshir (tax collector), and he (or somebody else ) is spreading bad rumors about the addressee (...جلال الملك عمل في حشارتك له ويقبح عليك...). The margin mentions the arrival of ʿIzz al-Dīn b. al-Zandī(?), and the addressee is urged to come with him. Verso is almost entirely greetings. Abū l-Ḥasan sends regards. Regards to Abū l-Faḍl, to a paternal uncle, and to a woman and her children. Hiba sends his regards. The addressee is urged to respond quickly, send a report on the taxes he has collected (? والمدعى اكتب عن الذي حشرته) and not to pay attention to ignoramuses (ولا تسمع كلام الجهال). He is urged again to act quickly so that they can kill two birds with one stone (ونعمل شغلين في شغل) and to try to meet with Fakhr al-Dīn. ASE

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 [...]). This document is a deed of sale pertaining to 66 medins (nuṣf) for 20 red and yellow sufras. The genre of the sale document is an iqrār, i.e., an acknowledgment which is also a sub-genre of Islamic legal manuals (shurūṭ al-fiqh). It is an iqrār (acknowledgment) 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 14th Rabīʿ al-Awwal 909 H/23rd September 1503 CE.

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 [...]). This document is a deed of sale pertaining to 6 dinars and 8 medins for 10 Aleppan shaylas. The genre of the sale document is an iqrār, i.e., an acknowledgment which is also a sub-genre of Islamic legal manuals (shurūṭ al-fiqh). It is an iqrār (acknowledgment) 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 Rabīʿ al-Ākhar 909 H/September 1503 CE.

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.

Bottom of a legal document in Arabic script, four and a half wide lines on paper with 3 final signatures, each in the shape of a cartouche. Dating: Probably Ottoman-era. A transaction of 4,000 Egyptian medins (half-dirhams) is mentioned. Needs examination for content.

Beginning of a petition -tarjama, basmala, formulae, on the right side 4 lines diagonally- from a Jewish woman (al-mamlūka [...] Abū l-Majd Ibn al-Ḥaver). In Arabic script. She seems to be trying to fend off a man who wants to marry her but who already has a wife and children. In the margin, she quotes from the Torah "the son of my sister took my right...". The tarjama is legible but the name is hard to make out. Needs examination.

Legal document in Arabic script, central portion of either a contract or a deed of sale. Dating: Likely Mamluk or Ottoman era. The name of the one of the parties is al-Ḥājj ʿAbd al-Karīm and the amount mentioned is 30,000 dirhams. Needs examination.

Deed of lease for an apartment (ṭabaqa). In Arabic script. Dated: 25 Ṣafar 919 AH = 2 May 1513 CE. Lessee: Manṣūr b. Najīb (b.) Manṣur. Also mentions another merchant Hibatallāh b. Mufaḍḍal. Needs further examination.

Letter in Arabic script. Fragment (the lower part is missing, and the right margin may be missing if it existed); the letter continues in the upper margin of recto. Uneven hand, faded ink, and some creases. Begins with a basmala and cursory blessings (yā mawlāy juʿiltu fidāka min kull suʾ aw min kull [...]). Then accusations: "What is this cruelty and neglect of your own family?!" The sender goes on to complain about distress and lack of wheat. He seems to be complaining about not receiving adequate sustenance even as the addressee is spending handsomely on other material causes and charity.

State document, fragment, in a chancery hand with long swoopy letters. Describing an issue/conflict associated with merchants (li dhālik(?) al-amr(?) maʿahu min al-tujjār, l. 2). Needs examination.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. Registration marks - al-ḥamdu lil-lāh shukran and al-ḥamdu lil-lāh ḥamd al-shākirīn.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. Registration marks - al-ḥamdu lil-lāh shukran and al-ḥamdu lil-lāh ḥamd al-shākirīn.