Geniza Lab

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan, Tyre, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat, ca. 1060 in the month of Ab.

Letter sent from Alexandria by Ismail b. Farah to a member of the Tahirti Family in Fustat, containing details about goods and ships. Dated ca. 1051. (Information from Gil)

Letter from Daniel b. Azarya to a man in Fustat concerning a replacement for the supervisor who was responsible for the butchers in Fustat, after Yefet b. David passed away. The beginning and end are missing. VMR

Letter from Yeshu'a ha-Kohen ha-Ḥaver, an official in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim. Yeshu'a writes to raise money to free three Jews held by Italian merchants. The merchants had acquired their human cargo from Rum (Byzantine) pirates. The pirates had beaten and almost killed their captives. Jewish communities in Egyptian port towns bore the brunt of these expenses. Charitable collections were often held throughout the Jewish communities of Egypt to help free co-religionists captured in wartime or in acts of piracy. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Barhun b. Musa al-Tahirti, probably from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim and Ayash b. Sdaka, Fustat. Mentions details about shipments of flax, several ships, and several of Nahray’s business partners as Ibn Sumgar family. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #350) VMR

Business letter addressed to Arus b Yosef including greetings to his brothers-in-law. Dated to the late 11th/early 12th century. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 25. 252, 482)

Letter sent by Nahray b. Nissim (according to Gil) or by Barhun b. Yiṣḥaq al-Tahirti (according to Ben-Sasson) to Barhun b. Musa al-Tahirti in Fustat, containing prices of goods and information about the movements of ships. Dated 1053. (Information from Gil)

Letter from Farah b. Avraham, probably from Qayrawan, to Yosef b. Ya’aqov b. Awkal. Regarding b. Awkal’s merchandise that arrived in Qayrawan and the writer's dealings with selling them and sending their payment to Fustat. Also lists the prices. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #222) VMR

Letter from Benaya b. Mūsā, from Tinnis, to Nissim b. Ḥalfon, Fustat. Around 1060. Regarding a shipment of scarlet for the Byzantines that was sold to local Jews. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #604) VMR

Letter sent by ʿAṭā' b. Zikri from Alexandria to Mevorakh b. Israel Januni in Fustat, containing a legal question to Nahray b. Nissim about the writer's rights to collect his deceased brother's and his own shares in a transaction with Yiṣḥaq b. Khalaf. Dated ca. 1060. (Information from Gil)

Letter from Mardūk b. Mūsā, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1060 CE, based on Gil's assessment. The letter was written by Mūsā b. Abī l-Ḥayy, and it switches to his voice from line v1 onward. Mardūk reports that he has recovered from his illness: he entered the baths and ate pullets (r4–5), but some of his family members are still sick (r16). The rest of the letter is entirely business matters. (Information in part from Gil.) ASE.

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim to a person in Alexandria. Mentions merchandise and textiles, along with books and various texts that someone is copying for Nahray. Circa 1050 (Gil estimate). VMR

Letter from Musa b. Abi al-Hayy from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1065. Details about goods that Nahray ordered in Alexandria, probably materials to use for copying books. Mentions a person that came from Sicily and brought lead, oil, and cloths. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 3, pp. 515-519, #453). VMR

Letter containing personal, business and communal news from Marduk b. Musa, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat, ca. 1045-1096.

Fragment of a letter from Musa b. Abi al-Hayy from Alexandria, to Barhun b. Musa ha-Tahirti, Fustat. Around 1045. The writer lists the goods that he wants to be bought for him in Fustat. Also writes information about ships, including the news about one ship that was attacked and forced to stop in Djerba Island. )Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #461) VMR

Letter from David b. Amar Madini. Around 1040. The addressee and place are missing. The writer expect deliveries from the addressee and suggests he would send them (but not the gold) with one of three people, including two Muslims with the name “Hajj” (that made a pilgrimage to Mecca in the past). Mentions trading of pearls (or corals), cloths, silk, and more. Dated between 1038 and 1045. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #655) VMR

Business letter by a young Spanish merchant writing from Fez to his father in Almeria, Spain, revealing that he preferred not to use his father's house in Fez but to stay with friends instead in order to be able to declare his merchandise as destined for a local merchant. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 61-62 and Goitein's translation, attached.) After he was forced to pay the governor (qā'id) and customs inspector (mutawalli al-ʿushūr) and sundry others, "I was sick for three days out of anger and sorrow. Had I possessed here the same courage as I usually have in Almeria, I would have escaped with less than this. But I consoled myself with the solace of one who has no choice."

Fragment of a letter from Alexandria, probably from Avraham b. Yosef al-Sabag, to Yosef b. Ya’aqov b. Awkal, Fustat. Contains information about merchandises that have been sent from Egypt to the Maghreb, including silver, pepper, and linen. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #208) VMR

Letter from Avraham b. Farah, Alexandria, to Abu Ishaq Barhun b. Musa al-Tāhartī, Fustat, dealing with shipments of goods, ca. 1053 (Gil). Mentions the qarib belonging to Abū ʿAbdallāh Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ (recto, margin). (Information from Gil)

Letter from ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣedaqa, from Alexandria, to the Tahirti family, Fustat. May 27, 1050. ʿAyyāsh returned from Busir where he bought a large amount of flax, for Nahray, to the cousins (the Tahirtis) and several others. There were some accidents with the goods, several shipments got wet and several others were stolen. ʿAyyāsh mentions deals of silk and pearls with Abd al-Rahman the jeweler, and several other goods. Verso: Draft of an account regarding flax and other goods, as well as details about the expenses for ship rental, bribe, and taxes. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #485) VMR