Geniza Lab

Recto: Deed of sale for the purchase by Abū ʿAlī Ḥassān b. Ibrahim b. Azhar (the Jewish moneychanger) of two houses in Fusṭāṭ from Abū l-Munajjā Bahūr b. Shanute b. Baḥāsh (the Christian clerk). Witnessed by Yaḥyā b. al-[…], al-Ḥusaynī, and Ḥasan b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Abū ʿUbaydallāh. Verso: Document relating to the purchase on the recto, and dated 480 AH (= 1087 CE). In this supplementary document, Yūsuf Ibn al-Baraka ‘the Jew’ gifts something (possibly the houses on recto) to ʿIzza and ʿAzīza, the daughters of his nephew. Also mentions al-Thābit b. Ḥasan.

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Yehuda to an unidentified personality in Fustat, approximately 1029. Concerning the excommunication of the Karaites.

Ketubba or marital dispute resolution involving a Rabbanite wife and Karaite husband (Sarah bt. Efrayim and Yosef b. Avraham). Location: Fustat. Dated 24 Kislev 1364 Seleucid which is 1052 CE. The document states that the couple was married by means of a "Rabbanite ketubba" and that Yosef b. Avraham commits to respect the Rabbanite holidays. (Information from FGP). MCD.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to the head of the Babylonian community in Egypt, Sahlan b. Avraham, thanking him for forwarding a donation of ten dinars destined for the poor in Jerusalem, and justifying his unwillingness to borrow a midrash on the Song of Songs (Midrash Hazita) from the 'Third' and copy bits out for Sahlan, approximately 1048. Verso: Address in Arabic. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Sadoq Ha-Levi b. Levi in Ramla on Palestinian affairs, probably 1029. He refers to the arrival of a letter from Yoshiyyahu. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Tyre to David b. Daniel, Fustat, probably 1092.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Efrayim b. Shemarya, concerning the prisoners taken on account of the debt of 900 dinars placed on the community of Jerusalem. He also laments his personal poverty. Approximately 1029. (Information from CUDL)

Letter of recommendation written by Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq, 'av bet dinsellekol yisra'el', for Yehoshuaʿ b. Eli and David b. Shemuel.

Account of the Qodesh: revenue from rent, ca.1040. The upper part of a leaf, writtten by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 181 #14)

Two pages of a large account written for a partner, divided into sections. The account mentions sales of linen, lacquer, precious stones, ammonia, clothing and shoes. Different individuals, such as Ibn al-Majjānī, the prominent Qayrawani merchant, are also mentioned to whom debts should be paid. At the beginning of section C the year 49/ A.H. 449/ 1057 is mentioned. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, 373-4; Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, 701)

List of daily building operations/expenditures, ca. probably 1092. Three days are accounted for, in one week of Elul, from Monday the 11th, to Friday the 15th. The parnas who recorded the list probably advanced money of his own, or even resorted to loans, since he lists the sum collected each day and the deficit, which is called salaf (also dawn). 52 dirhams are due on the first, 21 on the second, and 21 on the third day. Then the total weekly deficit of 94 dir. is listed. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 224 #37)

List of payments made by tenants of the Qodesh, ca. 1059. Revenue from rent written in the awkward hand of the parnas Eli ha-Kohen b. Yahya-Hayim. A hajj, i.e. a Muslim who has performed the pilgrimmage to Mecca, is among the tenants. The document is a double sheet taken from a notebook, written only on recto. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 222 #36)

Fragment of a letter from Avraham the son of the Gaon probably to Efrayim b. Shemarya, in Fustat. (Identifications by Gil; Goitein understands this to be part of the same document as T-S NS 320.42 and says that both are written in the "unmistakable hand" of the Gaon Shelomo b. Yehuda.) Dating: before 1035 CE (per Gil). The first few lines preserved here are written in Arabic script, and the end of the letter is in Hebrew. NB: When Goitein refers to "T-S NS 320.16," he generally means the manuscript that currently has the shelfmark T-S NS 320.42.

Recto: fragment from a Karaite ketubba for Ghāliyya bt. Yosef b. Abraham and Thābit b. Yaʿaqov. The bride’s father acts as her agent. Dating: ca. 11th century. Verso: unidentified text. (Information from CUDL.) See also Goitein's note card.

Recto: fragment from a Karaite ketubba for Ḡāliyya bat Joseph b. Abraham and Ṯābit b. Jacob. The bride’s father acts as her agent. Ca. 11th century. Verso: unidentified text. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Avraham the son of the Gaon to Sahlān b. Avraham. (Identifications by Gil; whereas Goitein says that it is written in the "unmistakable hand" of the Gaon Shelomo b. Yehuda.) Mainly in Arabic script, with some Hebrew mixed in. Dating: ca. 1045 CE. The sender mainly details the honors and appointments that were given out during the month of Tishrei. He refers to the "Av Bet Din" and his brother "ha-Shelishi," who are probably (Gil says "certainly") Yosef and Eliyyahu, the two sons of Shelomo Gaon (hence the estimated date). On verso there is a draft of a piyyuṭ in the handwriting of Sahlān b. Avraham (hence the identification of the addressee). (Information from Gil.) NB: Goitein published this fragment in "New sources on the Palestinian Gaonate," Baron Jubilee Volume (1974), but at the time it was called "T-S NS 320.16." Perhaps the confusion arose because Goitein understood these two fragments to be part of the same document. His index card for this manuscript is also located under that shelfmark. The index card currently attached to this shelfmark must be referring to a different manuscript. It says, "Ṣadaqa b. Moshe ha-Levi buys from Yosef b. Shelomo for 25 dinars Tawfīq (a female slave) whom the latter had originally bought from another Jew for his daughter Sitt al-Ahl."

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to the community of Fustat. Dating: ca. 1025 CE. On verso there is a fable about a king and a woman in Arabic script.

Fragment of a letter written by Daniel b. Azarya, probably in 1051. A complaint about harassment by the brothers Yosef and Eliyyahu ha-Kohanim, sons of Shelomo Gaon, and especially about the older. Daniel b. Azarya complains that they did the same to Natan b. Avraham several years ago. It seems like it was written after the death of Shelomo b. Yehuda. (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 2 p. 675-677, #363) . VMR

Tyrian marriage contract with a peculiar proposal formula borrowed from Malachi 2:14 (‘my companion and wife in covenant’). Mid eleventh century. (Information from CUDL)

Account of the Qodesh: revenue from rent, probably ca. 1043. A fragment of the right part of a leaf, the top and bottom of which are missing. A list of revenue for two months is partly preserved. All names given here have been encountered in previous documents. The handwriting is of Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 199 #25)