Geniza Lab

Letter from Barhun b. Salih Tahirti in Fustat to his cousin and partner, Barhun b. Moshe Tahirti in Alexandria, reporting about merchandise sold in Fustat and requesting that more be bought in Alexandria. He also has some personal requests. The letter was written over a period of five days. It also deals with the market fluctuations for the period. In a postscript Nahray b. Nissim writes that he is moving from the Tahirtis' house into a rented space of his own. This indicates a dating of the latter around 1050, from the early years of Nahray's involvement in the commercial life of Fustat after his arrival there ca. 1045. (Information from Goitein's index card)

Unfinished business letter sent by Mubarak b. Natan to Mubarak b. Ibrahim in Tyre, to whom he had already written three letters. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Late letter to Abd al-Karim Kashani dealing with orders for goods. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim, Egypt, to Abu al-Faraj Yeshu'a b. Isma'il.

Important business letter sent from Alexandria by Farah b. Ismail to his father in Fustat, containing details about delivering money, commodity prices, and ordering goods from Fustat. Dated November 12, 1050. (Information from M. Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 670)

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dating: Ca. 1062 CE (Gil). Topics: trade in oil, cumin, paper, books; the serious illness of ʿIwāḍ b. Ḥananel; and the dire situation in al-Mahdiyya. Nahray was very worried about ʿIwāḍ, but he ended up improving (lines 6–7). Cf. T-S 10J10.27, from 1060 CE, in which ʿIwāḍ himself writes to Nahray about his intestinal bloating and how he is scared and does not know what will happen.

Business letter to the writer's brother Shelomo. Two drafts of very late note. The man has difficulty expressing himself. He requests garments (jubab) for cover in one version and 10 qintar of raisins (zubab [sic]) in the other. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Business letter from Yosef b. Arah to Nethanel ha-Talmid b. 'Amram dealing with palm-fiber, books, pots, myrtle, silk, and other textiles. Dated early twelfth century. (Information from Goitein's index cards.) See also T-S 12.329 + T-S Ar.48.136, by the same writer, possibly to the same recipient.

Fragmentary business letter sent from Fez in Morocco to Almeria in Spain. It mentions gold, silk, and mercury. Dated to the end of December, 1141. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 210, 486)

Letter probably sent from Malīj to Nahray b. Nissim.

Letter sent from Alexandria by Shemuel b. Aharon to Abu Ishaq Avraham b. Moshe in Fustat, explaining why he could not send the silk which he had dyed with gold, and sending greetings, though without mentioning his own name, probably because his handwriting was known to the recipient. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 241, 573)

Business letter from Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi b. Simḥa al-Nīsābūrī to the parnas ʿŪlla ha-Levi. The writer recommends a young Jewish man and describing him as being very good at kattan work, indicating the scotching and hatchling of flax. Also mentions the silk market and prices. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:105, 402, 418, 455) EMS

Business letter, fragment, from Abū Naṣr b. Ibrāhīm, in Alexandria, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel, in Fustat. Ending only. Dating: Early 1130s CE. The letter includes information on trade in wheat. This is one of the earliest letters of Abū Naṣr to Ḥalfon: from the contents of the letter he appears inexperienced and Ḥalfon serves as his instructor and patron. (Information from Frenkel)

Letter of request, addressed apparently to Madmun b. Yefet, by a person in inland Yemen, for help against Ibn Yiju, involving a shipment of five bahars (of what is not said).

Letter sent from Qayrawan by Yosef b. Labrat al-Fasi to Yaʿaqov b. Yosef b. Awkal in Fustat, inquiring about merchandise sent to the Maghreb and mentioning Yaʿaqov b. Nissim ibn Shahin and a manuscript ordered by Ibn Awkal. (Information from Gil)

Letter sent from al-Ahwaz by Efrayim b. Sa'id to the three senior Tustari brothers, Abu Nasr Sahl, Abu Ya'qub Yosef and Abu Sahl, in Fustat, listing textiles sent from Iran and ordering others from Egypt. Dated March 4, 1026. (Information from Gil, and from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 164)

Letter from Daniel b. Azarya regarding several trading issues included the purchase of different merchandise and payments. The writer's distress is shown from the letter. Was probably written in Damascus. (Information from Gil, Palestine). VMR

Letter from Abū l-Manṣūr b. Ṭāhir al-Kohen, in Alexandria, to the Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr b. Yiṣḥaq al-Dimashqī, in Fustat. Dating: 1170s CE. The addressee was just then beginning his commercial career. The letter reports on an decree of Saladin that was proclaimed in Alexandria, halving the customs dues (maks) that had been incumbent on local and foreign Jews and Christians. The ṣāḥib al-dīwān authenticated and registered the decree (athbatahū), and the amir Fakhr al-Dīn ordered for it to be implemented. The local Jews took out the Torah scroll and prostrated themselves and prayed for the government. Also mentions various business dealings, including in sugar, and people including Hibatallāh the trader from Tripoli and Abū l-ʿIzz b. Bishr. (Information in part from CUDL and Frenkel.)

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan, Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dating: March 1062 CE. Among other matters, Yisrael reports that he is in bad shape: he was sick with congestion (nazla), a cough (suʿāl), and eye pain (wajaʿ al-ʿaynayn), although now he is feeling somewhat better. He asks Nahray to obtain bitumen (qifār) from Abū l-Faraj Yeshuʿa, and send it to him, "for this is the most helpful (drug) for me." ASE

Letter sent from Alexandria by Ibrahim b. Farah to Yehuda b. Musa b. Sighmar in Fustat, dealing with merchandise sent to Sicily, describing the itineraries of ships and mentioning some letters. (Information from Gil)