Geniza Lab

Letter in the hand of Abū Zikrī, physician to the sultan al-Malik al-ʿAzīz (Saladin's son and successor), sent to his father Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1193–98 CE, if all the identifications are correct (this document would then be several years earlier than any other document relating to Abū Zikrī or his father Eliyyahu). This is the second page of what was originally a longer letter. Abū Zikrī describes his overwhelming grief upon hearing the news that his younger brother had died. Members of the court came to express their condolences, including the sultan himself, who said that he considers the deceased as equal to his own younger brother, al-Malik al-Amjad. (Information in part from S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:346-47, 5:175–77.) EMS. ASE.

Letter from Shelomo to his brother Abu Zikri.

Letter addressed to Abū Zikrī b. Eliyya ha-Dayyan, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer addresses Abū Zikrī first (figuratively) as his 'father' and later as his cousin (ibn ʿamm). Most of the content is missing. The writer sends regards to his uncle (Eliyyahu the Judge), Eliyyahu's wife, the ṣughayyira, and Samḥūn (=Simḥa ha-Kohen). Verso: Apart from the address, also contains a list of Jewish names in Arabic script.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Containing a beautifully styled request. This may not be addressed to the writer's mother and father. Rather, the sender is making a request of another man "so that the heart of the venerable father and noble mother may be eased." The request itself is not preserved. He apologizes for his haste in writing this letter in the margin of verso. Goitein identified the hand as that of Abū Zikrī b. Eliyyahu the Judge, based on comparison with the script in 10J16.16 (which is from an ophthalmologist named Abū Zikrī, who is likely but not definitively identical with Abū Zikrī b. Eliyyahu). Information in part from Goitein's index card.

Letter from the physician Abū Zikrī, in Alexandria, to his father Eliyyahu the Judge, in Fustat. Dating: Shortly before 1227 CE. Abū Zikrī tries to convince Eliyyahu to accept the post of judge in Alexandria. He promises that he will procure Eliyyahu's pension from the Ayyubid sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil (r. 1218–38 CE). He reports about the downfall of the Muslim governor and the Jewish Nasi of Alexandria and suggests that his father could get a position in that town if he wanted to. He also rebukes his father in strong terms for failing to include an update on the health of his mother in the previous letter, causing tremendous agitation and fear that she might be sick (r18–21). In a section that is almost completely effaced (v16–17), he mentions "appetite for food," perhaps in the context of one of his own chronic illnesses. (Information in part from Frenkel and from Goitein, Med. Soc. Vol. 1, p. 64 and Vol. 2, pp. 353, 380, 596.) See also T-S Ar.39.64. ASE