Geniza Lab

Deed, commercial, attesting to Alexandria's importance in international trade. The document mentions traders from Venice and Constantinople, as well as Sicilian coins. Apparently the deed is from the beginning of the twelfth century, to judge by the names, which appear in documents from the circle of Nahray b. Nissim. The document also contains an important report on a dispute between people from the Maghrib and local Alexandrians, headed by the Alexandrian Ben Nahum family. (Information from Frenkel. See also Goitein, Med. Soc. 3:159)

Business letter sent from Alexandria by Avraham b. Farah to Yaʿaqov b. Avraham. The writer describes the difficult situation, probably in North-Africa, and writes about a merchant who had been lost on the road and almost died before he was found and brought to a ship. He also describes the movement of ships and merchandise in Alexandria and mentions taxes. Dated June 20, 1054. (Information from Gil)

Partnership release. Dated: 1091. Location: Fustat. Verso: Avraham b. Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen irreversibly releases Abū al-Faḍl/Abū al-Mufaḍḍal Netanel b. Yefet from any obligations concerning a partnership. Avraham had purchased two baskets of indigo and silk as an investment on behalf of his Alexandrian partners – the silk was damaged on its initial journey to Fusṭāṭ and Avraham liquidated it completely, settling the balance with Nathaniel and terminating the partnership. Abraham’s partners include Nathaniel’s mother and sister (see lines 23 and 27-31). The recto is another partnership agreement (for which the verso is possibly a draft), which reveals Abraham to be an investor (not the active partner), investing funds with Peraḥ/Peraḥya ha-Kohen, who also adds funds and takes the total to Damascus to import goods to Fusṭāṭ. The partnership is to last the duration of a single trip to Damascus, and Peraḥ is to receive half of the profits to Abraham’s capital as well as all profits to his own capital. Peraḥ is liabile for losses, as with the isqra. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 65-66)

Four minute fragments from a letter in Judeo Arabic. Only few words survived on each piece. Fustat and Alexandria are mentioned on fol. 1. 13th century. AA

Receipt for a financial transaction in Arabic recorded in Alexandria on 3 Jumada I 1236AH which is February 1821CE. The basis of the transaction in silver kuruş is explained in the heading and the note below the long list of itemized entries. The official who signed the bottom of the document bore the title of "ağa/اغا" and was also serving as a commercial "overseer / ناظر". MCD.

Two merchants setting out from Alexandria on a voyage to the Muslim West appoint their wives as executors and guardians of their children: (1) Yosef b. Isḥāq al-Fasi gives his daughter Sitt al-Ḥusn 200 dinars and appoints his wife Sitt al-ʿAshīr bt. Barhūn as guardian of his daughter. He asserts that the amount of the principal and profit of a partnership included in the estate has to be accepted according to the word of his partner, because the partner was known for his trustworthiness and religiosity. Dated: Tammuz 4857 AM, which is 1097 CE. (2) Abū l-Faraḥ ʿArūs b. Yosef entrusts Sitt al-Kull bt. Avraham b. Ṭībān, his wife and mother of his boy, with all his affairs and possessions and makes her his heir, as well as guardian of their boy. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, 252; V, 133, 205, 333; and from Goitein's index cards; and from Goitein's hand list.) See also detailed description on CUDL.

Announcement regarding the program of ceremonies for the Ibn Yuḥay Institute for Culture and Righteousness in which the Minister of Social Affairs, the Chief Rabbi of Cairo, and Chief Rabbi of Alexandria are speaking – undated – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 171) – in Arabic and French. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 46). MCD.

Letter reporting the date of one of the brother's arrival from traveling to Alexandria – 1924CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 76) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 58). MCD.

Business letter in Arabic script in which a father reports to his son on events in Alexandria and the arrival of the aṣḥāb, about which he's very excited. Reports as well on acquisition of dyed flax or linen and other textiles, and says there's no need to go to Palermo. (Information from Aodeh)

Verso: Draft of a legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi. Partnership agreement. In this unsigned and undated draft, an unnamed active partner receives 200 dinars from Sibāʿ, with which he is to travel to Alexandria and transact in unnamed commodities. Sibāʿ agrees to share equally in all losses to the partnership as a whole (e.g. losses due to work stoppage or broken merchandise). Lines 12-16 indicate that if commodities may end up traveling for sale in Alexandria escorted by someone other than the active partner, the active partner should inform Sibāʿ. The risk of loss is wholly carried by Sibāʿ. The active partner’s testimony concerning profits and losses does not require the support of witness testimony. The active partner seems to be entitled to all profits except for the maintenance of Sibāʿ(excluding Sibāʿ's rent and education costs for his son). Sibāʿ's share of the profits – a fixed amount unrelated to the success of partnership assets – might contravene the rabbinic prohibition of usury, but he does bear responsibility for losses. The use of the first person throughout the document suggests that it was prepared and notarized for the active partner, as with powers of attorney. The active partner could then present it as supporting documentation in the event of a dispute concerning distribution of partnership profits. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 97–98.) See also Hebrew description from India Book IV, below. On recto there is a business letter in Arabic script; see PGPID 9140.

Letter from Avraham b. Farrāḥ/Peraḥya, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat, 1 May 1052. Contains details about the sailing of ships from Alexandria. The letter contains an order of payment for 40 dinars to be paid by Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Ṣāʾigh (Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ) to Nahray b. Nissim. Also mentions a vizier. (Information from Goitein's index card and Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 813.)

Letter from Avraham b. Farrāḥ, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dated 27 Iyyar, which Gil renders 1 May 1052. Contains details about the sailing of ships from the Alexandria port. The letter contains an order of payment for 40 dinars to be paid by Abū ʿAlī Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Ṣāʾigh (Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ) to Nahray b. Nissim. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 813.)

Letter from Abū Naṣr b. Avraham, in Alexandria, to Ḥalfon b. Netanʾel ha-Levi, probably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 12 Elul 1451 Seleucid = August 27, 1140. In the letter there are various items of news. The first and certainly the one for which he wrote the letter is the arrival of a Genoese ship that was in the same convoy of ships as the ship of the Sultan, which had not yet arrived. This caused anxiety among the people, because they probably already knew that Yehuda ha-Levi had to arrive on that ship. The letter also contains information about silk prices and the priority of the government authorities in buying the goods that arrived. Abū Naṣr hopes that Ḥalfon’s mood has improved and that he has no further reason to complain about him (Abū Naṣr). At the end, greetings from family members and those close to Ḥalfon (such as Abū l-Najm and Abū Mūsā Hārūn), to Ḥalfon, his family, and to people in Fustat. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, IB IV; Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Alexandria to Abū l-Maʿānī. Business letter fragment concerning various transactions, some of which are taking place in Alexandria, and mentioning the purchase of poppy seed and rice and a codex apparently used as surety. Some text on the verso seems to belong to the same letter. The rest of the verso is a different (but potentially related) document in Arabic script. (Information from Goitein's index cards and CUDL)

Letter fragment in the hand of Avraham b. Farah al-Iskandarani, in Alexandria, to one of the merchants in Fustat, regarding shipments being forwarded to the addressee. Dated 1056 CE. (Information from Gil)

Recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, likely sent from Alexandria. Very faded. Concerns a dispute between groups within the community and mentions the synagogue. One group turned to the amir "Nāṣir al-Dawla wa-Sayfuhā" to intervene. There was a person who went to Fustat "to execute the rescripts from the king" (wa-kharaja ilā Miṣr fī injāz al-tawqīʿāt al-musallama min al-malik). Mentions someone from Tripoli (al-Iṭrābulsī) in the margin. It is hard to extract further details. Verso: Two distinct text blocks in Arabic script. The upper one is a record about the height of the Nile flood. The lower one, at 90 degrees, mentions a qāḍī. Needs further examination. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Letter from Manṣūr b. Sālim, in Alexandria, to Eliyyahu the Judge (Abū l-Faraj b. al-Rayyis), in Fustat. Manṣūr asks Eliyyahu to help find his son, who had run away, perhaps to the army, perhaps to Cairo or Damascus. Manṣūr asks Eliyyahu to urge his son to come home, reminding him of his obligations towards his mother, who is very sick on account of her son's actions. The son had taken several objects with him on his flight without the father knowing it(?). The sender requests a quick reply to his letter. See also T-S 10J14.12 and T-S Ar.18(1).137, letters by the same sender concerning the same matter. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 274, 468; II, pp. 379, 479, 610)

Recto: Letter from Daniel b. Yaʿaqov apparently in Alexandria to Yiṣḥaq b. Yehuda ha-Kohen al-Dimashqi in Fustat. The writer requests that the recipient convey his greeting to his former student, Sa'd al-Mulk and to the teacher Suhayl, who are both in the building where Suhayl teaches boys. (Information from Goitein's index cards and CUDL). Verso: Remnants of an official Arabic document. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Makhlūf b. Musa ibn al-Yatim, Alexandria, to Abu Yiṣḥaq Avraham b. Yahya Fasi, Fustat. The main part of the letter is an apology that the recipient was not met and was not bidden farewell before his departure to Fustat. The intended meeting point was Bab al-Sidara, the entrance to Alexandria from the mainland. (Information from Frenkel.) Goitein adds that the recipient was Abu Yiṣḥaq Avraham b. Yahya Fasi. The writer castigated the addressee for choosing the wrong company and excused himself for not seeing him off on account of the bad weather and his toothache, which he describes in graphic detail (see Med. Soc. 5:108, 248). Makhlūf accidentally wrote part of a letter intended for another person on the verso of this letter, then crossed it out and explained what had happened underneath.

Letter from Mansur b. Salim in Alexandria to a friend in Cairo inquiring about his son, who had run away to the army and had perhaps travelled as far as Yemen. See also T-S 10J13.10 and T-S Ar.18(1).137, letters by the same sender concerning the same matter. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 379)