Geniza Lab

Letter from Avraham Ibn Yiju to his brothers and sisters after his safe return from India to Aden, 11 September, 1149. Alternate description: Letter written by the India trader Avraham Ibn Yiju after his arrival in Aden, to his brothers and sisters in al-Mahdiyya or anywhere else in Ifriqiya. This letter, from September 11, 1149, is primarily addressed to Avraham’s elder brother Yosef, although he also speaks to another brother Mevasser. Covered topics include the future marriage of Avraham’s daughter, consolation for the reported death of an individual, and encouragement for the recipient to pay a visit to his brother Avraham. (S. D. Goitein, Medieval Jewish Traders, 201–06) EMS

Letter from Yeshua b. Yaʿaqov to Avraham Ibn Yiju regarding the death of Madmun b. Yefet, Dhu Jibla, 1151.

Letter from Moshe b. Yosef Yiju, in Alexandria, to his brother Perahya in Fustat. Sent to the shop of Abū l-Faḵr the perfumer b. Abraham. Written probably around June 29, 1155.

Letter from Yeshua ha-Kohen b. Yaʿaqov, in Dhu Jibla, Yemen, to Avraham Ibn Yiju regarding the renting of a house. Around 1150-51.

Original use: Short letter from Yosef b. Avraham, in Aden, to Avraham Ibn Yiju. Dating: ca. 1135–38 CE. The address is on part B as Yosef used to write so it would be seen when the letter is folded. In the available space Ibn Yiju wrote drafts of two questions about Halakhot (see PGPID 4718). (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book III: Avraham Ibn Yiju. pp. 84-88). VMR

Secondary use: Fragment of three responsa written by Ibn Avraham Ibn Yiju, most probably in Yemen. Dating: ca. 1151 CE. Written on a reused letter (see PGPID 4719). (Information from India Book III; IB III, 34 = T-S 10J9.24v IB III, 35 = T-S 10J32.6.)

Calendar for September 1153-September 1156 for Avraham Ibn Yiju's private synagogue.

Three sundry accounts written by Avraham Ibn Yiju. Yemen, apparently 1140-44, 1149-1152.

Letter from Yosef b. Avraham in Aden to Avraham b. Yiju. Goitein thought that the letter was sent to Zabbid, a coastal town in southwestern Yemen. Friedman claims that Ibn Yiju was still in Yemen and understands the reference to Zabbid differently. Goitein dates the letter to 1150, while Friedman to 1148-9. The letter contains many commercial details.

Business letter from Yosef b. Avraham, in Aden, to Avraham Ibn Yiju, on the Malabar Coast of India. Dating: ca. 1137–40. The letter goes into detail regarding the various dealings between the two merchants. The letter contains, among the mention of many other copper items, a very detailed description of a copper lamp that Yosef asks Avraham to make for him in his copper workshop in India.

Calendar written by Ibn Yiju for the year September 1149-September 1150, which seems to indicate that, as before in India and later in Egypt, he planned to organize and lead a private service in Yemen.

Letter from Avraham Ibn Yiju, in Fustat, to his brother, Yosef, in Mazara, Sicily. Written in September 1152.

Instructions for manumission of a female slave written by Avraham Ibn Yiju. III 40a is the top of the page. III, 40b is the bottom of the page. III, 40c is the verso, a draft of a letter written by Avraham b. Yiju for another man and having nothing to do with the India trade, and therefore not edited in Goitein-Friedman. It is, however, edited in Assaf, Texts, 149-51.

List of customs paid in Aydhab by Avraham Ibn Yiju, around 1152. III 40a is the top of the page. III, 40b is the bottom of the page. III, 40c is the verso, a draft of a letter written by Avraham b. Yiju for another man and having nothing to do with the India trade, and therefore not edited in Goitein-Friedman. It is, however, edited in Assaf, Texts, 149-51.

Letter from Moshe Yijū, in Alexandria, to Abū l-Fakhr Ibn al-Amshāṭī, in Fustat. Dating: ca. June 29, 1155. The writer ("Moshe son of his honor, our master and lord Yosef the teacher—may he live until the coming ofthe messiah!") writes a brief letter, almost complete, which is addressed to the family's patron Abū l-Fakhr b. Avraham but opens with salutations to 'the two esteemed brothers,' namely the addressee and his brother, here named ʿAli. Towards the end of the document greetings are sent to Abū ʿAlī. who is evidently the same individual. Abū ʿAlī Ibn al-Amshāṭī is known from sources discussed in pages 103–4, and with the assistance of this letter he can be identified as Abū l-Fakhr Saadya's brother Ḥananel. Greetings are also extended here to an anonymous brother, apparently the third brother, Ḥayyim. The letter thus not only testifies to the Yijū family's dependence on the Ibn al-Amshāṭīs but also provides additional information on members of that illustrious family. The letter is almost certainly connected to III, 47. Moshe decided not to rely entirely on his brother Peraḥya to ask Abū l-Fakhr's advice on what to do with the lac that he wanted to sell in Alexandria, as implied in III, 47v, lines 1-3, and addressed that important merchant directly: (14) I have attached these few lines to you to inform you of my condition and what happened (15) to me on disembarking. Your eminent excellency is well aware of (16) travel to Alexandria. I don't know what to do. (17) Should I sell that lac or leave it? I request (18) sound advice. Please do this act of complete kindness for (19) me, your servant, who is staying here. (Goitein, S.D. & Friedman, M.A., India Traders of the Middle Ages, III-47a. See also Mediterranean Society, III, p. 225, and Goitein's index cards.)

Letter from Moshe Yiju, [after leaving] Tyre, to his brother Perahya, in Fustat. Dating: 14 April 1155 CE. When Moshe sent his previous letters from Tyre, he was terribly ill, and people had despaired. On the 5th day, God acted for the sake of His name, and Moshe was cured. See 2 Kings 20:5 ("on the third day I will cure you"). India Book III, 46.

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 from Yosef b. Peraḥya Yijū, in Mazara, writing to an important merchant, also in Sicily., ca. 1154. Yosef states that his sins are the source of his misfortunes. These misfortunes include a swelling (waram) in the finger of his eldest son Peraḥya who assisted him as schoolteacher. They have been looking for an effective medicine for some time without success. ASE.

Brief letter from Yosef b. Avraham in Aden to Avraham b. Yiju, ca. 1147 or 1148. The letter discusses some business matters and mentions the supposed arrival of Ibn Yiju's brother, Mevasser.

Short letter from Yosef b. Avraham to Ibn Yiju, India, Aden, ca. 1147 or 1148.