Geniza Lab

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. David b. Yiṣḥaq Ibn al-Ṣafaṭ (? אלצפט) acknowledges receipt of a sum of money from Abū l-Barakāt Berakhot b. Yaʿaqov to conduct business with it abroad. When he returns to Egypt, 1/3 of the profit will go to the investor and 2/3 to the active partner. The same David b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi appears in T-S Misc.27.4.28.

Recto: Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dated: November 1076. Manṣūr b. Khalaf al-Ṣūrī (from Tyre) will partner with Yefet b. Avraham and Shelomo b. Avraham for one year, beginning in the month of Ṭevet in 1388. Goitein suggests that the three were involved in minting, on the basis of another document which shows a relationship between Yefet and Manṣūr in the sifting of gold dust. Here, Manṣūr is prohibited from traveling or mentioning travel or even expressing a wish to see his family – perhaps his partners are afraid that he will abscond with the gold used in minting? – if he does so, he must pay 20 dinars to the poor, a standard penalty clause. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 36-37) Verso: Unidentified document in Arabic script. Mentions "al-kātib ... al-ishrāf(?) Muḥammad b. Ḥammūd al-Qāḍī." (Information in part from Goitein’s index card and attached notes.)

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dating: 1122-1153. A one-year partnership in an apothecary between Sayyid al-Ahl and his partner Faraḥ b. Abū al-‘Alā. The relationship may have been an apprenticeship; both parties are entitled to 1.5 dirhams a day, but profits from the sale of some commodities within the shop will accrue only to Sayyid al-Ahl, who seems to be the primary partner. However, Faraḥ’s investment is significant; the pharmacy inventory was only 7 dinars, but Faraḥ brings a total of 20 dinars, 16 of which are invested immediately. This document lacks most of the formulae seen in partnership agreements (including stock qinyan phrases, which effect the contract) – it may have been simply the personal outline of a scribe who would later add in the framework from a formulary, as it also lacks signatures. Goitein identifies the handwriting as that of Natan b. Shemuel ha-Ḥaver (active 1122-1153). (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 38-39)

Partnership agreement from Fustat/Cairo, dated 23 July 1819 (1 Av 5579), between Gedalya Mughrabi and Shabbetay Vidal, to begin immediately and to last for a period of 6 months. They are in the sarraflık trade (בעסק הצירפליק).

Partnership agreement. Location: Alexandria. Dated: 19 Tishrei 5575 AM, which is 3 October 1814 CE. Between Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi from Istanbul ["Costa"] who pitched in 10,000 gerushim, Yiṣḥaq de Curiel from Fustat/Cairo who pitched in 17,500 gerushim, Avraham Cesana & Company from Alexandria, who pitched in 17,5000 gerushim, and Eliyyahu Ayilion (?) from Fustat/Cairo, who pitched in 1,500 gerushim, yielding a total capital fund of 46,500 gerushim (it specifies "Egyptian gerushim").

Legal document. Partnership. Dated: 1215-1216 CE. This fragment emerged from the court of Avraham Maimonides. The partners ʿImrān Moshe al-Iskandarī b. Bū Manṣūr ha-Zaqen and Abū al-Ma‘ālī b. Ḥalfon ha-Levi ha-Zaqen contract a partnership. The division of profits and losses is not retained in the preserved portion of the document, but allusions to it in line 15 indicate it was outlined clearly. Line 12 suggests it was an "‘isqa under the rules of a commenda", in which case the active partner would have received 1/3 of the profits and not have been responsible for losses. The active partner, apparently Moshe, was to journey as far as Aden; that the partners were to be separated by distance suggested by the fact that Moshe takes upon himself "the avoidance of betrayal". (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", pp. 275-276)

Legal document. Partnership. Dating: 1100-1138. Location: Fustat. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. This undated fragment concerns a partnership in money-changing; the active partner was Abū al-Surūr Peraḥya b. Menashshe, brother of Ḥalfōn b. Menashshe. The woman Nasab, mentioned on lines 10 and 13, is Peraḥya’s (and Ḥalfōn’s) mother. Peraḥya handed over some amount to his mother, which she acknowledged and recorded as a debt. These funds seem to have been a loan out of partnership capital, indicated by the mention of “the funds in his hands”. On the other hand, no description of the partnership itself is preserved here. The name of Peraḥya’s partner is also not preserved, though it may have been Ḥasan Eli b. Maṣliaḥ (mentioned in line13). It is unclear what role Eli played in the transaction. The signatories are not preserved. But the title "Mordecai of his time" (see line 1) is applied to Moshe b. Mevorakh alone; thus, although his name is not preserved, this document may refer to Mevorakh b. Saadiah and his son Moshe. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 277-278)

Legal document. Partnership dissolution. Dated: 1152. Location: Fustat. Under the authority of the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. Hiba al-Abzārī b. Abū Isḥaq al-Tawwazī and Abū l-Faḍāʾil Yaʿqūb al-Raffāʾ release one another from a partnership, leaving Hiba owing Abū l-Faḍāʾil 6 dinars, to be repaid according to a schedule. The separation of the partners also leaves the two partners returning what seems to be a debt to their investor Abū l-Ḥasan Ibn al-ʿUrs; Hiba will pay 60-70 dinars and Abū l-Faḍāʾil will pay 13 dinars. Interestingly, each of the partners is left with a separate debt to Abū l-Ḥasan, distinct from the assets of his partner; thus, following the separation, the parties are no longer jointly liable even for debts which were accrued during the life of the partnership. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", pp. 279-280; Jacob Mann, "The Jews in Egypt and in Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs," 1:230, 2:237; and Goitein's index cards.)

Legal document. Partnership record. Dated: October 1039.Location: Cairo. In April 1039, the parties Tuviyah b. Yefet ha-Levi and ‘Allūn b. Faraj (and perhaps Salāma ha-Kohen b. Nissan) came to the home of Suleymān b. Isḥāq b. Meir in Cairo. Suleymān was involved in a partnership (mufāwaḍa) with Tuviyah and ‘Allūn. The other partner to the agreement is Khalaf b. Ibrāhīm. When Tuviyah and ‘Allūn demand a payout from the partnership, to be distributed by Suleymān (evidently the senior partner), Suleymān disputes this, explaining that Tuviyah and ‘Allūn have received their final settlements, and Khalaf is free from his obligations to them. Suleymān and Khalaf terminate their relationship, and the April document is given to Khalaf as proof. ‘Allūn's attestation that Suleymān and Khalaf had “a joint enterprise (mu‘āmala) and not a qinyan”, complicating the understanding of partnership models in this period; the difference between a mufāwaḍa and a mu‘āmala (or between either of these and a qinyan) is unclear Immediately below, in different handwriting, appears the testimony of Salāma b. Nissan ha-Kohen to Suleymān that he (Salama) has made the same statement in a different location, at the home of an elder. Goitein believed that the Khalaf b. Ibrahīm mentioned in this document was the same one that appeared in T-S 18J1.6 (PGPID 3523); Lieberman disputes this. In yet another handwriting, the document validates the signatures of Tuviyah and ‘Allūn in the permanent court in Fusṭāṭ some months after their initial testimony was recorded in the home of Suleymān in Cairo. The signatories are the three judges Efrayim b. Shemarya, Avraham b. Mevaser, and Yefet ha-Ḥazan b. David. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 281-284)

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dating: ca. 1090 CE. In the hand of Hillel b. ʿEli. One ‘Ulla and one Yaḥyā release one another from a partnership. These individuals are likely Abū al-Ḥasan Yaḥyā b. Samuel ha-Kohen al-Baghdādī and Abū al-‘Alā ‘Ulla b. Joseph ha-Levi al-Dimashqī, who repeatedly release one another and rekindle their partnership in a number of documents in the Geniza corpus. The majority of the present document concerns the establishment of a 2-year long-distance trading partnership. This release from that partnership includes the text of the contract. One of the partners invested 120 dinars, and the other one 150. Both partners would trade actively. Profits and losses are to be split evenly. The active partner is liable for losses at sea, a departure from the commenda model (see also the verso of T-S K25.153, PGPID 9291, for an example). On the verso there are jottings and accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals ("expenses on Sunday: syrup(?)... sugar... a cup of [...]... chicken: 3...."). (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", pp. 273-274; and from Goitein’s index card.)

Partnership agreement between Eliyyahu Palombo, Yaʿaqov [...], and Merkado [...], from Fustat/Cairo, dated 1796 CE (Av 5556).

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Location: Cairo. Dating: 1204-1237. Partnership agreement in cloth trade between Pinhas b. Elazar ha-Kohen and Moshe ha-Levi. Both partners seem to be active. Profits are to be split evenly, and each of the partners is to be trusted (that is, without requiring the testimony of witnesses) as to partnership accounting, suggesting that the partners did not spend their time together in a single location. The term of the partnership is also specified, though not preserved. The date has not been preserved, but the incomplete titles on lines 23-24 suggest that it falls during the headship of Avraham Maimuni (active between 1204-1237). (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 47-49)

Recto: Legal deed. Location: Qalyūb. Dated: Tuesday, 7 Adar 1505 Seleucid, which is 1194 CE, under the authority of the Gaon Sar Shalom ha-Levi. In the handwriting of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. Moshe later cut it very neatly down the middle, yielding ENA 2558.18 and T-S 13J7.12, and wrote a family letter on the verso of each half. The deed concerns the dissolution of a partnership in a house and in a store between Khalaf and Abū l-Faḍl, the sons of Hilāl. It seems that Khalaf retained the store, while Abū l-Faḍl bought out Khalaf's half of the house for 16.5 dinars. (See also Eliyyahu Ashtor, “The Number of Jews in Medieval Egypt,” JJS (1968), 13; Jacob Mann, Jews in Egypt and Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs, 2:294. An earlier description said the document was dated 1481 Seleucid, but this must refer to a different document, because the date was previously missing.)

Legal document. Commenda. Following the Talmudic isqa method whereby the agents have some responsibility for losses, the active partner or partners (Abū Sa‘d and his son Abū al-Ma‘ānī) collect 2/3 of the profit and bear equal responsibility for losses, while the investor Abū Naṣr collects 1/3. The divison of losses is not clear due to the manuscript's deterioration. While Udovitch (1970, pg. 239) suggests that the fact that the active partner in a qiraḍ bears no liability for loss is ideal for long distance trade, the partners in this agreement seem to plan to travel and still use the Talmudic model rather than the qirāḍ. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 45-47)

Legal document. Record of release. Dated: 1169. Location: Fustat. Likely in the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan b. Shemuel. Onetime business partners Abū al-Faraj Yeshu‘a and Abū al-Riḍā release one another from partnership obligations. Line 13 refers to the “oath of partners”, in which the partners swear that they have not engaged in malfeasance or negligence with partnership assets. This phrase is a statement made at the termination of a partnership, particularly where partnership assets have been lost; reports of partnership profits are often more frequent and are often performed during the life of the partnership. The release clauses pair “loan” (qarḍ) with commenda (qirāḍ) because of the linguistic relationship between the two. The release clauses are mutual. Signed by [unclear] b. Ya'aqov ha-Melammed. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 51-53)

Legal document. Partnership release. Dated: 7 Shevat 1390. Location: Fustat. An olive-oil partnership is dissolved. This fragment contains two documents related to the same partnership agreement, filed in the court one after the other over a two-day period in January 1079. The first document, unsigned and seemingly copied in lines 1-12, represents the termination of a partnership and a corresponding mutual release of three partners, Ghālib b. Ḥalfōn, Moses b. Ghālib, and Meshullam b. Furqān. Ghālib releases Moses and Meshullam; Moses and Meshullam release Ghālib. That Moses and Meshullam did not release one another in this document suggests either that the document was Ghālib’s copy of a mutual release and that other copies were written for Moses and Meshullam, or that Ghālib was the active partner and Moses and Meshullam were his investors. If the latter, Moses and Meshullam would have had no mutual obligations and therefore no need to release one another. This explanation is consistent with lines 13-28, which describe Ghālib and Moses' partnership. As a settlement, Ghālib agrees to pay Moses and Meshullam each month in order to settle the balance (seven dinars). Meshullam's role in the partnership is unclear; only Ghālib and Moses are mentioned as partners in the olive-oil concern. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 127)

Legal document from the high court of the nasi (David b. Daniel) recording testimony of Yefet b. Levi (?) b. Menashshe, acting as power of attorney for his wife, Banāt bt. Abū l-Riḍā Yefet, claiming her father's share of what remains from his partnership with Musāfir b. Shemuel, and recording Musāfir's testimony that he could produce a legal document testifying that Abū l-Riḍā had spoken about this matter differently (i.e. as not being a partnership). The document was then in Tyre, whither Musāfir had sent it for validation by the head of the yeshiva, Eliyyahu Ha-Kohen, and Musāfir asks for a delay until he can have it sent. Verso: parts of one or two other letters, unrelated to the document on recto. ENA 4010.31 and T-S 20.162 are from the same case.

Legal document. Partnership record. Dated 1125. Settlement of a dispute of two partners in a bakery concerning the repayment of depleted partnership capital. The creditor, Abū al-Riḍā ha-Shomer, loaned funds to the partnership as a corporation but not to the partners as individuals. Although the two partners contracted to work the same amount and to share profits and losses equally, the partnership lacks sufficient funds to repay the loan. Abū al-Riḍā asks the partners to demand the “oath of partners” each from the other, and himself demands that each pay half the loss, but one of the partners (Hiba) seems reluctant for unclear reasons. Pressured by Hiba's refusal to pay his share of the debt, the other partner (Mūsā) brings Hiba to court. The result of the court’s action was mediation (“tawassaṭū”), and Hiba agreed to pay Mūsā a single dinar, to which the latter would add the balance of three dinars. The initial loan amount and the repayment amount were both four dinars, and that it seems that Abū al-Riḍā did expect to garner profit from the loan directly. Signed by Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 54-56)

Agreement made by Abu al-Faraj Yaʿaqov b. Avraham b. Allan with his business partner Efrayim b. Ismail al-Jawhari, who takes care of his commercial interests in the Maghreb, containing details about the partner's wage and the goods. (Information from E. Bareket, Shafrir misrayim, p. 53 and Yehudei misrayim, p. 198) In the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya (MR)

Recto: Partnership record. Dating: 1096. Written in the hand of Hillel ben Eli. Describes a settlement between Yaḥyā and Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh. Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh loans 210 dinars to and places some agricultural commodities with Yaḥyā. Yaḥyā agrees to take upon himself the maintenance of the poor of Fusṭāṭ for a year in the event of nonrepayment. The repayments do not appear here because this would have been recorded only on the debtor’s copy of the loan agreement. Yaḥyā’s testimony that he paid his debt wouldn't be accepted without these records, but testimony by Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh (the creditor) is to be accepted without such condition. Verso: Court record. Dating: 1116. Part of a court record detailing a different partnership. Abū al-Surūr Simḥa ha-Kohen brings a power of attorney to pursue the claims of the brothers Abū al-Ma‘ālī and Abū al-Wafā Tamīm b. Yeshu‘a regarding a partnership held by their dead brother Mevorakh, with Yaḥyā (the same Yaḥyā from the recto) and Abū al-Ḥusayn the money-changer. The structure of the partnership is unclear, but it seems likely that Mevorakh was an investor and Abū al-Barakāt had always been the active partner. Upon Mevorakh’s death, Yaḥyā and Abū Ḥusayn claim 2/3 of the partnership assets, leaving Simḥa to collect the remaining 1/3 for Mevorakh’s heirs. The verso is written in a different hand from the recto, likely that of Nissim b. Naḥray. Signed by Barukh b. Yiṣḥaq, the chief judge of Aleppo. The connection between the two documents is Abū al-Barakāt and Yaḥyā. Per Goitein, this Abū al-Barakāt is not the Mevorakh mentioned on the recto but rather Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh b. Shelomo al-Ḥalabī, and Yaḥyā is Abū al-Ḥasan Yaḥyā ha-Kohen b. Shemuel ha-Kohen al-Baghdādī. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 56-60)