Geniza Lab

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Sālim al-Ḥaver, the female slave of R. Nissim, Sulaymān, the old woman, and Abū l-Faraj the ghulam of [...]. Also "a little bit of Cypriot wine." ASE.

State document; Fatimid? Seems like a peace treaty/gifts (hudna/hadiyya?) addressed towards the city of Baghdad, possibly, - 'li-l-hudna/hadiyya ilā madīnat al-Salām'. Sums of money, min l-waraq (silver), aʿin (gold), dawāb (cattle), and khadam (slaves) are mentioned, which could be the reparations sent for ensuring a peace treaty or gifts to engender diplomatic relations. The persons mentioned are Abu Bakr and ʿĪsā, who is referred to as Ṣāḥib al-Ḍawāb (Man of cattle). The document is dated Wednesday 15th of a month unknown. Reused for a literary text-oriented at 180 degrees citing Talmudic rabbis and written in a combination of Hebrew and Arabic script (rather than Judaeo-Arabic) — common among Qaraites but more unusual among Rabbanites.

Letter from Avraham b. David Ibn Sughmār (according to Gil), in Fustat, to the Nagid Yaʿaqov b. ʿAmram, in Qayrawān. Dating: Probably spring or summer of 1039 CE, and in any case 1038–42 CE, during the period of conflict between Natan b. Avraham and Shelomo b. Yehuda over the gaʾonate in Palestine. The letter drafts on both recto and verso are about the conflict and the loyalties of the community of Qayrawān. The sender asks the Nagid, who had previously petitioned the Muslim official Abū l-Qāsim Ibn al-Ukhuwwa on Natan’s behalf, to show his renewed support for the legitimate gaʾon, Shelomo b. Yehuda. This letter also mentions the arrival in Fusṭāṭ of the Nasi Daniel b. ʿAzarya and presents him as a great reformer, banning the ownership of female slaves, excommunicating miscreants, and cracking down on music. As an afterthought, the sender alludes to terrible wrongs being inflicted by Natan b. Avraham's relatives. One remarkable thing about this letter is that it was written at least a decade before Daniel b. ʿAzarya served as gaʾon (beginning in 1051 CE after the death of Shelomo b. Yehuda). It's also one of the key sources for Daniel b. ʿAzarya's lineage: it says that his father was the exilarch ʿAzarya b. Shelomo b. Zakkay, whose elder son Zakkay (Daniel's brother) established the dynasty of Nasis in Mosul whose descendants crop up throughout the Geniza documents of the next two centuries. Jacob Mann published T-S 18J4.16, and Mark Cohen discovered the join with ENA 3765.10 and the significance of this pair of letters. (Information from Goitein, Cohen, Gil, and CUDL.)

Popular literature in Judaeo-Arabic. Conveys the tale of a wise man who is continually amazing a king with his powers of deduction. For instance, he can tell from looking at a Bedouin's horse that it was nursed by a dog, and he can tell from the pre-purchase palpation (taqlīb, dukhūl al-yad) of a female slave that she is not a female slave at all. He explains all of his deductions when the king questions him. With every feat, the king increases his salary/ration of bread. Finally, he informs the king that he (the king) is the illegitimate son of a baker, proves that this is the case, and the king swears him to secrecy and lets him go with enough money to live happily ever after. The document is written across two pages; the second also contains a Hebrew piyyut prefaced by "Yeshaʿyahu b. Elʿazar b. Jābir to Shemarya Kahana b. Aharon." The name Yehuda b. Peraḥya also appears on the final page. ASE.

Bill of sale for a female slave. Dating: Perhaps second half of the 11th century or beginning of the 12th century, based on the hand. This is an unsigned draft (with additional legal jottings in the upper margin). T-S NS 320.15 appears to be the final version of the same document (though the lower part along with any signatures are missing, and that too may have been a draft). Seller: Ṣedaqa b. Moshe ha-Levi. Buyer: Yosef b. Shelomo. Slave: Tawfīq. Price: 25 dinars. (Information from OZ, AA, CP, ASE.)

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. On parchment. Location: Fustat. Dated: 1441 Seleucid, which is 1129/30 CE, under the authority of Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon. The case involves a gift, Sitt al-Karam, Abū l-Munajjā, and a female slave named Rasm.

Bill of sale for a female slave named חלל (Ḥalal? Ḥulal? In fact there is a vowel above the letter in the document, but it is not immediately clear whether a fatḥa or a ḍamma is indicated). Yosef ha-Kohen pays [..]ta bt. Shemuel either 23 or 26 dinars. Yosef may be identical with Abū l-Makārim. The buyer is Abū l-Makārim, who is purchasing the female slave for his sister (karīma), and the seller is Abū Saʿd al-Ṣayrafī. It is not clear how Abū Saʿd is related to the daughter of Shemuel. Abū Saʿd guarantees (ḍāmin) to the sister of Abū l-Makārim דרך אלחל of the female slave (whatever this means; as in T-S 8J8.4). The document seems to conclude with a provision that Abū Saʿd will reimburse the full price of the female slave to the sister of Abū l-Makārim in certain scenarios (אן יקים להא בתמן הדה אלגאריה . . . מתי . . . מן יעתרפהא או ירמי מלכייתהא ויסתכרגהא מן יד כרימה אלשיך אבו אלמכארם). The document is incomplete, and there are no signatures. Verso: Probably an archival note in Arabic script describing the contents of the document: يذكر فيها انه ضمن درك زوجته والصهر مسلم الى يده جامع عن حق السوق وجعل الدلالة. The buyer and seller may in fact be in-laws, e.g., maybe the sister of Abū l-Makārim is actually the wife of Abū Saʿd al-Ṣayrafī. Needs further examination. ASE.

Legal deed concerning a female slave, that is probably sold or given as a gift to a woman named Sitt al-Nas. Also mentioned Mevasser, Shemarya Hakohen. Written by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe Halevi

Letter from a woman, in Rashīd, to Yom Ṭov al-Buḥayrī (it seems her son-in-law) and his wife Esther (it seems her daughter), in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 16th century. The specific relationships are not entirely clear. She seems to use masculine verb endings when addressing each one of the two; she opens with "salām allāh taʿālā ʿalā a[l]-ṣihr(?) al-ʿazīz wa-ʿalā al-bint al-ʿazīza Esther min ummik" and there is no clear alternative to eading ṣihr, which can mean son-in-law as well as brother-in-law; but she also writes "greet your mother-in-law" (with masculine verb ending), a statement that has to be addressed to her own child. In any event, she congratulates them on acquiring a female slave (if אכצתי is indeed to be read as אכדתי) and urges one of them (presumably the daughter, but the verbs are masculine) to "take it with a gracious word" (khudhu bi-kalima ḥilwā). The remainder of the content is obscure. Greetings to Doña Sh[..]; to the aforementioned mother-in-law; and to Khuḍayr and Manṣūr. ASE.

Letter from חצרייה(?) and her mother to פוצילא. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century. The writers report on the condition of the neighborhood, which is stricken with an epidemic (magefa) and, barukh ha-shem, various people in the addressee's family have been stricken (inḍarabū). No one is left in the house except for the writer, the daughters (באנת = בנאת?) and the female slave. There is a postscript, "Do not blame your mother, because your mother has no sense. This is Shuml (=Shemuel?)." Needs further examination.

Letter of a woman, who was seriously ill, requesting her sister to provide her younger daughter with a proper education. Concerning the illness: "This is to inform you that I have become seriously ill with little hope for recovery. I have dreams indicating that my end is near. . . . Let Abū l-Barakāt come and treat me, for I am in a serious condition. . . . God knows how I wrote these lines." Concerning her daughter's education: "My most urgent request to you, if God decrees my death, is to take care of my little daughter and make efforts to give her an education." She repeats several times not to separate the Sudanese female slave from the little girl and to give nothing but the younger female slave to the elder daughter Sitt al-Sirr. "Cursed be he who acts against my dying wish." ASE

Letter of appeal addressed to Rabbenu Yiṣḥaq. In Hebrew. The writer's place has been destroyed and some people have been sold by the shaliṭ/sulṭān (into slavery), and "the shoḥad (perhaps ransom here rather than bribe) that they took. . ."

Bill of sale for a slave. Abū al-[Man]ṣūr al-Kohen purchases a female slave named Ṭ[...] for the price of 25 dinars.

Bill of sale for a female slave. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Either the buyer or the seller is named [...] b. Shemarya. No other details preserved.

Bill of sale for a female slave. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. No details preserved. (Not a join with ENA NS 77.221.)

Notes for the drawing up of a deed of sale for a slave. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe? One of the parties is the divorcee of Abū l-Bayān al-Kātib. Like other such documents, it specifies which party will have to pay potential government taxes (in this case the buyer). Here this clause is prefaced with the intriguing phrase, "if there is anyone who tattles to the government" (wa-ʾin kāna thumma man yaghmiz lil-sulṭān), implying that such transactions were conducted under the table. Cf. T-S 13J36.11, which describes the significant losses incurred by a slave owner after he was denounced to the government.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1065 CE. It appears that Nahray and his family recently stayed in Alexandria, and Natan has heard that they arrived ome safely. Nahray plans to travel to Malīj, and Natan asks if he should send the female slave (jāriya) there (r13).

Letter from a man in Egypt to his brother or brother-in-law, an India trader in Aden. In Judaeo-Arabic. Frenkel identifies the writer's location as Alexandria, the addressee as Ismāʿīl al-Fāṣid, and the date as 1176 CE, but does not seem to explain her reasoning. The letter recounts an interesting family saga. The addressee's maternal uncle passed away while traveling with the addressee to India. The addressee took care of him before his death. The family has taken great pains to conceal the news of the uncle's death until they receive a detailed account of his will. This long letter repeatedly describes everyone's anxiety waiting for news of the addressee's health and the will. His mother, when she heard of the death of her brother and the news of the addressee's difficulties at sea, fell sick and fasted until news came of the addressee's health. His father stays up all night praying for him. "If you knew how much reward (in Heaven) you receive from every letter you write us, you would do nothing but write us letters." The family congratulates the addressee on his purchase of a male slave (ghulām). Finally, the reason for the anxiety about the will comes to light at the end. The uncle knew or thought that his wife was pregnant when he departed, however, they counted 9 months, and there was no baby. They counted another 9 months, and she had a baby boy. The family evidently wishes to ensure that none of the uncle's inheritance ends up with his wife or son. Even the Muslims say, "We have never heard anything like what this Jewish woman has done. She deserves nothing but hellfire." The widow was able to round up some allies from among the Byzantine Jews, and they managed to gather 10 Jews for the circumcision, but with no cantor or judge present. In the midst of sending everyone's regards in the margin of verso, the writer reports sarcastically that the newborn infant also sends his. Information in part from Frenkel and from Goitein's attached notes. ASE.

Bifolio from a court ledger. In the hand of Natan b. Shemuel he-Ḥaver. Three records at least: 1) Settlement of a complex marriage dispute involving Abū Yaʿqūb b. Yosef Ibn al-Dhahabī, his daughter, and her husband Abū l-Mufaḍḍal Avraham b. ʿOvadya. The father-in-law and wife must fulfill some condition involving property rights, and if they do not, she will be divorced without a right to her ketubba. If they do, the ketubba stays as is. On the other side, the husband Abū l-Mufaḍḍal undertakes not to beat her or insult her or demand "the fruits" of the property. Dated: Tammuz 1453 Seleucid = 1142 CE. 2) Long inventory of valuable goods. Dowry list? Spans front and back of a single folio. 3) Details of the sale of a female slave. Her name: Jinān. Buyer: Mufaḍḍal b. Abū Saʿd b. Ṣibyān. Seller: Netanʾel b. Yiṣḥaq. Price: 34 dinars. 2 dinars will be paid in Tishrei 1454 Seleucid = 1142 CE, and the remaining 32 dinars in monthly installments of 1 dinar. The guarantor is al-Labbān b. ʿAbdallāh. Jinān has a 2-year-old daughter named Wafāʾ, who will remain with the seller (separated from her mother).

Bill of sale for a female slave, probably a draft. In Judaeo-Arabic. Al-Rayyis Abū Saʿd Seʿadya sells a Nubian female slave ([...]da) and her daughter (Shamīma?) and her son (Rayḥān?) to R. Eliyya b. Ṣadaqa known as Ibn Ḥiyya(?) for [...] dinars with 'ṣarf of 40.'