Geniza Lab

Letter fragment in Arabic script. Mentions al-Shaykh Bū l-Faḍl.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic mentioning the sale of an unnamed item and a document as well as 'the honorable brother' R. Mikha'el (Michael). The recto (B 5881-1) bears partially obscured jottings in Arabic script, possibly a list or account with Coptic numerals indicating amounts, perhaps associated with the contents of this text.

Recto: Letter fragment in Arabic script. Verso: Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Regards are sent to Abū l-ʿAlā and Abū Isḥāq.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, with Arabic script on verso. Lovely handwriting. Mentions the addressee's father, the neighbors, and going up to see the Rayyis.

Recto: List of people who have died and notes about prayers for them (?). Verso: Document in Arabic script, perhaps accounts.

Tiny fragment in calligraphic Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script.

Order of payment. In Arabic script (one line) and Judaeo-Arabic (three lines). The addressee is to give the bearer a sum of money.

Two columns at 180 degrees to each other, one in Judaeo-Arabic and one in Arabic script. The Judaeo-Arabic column is a list of names.

Two lines of a letter or petition in Arabic script (li-l-sayyid bin al-[...]).

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. The handwriting is probably known. Wide space between the lines, ends with yeshaʿ rav. Mentions a dinar that Barakāt talk. On verso there is a note in Arabic script naming sums of money.

Accounts in Arabic script.

Enigmatic fragment with both Hebrew and Arabic script. Needs examination.

Accounts in Arabic with a complex array of calculations likely monetary in nature, with the symbol "ق" on occasion perhaps indicating silver kuruş. The potential coinage label along with the paleography help estimate the dating of the fragment as 18th/19th-century. This fragment represents a portion of a bifolium which may have once constituted a wider financial ledger. One of the entries on the verso is labeled "اسكندراني" and the overarching headings are marked according to weekdays. MCD.

Lists in Judaeo-Arabic and pen trials of the Arabic alphabet that can be dated on the recto to the night of Simchat Torah of [5]586JC which is October 4 1825CE. On the recto, the community of the "מיצירין / Egyptians" is listed and throughout there are monetary values listed in silver kuruş (indicated by a "ق" symbol on many occasions). The bifolium's inner crease contains two holes that suggest it was once bound as part of a broader ledger or notebook. MCD.

Accounts in Arabic on a large fragment that may originate from a broader financial ledger that is dated on the lower right corner of the recto as 8 Shawwal 1238AH which is June 1823CE. Many of the monetary figures are in silver kuruş which is indicated throughout by a "ق" symbol. MCD.

Ledger bifolium in Arabic dated on the recto's left heading as Rebi' II 1238AH which is 1822CE. The scribal hand is highly trained and the accounting format encompasses a wide array of distinct entries. MCD.

Account fragment in Arabic with figures expressed in eastern Arabic numerals. Based on the paleography the dating may be estimated as 16th-18th-century. The labeling of the accounts is in a disorderly hand yet, for example, on the verso the financial term "الباقي / the remainder" is visible. One notable distinction in the numerical system in use is that on the recto the Persianate symbol for "4 / ۴" appears. MCD.

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.

Accounts in Arabic dated on the verso's heading as Jumada I[?] of the year 1238AH which is 1823CE. The structure of the accounts is complex and may represent a fragment of a broader financial ledger. MCD.

List in Arabic that offers an inventory and other information for a variety of food and household items such as beans, honey, watermelon, sugar, charcoal, almonds, and many other commodities. The inventory structure is very orderly and systematized according to days of the week. On the recto the year is offered solely as "٨٨" which is most likely 1188AH or 1774/75CE given the paleography (but this estimate is not conclusive). MCD.