Geniza Lab

Official account mentioning the transfer of sums to the fisc (bayt al-māl) from the bureau of the capitation tax (bayt al-jawālī): "mablagh al-maḥmūl ilā bayt al-māl al-maʿmūr min māl al-jawālī," followed by names like wa-walī Butrus b. Yuḥannā.

Bottom of an Arabic document, probably legal.

Recto: A faded letter (of three lines only) addressed to Ibrahim al-Yahudi al-Ḥawāyirī (?) from [...] al-ʿAṭṭār, either addressed to or written in Wikālat al-[...]. Verso, with the address on recto: Ibrahīm al-Yahūdī reused the original letter to send a letter to al-Ḥajj ʿAbd Rajw (?) regarding a business transaction. The addressee's location is given but tricky to read.

State document. Draft of a formal letter or petition in Arabic. The recipient's name and/or position may be present. Needs further examination. This side was reused for a document or composition that appears to be in Hebrew (but very little remains), and on verso is a Hebrew literary work.

Lists in Arabic of unclear significance, needs examination. All four pages of the bifolium are filled.

List in Arabic of unclear significance, needs examination.

Recto: Four lines in Arabic, perhaps writing exercises or drafts of a literary work, since lines 1 and 3 (mentioning watermelon and squash) are identical, as are lines 2 and 4 (mentioning silver). At the bottom appears the word "faṣl" (Section) in Arabic, and "salām" in Judaeo-Arabic, and what looks a lot like the number 29 (suggesting a relatively late date). Verso: Scattered Arabic text of unclear significance, along with "He who writes to you [...] is Isḥāq al-Yahūdī al-Ḥakīm.

An amulet in quirky Arabic script. The main section is Quran 3:18.

8 small pages mostly in Arabic. Page 1: The beginning of a letter to al-Ḥājj Aḥmad. Page 2: Jottings of text from a letter. Page 3: From a medical work: "The chapter on sicknesses of the head. Headache. . . " Page 4: Enigmatic Arabic text with diacritics followed by the Hebrew "Before us, the undersigned witnesses," and then some giant Hebrew alephs. Page 5: Two lines of enigmatic Arabic followed by "The chapter on sicknesses of the h{ead}." Page 6: More chapter headings from the medical work? Page 7: Hebrew script and scribbles. Page 8: The beginning of the alphabet in Arabic, plus a Hebrew shin.

Accounts in Arabic. Needs further examination.

Recto: Long, calligraphic legal document in Arabic, from Fustat (مصر المحروسة), dated October 1649 CE (7 Shawwal 1059). It bears seven signatures along the side, a seal at the top, and perhaps the scribe's name at top left (الامر كما ذكر فيه حرره الفقير اليه سبحانه احمد ال . . .). The seal may be that of the Ottoman governor in Fustat/Cairo (Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha?): (. . . بين يدي متوليها سيدنا ومولانا الحاكم الشرعي الذي سيقع خطه الكريم اعلاه). The main protagonists are (1) al-Amīr Yūsuf b. (the late) Muḥammad, the provincial governor/inspector of the vilayet of Gaza (the word for provincial governor is kāshif—see Michael Winter, "Re-emergence of the Mamluks," in "The Mamluks in Egyptian Politics and Society," p. 92); (2) a certain Abū Turābī; and (3) al-Muʿallim Muṣliḥ b. Binyamil (i.e. Binyamin) al-Yahūdī al-Rabbān al-Ṣarrāf [...] bi-l-Dīwān al-ʿĀlī. The document addressed numerous matters, chiefly financial; it requires deeper examination. Verso: There is a legend in Judaeo-Arabic on the outermost fold of the folded document (חוגת אלאמיר יוסף. . . ). There are also several Arabic supplements to the document on recto, at least the upper two referring to al-Muʿallim Muṣliḥ al-Yahūdī.

Late accounts in Arabic.

Medical prescription in Arabic.

List of names (right column) and sums of money (left column) in Arabic, presumably either a donations or an alms list. Most names sound Coptic (e.g. ṣihr Būlus al-Kātib) or Muslim. Merits further examination

Either letter or state document in calligraphic Arabic script with wide space between the lines.

Late accounts in Arabic in a neat blue/red/black grid.

Recto: List of goods and amounts in Arabic, including pomegranate blossoms (jullanār). Verso: Jottings in Arabic.

Enigmatic table with entries in Arabic. Needs further examination.

Letter in Arabic dated 1737 CE (Ramadan 1149 Hijri). There is a seal on verso. Merits further examination.

Writing exercises in Arabic, helpfully giving the date: September 1821 CE (Dhu l-Hijja 1237H)