Geniza Lab

The two leaves do not belong together. P1: page from an anatomical work, describing the upper and lower limbs and their functions. P2: private letter in Arabic script. (Information from CUDL)

Two bifolia from a Judaeo-Arabic version of Hippocrates, Aphorisms, partially covering section I, dealing with topics of general medical theory. (Information from CUDL)

Autograph leaves of Maimonides, Treatise on sexual intercourse. (Information from CUDL)

Marriage contract, upper right portion, between Yosef b. Mawhūb and Sittān bt. Mevasser b. Yeshuʿa, written in Tyre, dated (not completely legibly) from the destruction of the Temple, along with blessings and pious wishes for the redemption of Israel. The text is a Hebrew rendition of an Aramaic-Palestinian-style marriage contract. Items in the dowry list include gold coins, earrings and a wristband. The brother of the bride, Yeshuʿa b. Mevasser, acts as her agent and representative. Dating: 11th century. On verso is the beginning of Kitāb ḥudūd al-bulūgh wa-l-idrāk (Treatise on the attainment of majority), possibly by Shemuʾel b. Ḥofni. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: deed in which ʿUmar b. Mūsā, a dealer in oil, leases the lower floor of a house in Fusṭāṭ from Yaʾʾāsa bint Ismaʿīl al-Kohen ‘the Jewess’. The deed provides a detailed physical description of ʿUmar: ‘average stature, pure reddy-brown in complexion, a smooth broad forehead, fine eyebrows separated in the middle, fleshy eye-lids, dark brown eyes, a wide, thick nose, prominent cheekbones and a round beard’. The property abuts the house of Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. ʿAlī, the house of Abū l-Ḥusayn Ismaʿīl b. al-Ḥusayn al-ʿAbbāsī, and the house of the daughter of Abū l-Ḥusayn Ismaʿīl b. al-Ḥusayn al-ʿAbbāsī. Dated Ḏū al-Qaʿda 520 AH (= November 1126 CE). Futūḥ b. Faḍl and Abū ʿUmar Daʾūd b. Ḥasan formally recognised the lessor. Witnessed by ʿAbd al-Bāqī b. Ibrahim Ibn al-Salam, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn, and ʿAbdallāh b. […] b. Aḥmad. Verso: confirmation that the payments specified on recto have been received, written by ʿAbd al-Wahhāb b. Aḥmad. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: injunction issued by the vizier of al-Fāʾiz (Ṭalāʾīʿ b. Ruzzīk) ordering Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdallāh b. Kāmil b. ʿAbd al-Karīm to execute all of his orders. Verso: end of a legal document dated 13 Ṣafar 554 AH (= March 1159). Written on parchment (like legal documents, and unlike standard chancery documents). (Information in part from Khan and CUDL.)

Recto: deed of sale for part of a house in Fusṭāṭ. The parties are ʿAbdallāh b. Ṭāhir, the moneychanger, and Muḥammad b. Ṭāhir, the carpet dealer. Ca. 11th-12th century. Verso: Arabic note, apparently unrelated to the document on recto. (Information from CUDL)

Probably part of a court record. (Information from CUDL)

Possibly part of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Possibly part of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Possibly part of a letter. In Arabic script. The first words of about a dozen lines are preserved. (Information in part from CUDL)

Possibly parts of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Accounts in Arabic script with Greek/Coptic numerals. Reused on recto for Qiddush for the Shabbat evening service. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Arabic script. Chancery report? 4 lines preserved. Very faded. Reused on recto for prayers for ʿAravit and Minḥa with Judaeo-Arabic heading. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions dinars, writing a book(?) for Abū l-Surūr; the details (? nuqūṭ) of someone's wedding;

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 12th century. Mentions: a wedding; Sālim; Yosef; someone's son.

Recto: liturgical text in Hebrew. Verso: unidentified Arabic text, possibly a letter (?). (Information from CUDL)

Unidentified text, possibly a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Probably part of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Unidentified text, possibly a letter. (Information from CUDL)