Geniza Lab

Letter from Malīj containing a detailed description of a legal case involving a fabric manufactured while evading the tax due on it and sold to an acquaintance who did not keep the secret. Dating: ca. 1100 CE. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 116)

Court register. Record of a dowry assessment (taqwīm). Groom: Yefet b. Ḥalfon. Bride: Qawāma bt. Shabbat. (See Goitein's index card for further information.)

Court record concerning a divorce. Location: Aleppo. Dated: 1189 CE. The husband, from Fustat but now in Aleppo, divorced his wife who had remained in the Egyptian capital. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 3:262, 485.) EMS. See description for MS 8254, fol. 15 (PGPID 32292) for the whole story.

Court record of a divorce settlement initiated by Haskana bat R. Yiṣḥaq against her husband Perahya. (F. Niessen and A. Shivtiel, ed., Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic Manuscripts in the Cambridge Genizah Collections, 613) EMS

Recto: Court record concerning Yaʿaqov b. ʿAyyāsh, a minor reaching maturity who wishes to marry his widowed sister-in-law (in a levirate marriage), but she refuses to do so. Mentions Elḥanan b. Shemarya (now deceased), who was previously involved in the case in Ṣahrajt. Verso: Two court records in the hand of and witnessed by Yefet b. David. The first, probably a continuation of the record on recto, is witnessed by Menashshe b. Avraham ha-Kohen. The second is a court record in which Yosef b. Yaʿaqov, called al-Zamin (‘the ailing’) obliges himself before the court of al-Sahrajt to pay his divorced wife Ra’isa bt. Moshe one-half dirham per day for their son. Signed by Yefet ha-hazzan b. David ha-hazzan, Shelomo b. Yefet. Confirmed by the court and signed by Menashshe ha-Kohen b. Avraham, Yefet ha-hazzan b. David ha-hazzan. Dated: Thursday, 26 Elul 1338 Seleucid, which is 1027 CE. ENA NS 7.24 contains a record concerning the same case from several months later (Kislev 1339 Seleucid). (Information from Goitein; EMS; CUDL; Eliyahu Ashtor, “The Number of Jews in Medieval Egypt,” JJS, Vol. 18 (1967), 15.)

Legal record (#20). Loan contract (with interest?!). Faḍā'il b. Yosef and his mother Sitt al-Banīn bt. Avraham borrow 27.5 dinars from Sitt al-Ukhuwwa bt. Ḥalfon. There is an additional note on the same page stipulating that they will repay 0.5 dinars a month for a period of 6 years—which would yield a total of 36 dinars. (Information from Goitein's notes.) NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 11 (Firk. II NS 1700.11A, with the A indicating recto) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folio is 12, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8). ASE.

Legal record. Partnership agreement. Dating: 1156. Summary of contract terms wherein Abū al-Faraj b. Ghilāth invests 150 dinars and Tamīm al-Sukkarī, the active partner, invests 10 dinars in a trading agreement. Tamīm has total discretion over what commodities he will trade in when he travels to Upper Egypt. A “surplus of one-half dinar” is allocated, presumably to Tamīm as the active partner. This is a nominal amount allocated to the active partner above and beyond the even split of profits. The half-dinar mentioned in lines 9-10 may have been a per diem allocated to Tamīm, or it may simply have been a nominal supplemental payment "for his trouble". According to Goitein, this document is in the hand of the judge Mevorakh b. Natan, written between April and August 1156. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 89-90.) NB: Lieberman identifies this document as "Document 28: Firkovitch II 1700 12 a II".

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Abū al-Makārim b. Bishr and Abū al-Ḥasan b. Saʿīd partner in tax collection in three towns in Upper Egypt, paying an unnamed party a total of 5.5 dinars each month for the duration of the eight-month partnership. Tax revenues from Būsh are allocated to Abū al-Makārim and those from Mīdūm are allocated to Abū al-Ḥasan. Revenues from Wanā are allocated to each of the partners for four out of the eight months, each of the partners collecting for two months, and then ceding control to the other. Profits from the tax collection are to be evenly split between the two parties. Both parties are prohibited taking on another partner during the period of their tax collection in Wanā. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 91-92) NB: Goitein refers to this document as folio 13; Lieberman refers to it as Firkovitch II 1700 13 a III.

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dating: 1156. An unsigned and undated non-compete contract between Abū al-Makārim al-Dimashqī Nadiv b. Mevaser and an unnamed party. Nadiv agrees not to be involved in the silk business in any manner whatsoever, and that he will incur a fine of 10 dinars if he breaks the agreement, which will go to "the poor". There is no information indicating Nadiv will receive any consideration for agreeing not to compete. Nadiv is “suspected” of having broken a previous agreement to this effect, which may explain the fine of 10 dinars. According to Goitein, this document is in the hand of the judge Mevorakh b. Natan, written between April and August 1156. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 90-91.) NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 13 (Firk. II NS 1700.13AI); Lieberman refers to the document as Document 29: Firkovitch II 1700 13 a I.

Legal record (#30). Trousseau list. Groom: Bū l-Barakāt al-ʿAṭṭār. Bride: Sitt at-Dār bt. Yefet ha-Kohen b. Menashshe ha-Dayyan. See Goitein's notes for the items enumerated. NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 13 (Firk. II NS 1700.13B, with the B indicating verso) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folio is 14, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8). ASE.

Legal record (#37). Concerning earthenware vessels. The beginning of the record is missing, and it was not completed. Makārim al-Abzārī b. Avraham attests that he has 350 earthenware vessels for wine (טמאויה פכאר) which "he bought from him" for 70 dirhams; that they are in his (Makārim's) possession; that he pays 1 dirham per month as their rent (bi-ajrihi); and that the remaining balance he owes is 45 dirhams, which he will pay when he wishes to do so. Makārim al-Abzārī appears also in record #61 (Yevr.-Arab. I 1700.24, verso). (NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 16 (Firk. II NS 1700.16AI, with the A indicating recto and the I indicating text block) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folio is 17, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8). ASE.

Entry in court notebook (#38). Note stating that a letter shall be written to 'our lord' to Amīn al-Dawla (and) to Ben Naḥman telling them that 26.5 dinars and 13 qirats have arrived and that the writer yearns for them. NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 16 (Firk. II NS 1700.16AII, with the A indicating recto and the II indicating text block) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folio is 17, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8). ASE.

Legal record (#43 and #44). Engagement contract, outline. Dated: Thursday, 14 Sivan 1467 Seleucid. In the hand of Meovrakh b. Natan (like the rest of the notebook). Engagement agreement between a Qaraite man (Abū Saʿīd) and a Rabbanite woman (Sitt al-Naṣr bt. Netan'el ha-Kohen). Goitein suggests that it is an agreement between a husband and wife that was composed after a quarrel (Med. Soc. 3:152–53). But Ashur judges the document to be an engagement agreement because the early marriage payment (muqaddam) is mentioned and there is a condition that the muqaddam will be considered 'a gift', alongside many other conditions common in agreements before the marriage. These conditions include: not to bring into the house anything forbidden by the Rabbanites (ṭā'ifat al-rabbānīn), that the early marriage payment is a gift, that he will not marry a second wife nor take a concubine if she disapproves, on pain of having to pay the delayed marriage payment and giving her a divorce, etc. NB: Goitein and Ashur referred to this document as folio 17 (Firk. II NS 1700.17) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folio is 18, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8). ASE.

Entry in court notebook (#54). Prescription. Recipe for preparation of an ointment consisting of powdered litharge (martak masḥūq); calf suet (shaḥm kulā ʿijl); aged, fine oil (zayt ṭayyib ʿatīq); and perhaps dragon's blood (reading קטאר as qāṭir). The title is difficult to read; Goitein suggests "marham kulā" (kidney ointment, with the dot over the letter preceding kulā indicating that it should be deleted). Also possible is "marham nakhlī" (date-palm ointment). Contemporary documents and literary sources indicate that a "date-palm ointment" was used for the treatment of wounds; cf. T-S 8J20.26. Although no component of this ointment derives from a date-palm, it is to be stirred while it cooks with a green palm leaf (yuḥarrak bi-jarīd akhḍar), and plausibly the same leaf is somehow incorporated or used to apply the completed ointment on to the desired site. NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 21 (Firk. II NS 1700.21) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folio is 22, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8). ASE.

Legal record (#62). Trousseau list (taqwīm). Groom: Bū l-Makārim al-Ṣā'igh Yosef b. Shemuel. Bride: Sitt al-Riyāsa bt. Shela ha-Levi ("the sister of Sitt al-Ḥasab" - Goitein). Early marriage payment: 50 dinars ('gift'). Delayed marriage payment: 100 dinars. Value of the trousseau: 500 dinars. The bride also brings a female slave named ʿŪd al-Bān worth 20 dinars; a 1/2 house in Cairo, in Ḥārat Zuwayla in 'the alleys of al-Naṣṣār,' which her brother gave her; and a 1/2 house, adjacent to the former, which Amīn al-Dawla gave her. NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 24–25 (Firk. II NS 1700.24-25) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folios are 25 (recto and verso) and 26 (recto), as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8). (Information from Goitein's notes.)

Legal record (#63). Trousseau list (taqwīm). Groom: Yosef b. Netan'el ha-Kohen. Bride: Sitt al-Kafā'a bt. Bū l-Faḍā'il ʿOvadya b. Shemuel. "Another marriage agreement composed in Fustat thirty years later reads very differently. The agreement does not survive in full, but its contents are summarized above a partial inventory of the bride’s dowry (taqwīm) copied into a court notebook. Here the pledges all extend the other way, strengthening the bride’s legal position rather than eroding it. The groom, Yosef b. Netan’el ha-Kohen, promises his future wife, Sitt al-Kafā’a bt. Abū l-Faḍā’il, that he will trust her financially; that he will neither marry a second wife without her permission nor keep a female slave against her wishes; that if she dies before bearing children, he will claim only half her dowry as inheritance and return the rest to her birth relatives; that she may continue to live in Fustat rather than Cairo; and that he will not object if she sells off any of her dowry items and buys other property with the proceeds" (Krakowski, Coming of Age, p. 241). NB: Goitein and Krakowski referred to this document as folio 25b–26b (Firk. II NS 1700.25b–26b and Yevr.-Arab. I 1700.25b–26b respectively, with the 'b' indicating verso) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folios are 26–27, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8).

Legal record (#64). Trousseau list (taqwīm). Groom: Peraḥya b. Yosef Yiju. Bride: Sitt al-Dār ('Mistress of the House'), the daughter of Peraḥya's paternal uncle, Avraham Yiju. NB: Goitein referred to this document as folio 27 (Firk. II NS 1700.27) in accordance with the foliation written in pen; but the correct folio is 28, as written in pencil (the librarian with the pen gave two folios the number 8).

Legal document in a gathering of the Karaites in Cairo, mentioning the instrument of the herem to elicit information concerning a rumor some women had heard about a husband. NB: This description and transcription are to be merged with PGPID 2728.

Legal report in a Qaraite court register. Written in Judaeo-Arabic. Location: Cairo. Dating: Unknown. Catalogued as 1101 CE, but this date does not appear on the microfilm images. Perhaps the missing digits were legible in the past or remain legible on the physical document. The date in the microfilm reads "Sunday night, 7 Tevet, 14[..] Seleucid." The digits את appear at the beginning of the year, but this gives only an earliest possible date of 1089 CE and a latest possible date of 1688 CE. Based solely on the script, a date in the 13th century seems more likely. The scribe has the unusual name Neḥam'el b. Mevorakh b. Yehuda b. Aharon. The document is a fascinating report on the Qaraite court of Cairo's investigation into the years-long rumors about the relationship between Abū Naṣr b. Qayūma and an unnamed woman who is alternately referred to as "the daughter of Abū l-Maʿālī b. Tāmār," "the wife of Abū Saʿd b. Ṣadaqa al-Labbān," and "the woman." It appears that the woman had a petition (ruqʿa) written on her behalf to the communal authorities, which came into the possession of the scribe, who subsequently brought it to the attention of the Qaraite authority, ha-Nasi ha-Gadol, who called for an inquiry. The council first summoned the woman and her husband (called her "waliyy" or "guardian"). (1) She reported that Abū Naṣr had been stalking her for years, visiting her house three or four times a day. She was frightened of him and told her husband's paternal aunt that if she ever saw Abū Naṣr visit when this woman was alone, she should come down and join them. She had gone several times to the court to complain about him, but nothing came of that. When asked whether she knew who wrote the petition (ruqʿa), she admitted that in fact she was the one responsible for it, but the person who wrote it for her added some things she had not said and left out other things she had said. (2) As for the husband, he responded that he didn't know anything about this. All he knew was that his wife hated to have Abū Naṣr in their house, but he never knew why. (3) Abū Nāsr was then summoned. He denied everything. But then he admitted that he had previously been summoned to court and been issued a restraining order not to enter her house for a period of a year and a half. They questioned him repeatedly, but he wouldn't admit anything else. (4) The woman was then questioned in Abū Naṣr's presence what she had said in his absence, and she was unwilling to repeat what she said before. Rather, "she changed her story. . . and said, 'I hated. . .'" (5) Abū l-Faraj al-Ṭaḥḥān reported to the court and attested that whenever he visited the house of his brother-in-law Abū Saʿd b. Ṣadaqa al-Labbān and Abū Naṣr b. Qayūma was also present, he witnessed Abū Naṣr's vulgar speech and behavior toward the woman, but he had no knowledge of whether anything else passed between them. (6) A number of other women were then questioned. They confirmed that the woman under investigation had complained to them numerous times about Abū Naṣr's harassment (taʿarruḍ) of her. However, the scribe writes, because their testimony entirely derived from what the woman herself told them, there is no need to record it in this document. But he notes that these women confirmed her "agitation" (imtiʿāḍ) whenever she talked about Abū Naṣr's behavior to them. At this point the court determined that they needed to gather more testimony. Thus they agreed that the next day a ban of excommunication would be declared against anyone who had knowledge of the affair and did not come forward to testify about it. The scribe records the date and his name, and several witnesses sign: Netan'el ha-Kohen b. ʿAmram; Yefet ha-Melammed b. Ḥalfon(?), Avraham b. Yefet, and probably others that are now faded. He adds an addendum the following day stating that he attended "al-majliṣ al-marsūm" (Goitein interprets this as 'the next prayer service') of the Qaraites in Cairo and declared the agreed-upon ban of excommunication, effective for a period of one week. This addendum was witnessed by Avraham b. Yefet and Yefet ha-Melammed b. Ḥalfon(?). This document is mentioned several times in Zinger's dissertation and in Goitein, Med Soc V, 314 and 592. ASE.