Geniza Lab

Report. In Arabic script. Headed: al-ʿizza lillāh waḥdahū. Might be a draft, since there are some extra jottings in the same hand around the first few lines of the report. There is also one line in Arabic script on verso. Dating: Likely Ayyubid era based on hand, overall appearance, and typical titles; may mention Rabīʿ I 632 AH, which would be 1234 CE if correctly deciphered (l. 12). From ʿAbdallāh the mushārif al-jawālī (a diwan official—the supervisor of the capitation taxes). He is reporting on something to do with Abū ʿAlī and his brother Ṭāhir (are they jahbadhs?). Underneath the latter's name appears the Greek/Coptic numeral for 70. There is a remaining payment due either of 3 dinars or of 3 dinars every month. At the bottom, the name Hibatallāh b. Bū l-Faraj appears. In the margins and on verso there is Hebrew literary text. Merits much more examination. ASE

Letter of petition from a man to a potential benefactor: 'I hereby inform you that I have been in good health, "concealed" among the people (mastūr bayn al-nās). Then when my hand became paralyzed (infalajat), I was left without a means of making a livin[g].' When capitation tax payment came he had to go into hiding in his house, and so he asks for assistance." Cohen, Poverty and Charity, 42-43. See also Goitein's note card. The writer has been hiding in the house for 55 days. Only Abu l-Fakhr the son of the judge and Ibn [...] al-Amshati have come to his aid, each one giving him 5 dirhems. He bribed the capitation tax collectors with 5 dirhems and already spent the other 5. He needs food. ASE.

Fatimid-era petition. From Muʿammar [...] al-Tūnisī. In Arabic script. He is in trouble on account of the capitation tax and says he does not have enough money to buy food and that he wishes to return home to his frail mother. Begins "uʿlimu/uʿallimu," perhaps a clue of lower status or earlier period.

Business letter from a father, probably in Alexandria, to a son, probably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment. Dating: Looks 12th century, but this is a guess. The writer explains that he cannot come because he is very ill (wajiʿ wajaʿin ṣaʿb) and has no energy (nahḍa) to 'enter' (Fustat). He has therefore sent Sulaymān on his behalf to collect his indigo that is with Abū l-Ḥasan. The son is to make sure that this happens, and if he wants to travel back with Sulaymān, all the better. After all, it is the end of the year, and the son has to pay his capitation tax in Alexandria. If the son does come, there is a list of items that he should bring with him. ASE.

Recto: Abū l-Faḍā'il the cantor begs for money from Sitt Futūn, who also helped fund the construction of the synagogue (!), since he owes four years' worth, and she must have helped him 4+ years earlier. He writes: "You bestow charity on inanimate objects, and I am animate," and, "This is the equivalent of redemption of captives, for I am a captive." Verso: Possibly lines of poetry in Judaeo-Arabic about unrequited love. Probably not connected to recto.

Letter from Yūsuf, in Alexandria, to family members, probably in Fustat. The letter is addressed to the shop of Abū [...] al-ʿAṭṭār. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1160 CE, based on the mention (lines 11–12) that the writer departed Egypt in the year 51, probably 551H (1156 CE). This is corroborated by the mention of Abū ʿAlī Ibn al-Amshāṭī (see Goitein and Friedman, India Traders, pp. 103–04). The writer summarizes the events of the last four years. He suffered terrible illnesses and nearly perished en route to Constantinople. He lived there for two and a half years, where it seems he developed a new illness and also suffered from "the illness you know about." He survived only due to the grace of God and their prayers for him. He now asks his family members to go to Ẓāfir the tax collector and bribe him with a half dinar or dinar to register the writer as a newcomer (ṭārī) so that he will not have to pay for all four years he has been gone. "Remind him of my name, Yūsuf, who was under the Muʿallaqa (the Hanging Church)." Information in par from Goitein’s index card. The handwriting looks very similar or identical with that of T-S 10J11.11, and some of the same names appear in each letter, including Abū l-Surūr, Abū ʿAlī, and Sitt Ikhtiṣār. ASE.

Letter from Menaḥem to the judge Yehosef. In Judaeo-Arabic. A letter of recommendation poor man who has debts and must pay the capitation tax. Menaḥem also promises to send the quires (karārīs) as soon as he has finished writing them. "As for the capitation tax, it is said that it will not be demanded from the poor, who may obtain for it a rescript from the government (khaṭṭ al-sulṭān)." ASE.

Verso: Letter to a family member who had inquired about distant relatives. The writer states that his wife, son, and sister-in-law had died, while his mother and her brother (the writer's uncle) are still alive but need help paying the capitation tax and buying clothing (גאליה וכסוה). The writer includes reports about marriages, and notes there were certainly long times out of touch. (Information from Goitein's index cards) VMR

Letter of appeal for charity for assistance in paying the capitation tax. In Hebrew (for the introduction) and Judaeo-Arabic (for the body). At the upper left: "...al-ḥaḍra al-shaykhiyya al-ḥazzāniyya(?) Thābit Ibn al-M[...]." This would normally be the position for the sender's name, but the terms of respect suggest it is the addressee's name. But the body of the letter then clarifies that the cantor Thābit al-Kohen known as Ibn al-[...] is the one in need of help. The addressee may be a government official (he is called al-ḥaḍra al-dīwāniyya).

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Includes expenses for the maks (customs duty?), and the capitation tax (jāliya) in Syria for the years 20 and 21. Names mentioned: al-Shaykh al-Rashīd Ṣayrafī b. al-Dayyan; Ibn Karīm al-Iskandarī Ṣabbāgh; Ibn Bayān; Bū l-Ghayth the tax farmer of Hebron (ḍāmin al-Khalīl); and [...] Ibn al-Ghuzūlī.

Letter from Avraham Neḥmad to Moshe b. ʿAbd al-Waliyy. Writer and addressee are Qaraites. Written in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The letter begins with a recommendation for the bearer, Yiṣḥaq al-Ḥamawī. The whole community of Ḥamawīs (people from Hama) in the writer's location is in great distress on account of the capitation tax (jāliya). The continuation of the letter deals with business matters. Verso also contains sums in