Geniza Lab

The beadle as cashier of the Qodesh, ca. 1162. The beadle Mahfuz, of the Synagogue of the Palestinians, receives the revenue from the orchard of the qodesh. This is a short entry, signed by two members of the court. In another entry, the revenue from rent collected from tenants of the qodesh by the parnas Abu'l-Ma'ali is also received by the same beadle. The record also mentions the person under whose authority these operations take place, namely the Gaon Netaniel b. Moshe. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 291 #61)

Statement of payments to a tenant of the Qodesh, ca. 1160. A certain al-Nadiv, otherwise known as the perfume maker, tenant of a compound partly owned by the qodesh known as al-Burj, receives several sums from the funds of the qodesh. This money is to be used for completing repairs in his apartment and some others. The statement is in the hand of the judge Mevorakh b. Natan. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 289 #60)

Inventory of various kinds of building materials and wood (probably after the dismantling of a house), followed by "we saw the house and nothing remained after the aforementioned matter." Goitein calls it the inventory of the estate of a poor interior decorator. Signed by Eli b. Yeshu'a, Mevorakh b. Natan, Ḥalfon b. Saadya, Shela b. Menashshe, Ya'ir ha-Kohen b. Saadya (Information from CUDL and Goitein, Med Soc IV, p. 464 no. 240)

Legal document from Damira, Egypt. The city is referred to as עיר דמירה הקטנה in Hebrew (‘the city of little Damira’). Dated 1158 C.E. (Jacob Mann, The Jews in Egypt and in Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphs, 1:230, 2:290; and Eliyyahu Ashtor, “The Number of Jews in Medieval Egypt,” JJS, vol. 18 (1967), 42) EMS

Verso: Record of the donation of one quarter of a compound by Sitt al-Naẓar bt. Ḥalfon to the qodesh. Dating: ca. 1161 CE. She also donates one-sixth of the same compound to Faḍāʾil b. ʿAwāʿiḍ Ibn al-Katnānī, a brother or some other relative of hers, on the condition that she herself shall have the usufruct of that part during her lifetime. After her death it will go to him, to his son, and to his mother Sitt al-Dār. After that, this part also will pass into the possession of the qodesh. Written by the judge Mevorakh b. Natan on the verso of an engagement contract dated 29 November 1161 CE. (Gil, Documents, pp. 299 #66.) EMS

Engagement (shiddukhin) contract. Location: Fustat. Dated: Wednesday, 9 Kislev 1473 Seleucid, which is 29 November 1161 CE, under the authority of the Gaʾon Netanʾel b. Moshe ha-Levi. Groom: the teacher Shemuel b. Yosef. Bride: Sitt al-Baqāʾ bt. Yefet. Marriage payments: 10 + 20 = 30 dinars (the 10 dinars will be paid at the time of the wedding, 'dukhūl'). The bride’s representative (wakīl) is Abū Yaʿqūb b. Avraham Ibn Abū l-Zakkār, the paternal uncle of her mother. She will live with the groom’s mother and brother in one domicile (maskan) as long as this does her no harm. At the engagement, one ring of silver and of gold was handed over to the representative. Signed by Avraham b. Elʿazar and Avraham b. Yaḥyā ha-Levi. The validation (qiyyum) is written in the margin at 90 degrees and it is signed by Menaḥem b. Berakhot and Mevorakh b. Natan he-Ḥaver. (Information in part from Goitein’s index cards.) EMS

Legal document. Employment agreement. Dated: June 1127. This document records a qinyan between Abraham ha-Kohen b. Aaron and Isḥaq b. Sa‘īd in which Isḥaq agrees to work for Abraham to repay a debt of an unspecified amount. Isḥaq is to be compensated the fixed wage of 2 dirhams a day, with half a dirham going towards repayment of the loan. If Isḥaq leaves before the debt is fully repaid, his compensation is to be retroactively reduced to 1.5 dirhams a day, and he must still repay the debt; and if Abraham terminates him before the debt is fully repaid, his compensation is to be retroactively raised to 2.5 dirhams a day. As the two work together for a longer period, the incentive for each not to terminate the relationship increases. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 181)

Court proceedings in the case of al-Wuhsha (or al-Wahsha) against Yosef Lebdi. Wuhsha's representative, Moshe b. Yeshua, sued Lebdi for what he claimed was the share of Wuhsha's brother, Abu Nasr, in Lebdi's merchandise, sold or unsold. The document is written in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe and was signed by Eli ha-Levi b. Nethanel and Yiṣḥaq b. Shemuel, one of the two Fustat judges. The document is dated to June 30, 1104.

Memorandum containing order of copper vessels from Yosef b. Avraham to Ibn Yiju, Mangalore, India. Aden, ca. 1134-1137.

Account of the qodesh, ca. 1165. A detailed accounting written in the hand of Judge Mevorakh b. Natan. The first part contains different expenditures for the maintenance of the buildings and various other expenditures, such as gifts to Muslim officials. The second part contains the final part of an accounting of revenue for six months; the sum paid to the parnas as a collection fee is also mentioned. The account is said to have been made in the presence of the head of the yeshiva, Nataniel b. Moshe, and elders. Dated Kislev 1476 of the Seleucid Era (= 1165). (Information from CUDL and Gil, Documents, pp. 300 #67)

State accounts relating to the tax farm of the lands of Dayqūf, in the province of al-Bahnasā, administered by Basṭiyya b. Marqūra and the property of the office of the noble lady of al-Āmir in the "Muḥawwil chamber" (al-majlis al-muḥawwil was a chamber in the qaṣr al-baḥr, which in turn was a component of al-qaṣr al-kabīr, the great palace complex of the Fatimid caliphs). Dating: this account is for the kharājī year 550, which corresponds to 551/52 AH and 1156/57 CE. The produce of the land consists of 200 irdabbs: 133 irdabbs of wheat and 66 irdabbs of barley. The verso contains a summary of the document on recto. (Information from CUDL and Khan.)

Account of expenditures in Dammuh (ca. 1182-3) by Sayyid al-Ahl, consisting of a list of disbursements made at the plantation in Dammuh in the course of a year. Most of the items pertain to building operations, including labor and materials, such as fence, mud and lime and stones for the well. Eight dirhams are mentioned as expenditure for the supply of palm branches. The total yearly amount of the expenditures was 628 dirhams, and since probably wariq dirhams are meant, this would represent ca. 15.5 dinars. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 324 #78) EMS

Copy of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Written on a reused fragment of a letter in Arabic script (the only part preserved is the basmala and the opening "ṣalawāt Allāh wa-bara[kātuh]"). Describing the endeavors of Abū Saʿd "the seventh" to become head of the Jews by bribing the vizier ('mutawallī bāb al-sulṭān') Ibn al-Salār. These endeavors were directed against the court physician and head of the Jews, the Nagid Abū Manṣūr Shemuel b. Ḥananya (in office 1140–59 with interruptions). (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 32, 528, and M. A. Friedman's article on Zuta, p. 479.)

List, similar to T-S NS J422, but smaller, of persons donating one or two (dinars?), or not yet decided. dated 1140s. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 480, App, C 25)

Small fragment of a legal document mentioning a son of the well-known business woman al-Wuhsha (first half of the 12th century). The document seems to have been cut off on the right side, and the first lines are missing. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 353, 505)

Short note written and signed by the judge Shemuel b. Saadya stating, “The administrators of the Compound of the Jerusalemites are advised to pay to the ‘Mother of Avraham,’ better known under the name ‘the Mother of the Little Calf’ 9 ½ dirhams, her share in the revenue from the Compound of the Jerusalemites for the year 1477 [of the Seleucid Era, A.D. 1165/6]. And Peace.” (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 3:324-5, 500) EMS

Payment order from David ha-Nasi (not David b. Daniel, head of the Jews 1082-1094) ordering 3 communal officers to pay a quarter dinar to the foster sons of al-Afdal, using the revenue from houses donated 'for Jerusalem.' Dated to the second half of the 12th century. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 249, 481)

Record of a marriage contract mentioning a marriage gift of 5 dinars and payment of 10 dinars at termination of the marriage. The words of the first and third lines are written in very large letters. Drafted in Fustat ca. 1100-1138. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 397)

Legal document in the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan. Two brothers confirm in a Cairene court under the authority of Shemuel ha-Nagid (1140-1159) having received from a maternal uncle, the physician Elazar ha-Levi,12.5 dinars, representing the price of a maidservant called Sumr (for Sitt al-Sumr), left to them by another maternal uncle. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, 289, 491)

Report about the inspection of a house in Minyat Zifta to assess the rent from a pious foundation. Dated Tammuz 1489/ June 1178. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 373, and from Goitein's index cards)