Geniza Lab

Letter from Natan b. Nissim in Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat, from 1080s. Natan sends his regards to Avraham b. R. Yaʿaqov Darʿi. (Information from Frenkel)

Letter from Amram b. Yosef, probably from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1075. Regarding a shipment of palm leaves that arrived from outside of Egypt. In addition, mentions purchase of wheat and a disagreement about packaging cloth that belongs to the writer but another person named Muslim (probably his Jewish name is Meshulam) denies that is his. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #679) VMR

Letter from Awad b. Hanan'el in Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat, in which the writer complains of hardships he has endured, and asks for details about prices of goods in Fustat, ca. 1045-1096.

Letter of business from 'Ayyash b. Sadaqa probably in Fustat to Nahray b. Nissim, probably in Busir. Mentions flax. The letter is poorly preserved. (Information from Gil)

Secondary use: Letter from ʿIwāḍ b. Ḥananʾel to Nahray b. Nissim. Dating: 1045–96. Dealing with numerous business matters. He reports that Shemuel dropped a vessel or gourd (fuqqāʿa) full of honey into the Nile.

Verso (original use): Left half of an Arabic-script letter with wide line-spacing. Refers to the wages owed for transport of wheat. Reused for a letter from ʿIwaḍ b. Ḥananel to Nahray b. Nissim (see separate entry).

Letter from Ibrāhīm b. Farrāḥ, Fustat, to [ ] b. Isḥạq b. ʿAlī Majjānī in Alexandria. Mentions an ullaba (container) holding bible codices, details about a commercial shipment and a discussion with the owner of a boat. He hopes a load with goods will arrive at Majjānī's soon, but remarks that neither the navy nor civilian boats have been able to sail. He adds that Nahray b. Nissim was unable to pay his one dinar to the synagogue for lack of cash. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 335, and Gil)

Letter from Musa b. Abu al-Hayy from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat. The writer mentions robbery by pirates on two ships carrying merchandise meant for the writer and for others. Dated ca. 1055. (Information from Gil, Kingdom)

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim from Fustat to a person in Qayrawan. Around 1045. Mentions galls, Camphor, and shipment of money. Nahray Also expresses his worries for his family in Qayrawan. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #243) VMR

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat, in which the writer states that an amount of money sent by Nahray was delivered by Natan to the widow of Awad b. Hananel, ca. 1045-1096.

Calligraphic letter from Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq in Fustat to Yeshua b. Ismail asking whether Nahray b. Nissim had gone to the Egyptian country-side and sold the writer's goods. (Information from Gil, and Goitein's index cards)

Legal document in which Abu al-Khayr Hananel b. Yaʿaqov releases Benaya b. Moshe from a partnership with Allan b. Nahray, after the former had handed over to him corals deposited with Abu Ishaq Avraham b. Yefet ha-Levi and Abu al-Khayr Shelomo b. Saadya al-Suri (ot Tyre). Dated 1110. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Fragment of a business letter from Barhun b. Salih al-Tahirti in Busir, probably to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat, mentioning bales of flax being prepared for shipment to Alexandria and places further on, and the writer's intention to travel to Mahdiyya. Dated ca. 1046. (Information from Gil)

Letter from Yosef b. Eli Kohen Fasi, from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. June 27, 1057. Mentions ships, shipment of dates, coins and trades, as well as family matters. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #396) VMR

Letter from Abun b. Sedaqa in Jerusalem to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat. Dating: November 1064 CE. The main subject is the tension between the writer and Nahray's cousin, Yisrael b.Natan. Other subjects include details about the burning of ships in Sicily. Opens with a vivid description of the general grief following the death of Sittāt, the wife of R. Natan, who left a boy of 2 years. "How terrible is our grief! It has destroyed us (haddatnā) and sickened us (amraḍatnā).” A government edict threatened to make a dignified funeral impossible, so the mourners considered simply burying her within the walls. “We contracted from this a terrible convulsion (rajf ʿaẓīm),” Abūn writes, “and we gave a bribe and brought her out at night.” ASE

Letter of business from Isma'il b. Ishaq al-Andalusi, in Tyre, to Nahray b. Nissim. The writer alludes to his great losses at sea while simultaneously thanking God, who has replaced what has been lost many times over. Also includes a quotation from II Shemuel 14:20. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:60, 332, 405, 485; 5:239, 571, 572) EMS

Letter of business from Yisrael b. Yosef b. Banuka to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat. The letter was written when Nissim, Nahray's father, was still alive. The letter is about a deal that was made to sell beads. Circa 1040 (Gil estimate). VMR

Fragment of a letter from Yusuf b. Eli Kohen Fasi, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Mentions dinars that should be exchanged, and that several letters for Nahray arrived in Alexandria from Tripoli after 25 days. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #403) VMR

Letter from Marduk b. Musa in Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat asking him to find a Jewish maidservant for the writer, ca. 1045-1096