Geniza Lab

Deed, commercial, attesting to Alexandria's importance in international trade. The document mentions traders from Venice and Constantinople, as well as Sicilian coins. Apparently the deed is from the beginning of the twelfth century, to judge by the names, which appear in documents from the circle of Nahray b. Nissim. The document also contains an important report on a dispute between people from the Maghrib and local Alexandrians, headed by the Alexandrian Ben Nahum family. (Information from Frenkel. See also Goitein, Med. Soc. 3:159)

Letter addressed to Abu al-Ḥasan Ali b. Ishaq, dealing with business affairs. Ibrahom is mentioned

Letter in the hand of Berakhot b. Shemuel. Possibly addressed to Avraham Maimonides. In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter is an extremely polite reminder to give the writer some money, perhaps as reimbursement or as a wage from the public funds. "When I observed some delay on the part of the master, which is not his custom. . . . I attributed it to his honor's (al-ḥaḍra) preoccupation with the illness of the master (al-mawlā) and the distraction of his mind and his distance from his country. . . ." It is not entirely clear whether the ḥaḍra and the mawlā are different people or not. "The proof, by God, will be from Sunday onward, and tomorrow is Friday, and I have not received anything except for 2 1/4 raṭls of [bread?]. What I received from the jāmikiyya only lasted through the end of the day today, Thursday, the 2nd of Dhū l-Qaʿda." Someone titled ʿAlam al-Dīn gave the writer 9 1/2 (dirhams?). The writer emphasizes the urgency of his request, "for I am among the dead/perishing." He appends an account of expenses for the week, again referring to the jāmikiyya. The expenses include many foodstuffs as well as the fee for the bathhouse and the launderer. The transcription below includes only the words, not the Coptic numerals given for each item. ASE.

Recto: Letter from Abū Naṣr b. Avraham, in Alexandria, to an India trader (probably not Ḥalfon b. Netanel). Dating: 20 Adar II, likely 1448 Seleucid = 1137 CE. Inquiring about arrivals from the India route and describing the general economic depression in Alexandria. A brother of Abū Naṣr adds greetings. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV; Hebrew description below.) Verso: Addendum to a letter written by Abū Naṣr b. Avraham, Ḥalfon b. Netanel's representative in Alexandria, possibly to Abū Zikrī Kohen, the representative of the merchants in Fustat. The identification of the sender and addressee was made according to the handwriting, style and content of the letter. The letter reports hard times in Alexandria. The letter testifies to Abu Nasr's involvement in the India trade. Local scarf production is also mentioned. (Information from Frenkel. See additional information in Goitein, Med. Soc. 5:180 no. 36.)

Business letter from Daniel b. Azarya, in his handwriting, sent from Tyre to Fustat. The letter contains details about the commercial activities of Daniel b. Azarya in Tyre, and was probably written to Avraham ha-Kohen b. Yis'haq b. Furat, Fustat. On the back are lines in Arabic script and then Judaeo-Arabic in very large spacing. (Gil, Palestine, vol. 2, pp.634–35, doc. 347.)

Business letter sent from Alexandria by Avraham b. Farah to Yaʿaqov b. Avraham. The writer describes the difficult situation, probably in North-Africa, and writes about a merchant who had been lost on the road and almost died before he was found and brought to a ship. He also describes the movement of ships and merchandise in Alexandria and mentions taxes. Dated June 20, 1054. (Information from Gil)

Business letter sent from Alexandria by Avraham b. Farah to Yaaqov b. Avraham

Letter from Yusha` b. Natan to Nahray b. Nissim.

Letter sent by Yaʿaqov b. Nissim to his brother Abu al-Khayr. The letter contains an account for raw Susa cloth, sent from Fustat to another town for treatment, 12 dirhams, plus 2 dirhams for the bearer, all paid in advance by the writer, who asks the recipient not to deliver the cloth to the proprietor before he had settled the bill. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, pp. 178, 179, 408)

Letter from Nahray b. Natan to Nahray b. Nissim ca. 1055

Letter from Akhlābū Kohen b. Aharon, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1045. In the handwriting of Ibrāhīm b. Faraḥ. Regarding one dinar and a quarter that Abu Zikrī needs to get from Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb, after he sent it to him by Abu Naṣr, who passed away meanwhile. Mentions many people and sends his greetings to them. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #764) VMR

Business letter in Ladino. Join by Idan Perez.

Recto: Business letter. In Ladino. Currency: muayyadi/medin. Verso: Table filled in with numbers, presumably for lots.

Business letter from Zekharya b. Yaaqov b. al-Shama, from Tripoli (Libya), to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1065. The writer is about to travel to Sfax to sell textiles. With the money he will receive, he plans to buy oil and needs 100 jugs for that. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #670) VMR

Business letter from Abū Naṣr b. Avraham to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. Despite its physical state, the letter contains much information on commercial activities in the port of Alexandria: movement of ships, merchandise prices and commercial disputes. The letter also contains a unique piece of information regarding a direct shipping route from Alexandria to Bijaya. The identification of the writer and recipient of the letter is based on the handwriting and style of the letter.

Addendum/postscript of a letter from Yisrael b. Natan, in Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. He reports that there is demand in Jerusalem for black, sky-colored, and all colors of silk (shēsh) except for crimson. Crimson silk might sell in Ramla or ʿAsqalān. As for coral (marjān), demand is low in Jerusalem. But Nahray can bring some if he wishes, and maybe he will find some Persians to buy it. (NB: this shelfmark was previously known as JTS Geniza Misc. 15.) Gil translates marjān as "small pearls," but see Goitein and Friedman, India Traders, p. 170 note 18 for the argument that it must refer to coral.

Account by Avraham Ibn Yiju of Indian products sold for another merchant, Aden, ca. 1141-44.

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Probably the same handwriting as ENA NS 48.13 (per the note photographed with the image), which Frenkel has been identified as the hand of Abū Naṣr b. Avraham. Mentions a Christian; 200 dinars; pepper; ʿAmīd al-Dawla.

Letter from Mūsā b. Yaʿaqov al-Miṣrī, in Malīj, to Yosef b. David b. Shaʿyā, in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1056 CE. The writer deals with selling and buying goods for the partnership between the two. Mentions several names of people who are involved in their business. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #684) VMR

Multifragment. Fragment 1: Document in Judaeo-Arabic. Probably medieval. Only one line, very faded, is preserved. Fragment 2: Business letter, fragment. In Ladino.