Geniza Lab

Mercantile letter, in Arabic script. From Ifrāyim b. Ismaʿīl to Abī ʿĀbd Allah at the Dār al-Wakāla. The writer mentions sending several commodities along Mubārak al-Ḥalabī and urges that their names be registered in the Dīwān, al-Dīwān al-Ṣināʿa, and al-Dār al-Wakāla.

Letter from Ḥayyim b. ʿAmmār b. Madīnī (Alexandria) to Yosef b. Mūsā al-Tāhirtī, ca. 1062. The sender explains why a load of a medicinal herb greater celandine has not been sold: the price for it is currently low but might go up when a ḥajj caravan or ships from Spain arrive. There is more demand for the herb in Fustat. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 165.)

Letter from Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, in Alexandria, to Abū Bishr Azhar b. Manṣūr (aka Avraham), in Fustat, ca. 1075. Mentions a shipment of silk to Fustat that got wet. The writer cannot come to Fustat, and he asks the addressee to handle some business and money matters for him. The reason for this is that he has numerous illnesses (amrāḍ shattā), the least of which is the jarab (probably trachoma, but the word can also refer to skin diseases), and so he cannot sit or ride. Furthermore, factoring in travel expenses, he does not think the gains will outweigh the losses in his money and his health. But if the addressee thinks it is absolutely necessary, he will bear the 'fasting and difficulty' and make the trip. Meanwhile, a rumor spread in Fustat about Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, somehow involving Abū l-Faraj Dā'ūd b. Shaʿyā and the ruler Sayf al-Islam (=Badr al-Jamālī?). However, the person who was said to have been the source of the rumour publicly denied it in the synagogue, swearing truthfulness on pain of excommunication. A court decision denying the rumour was also issued. (Information from Gil.) ASE.

Letter from Abūn b. Ṣadaqa, in Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: August 28 (Elul 24), 1065 CE, based on Gil's assessment. Abūn conveys blessings for male sons to Nahray. "Al-Kabīra" and Nahray's wife are in Jerusalem, and it is possible that their visit is connected to this matter, that is to say, that they came to pray for a male son. The letter contains various details about the Maghrebis who are in Jerusalem. People are worried about a drought, and the price of wheat is rising. Abūn also mentions his books, which he brought from the West and left with Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen b. Yosef in Alexandria. Abūn reports that he has sold most of the quarter dinars which are mentioned in the other letters, and thus it is possible to deduce the year of this letter. Abūn reports that R. Yiṣḥaq has recovered from his illness (v3–4) and that Nahray's paternal uncle Ibn Sahlān is sick and isolated (v9–10). Information from Gil.

Letter from Mardūk b. Mūsā, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: January 26, 1048, based on Gil's assessment. The writer confirms receipt of two letters from Nahray and gives directions on business matters, including that when a certain Abu ‘Amr arrives, Nahray should take 16 dinars from him. The writer also requests that Nahray purchase two books with high-quality paper for him, remarking that he has already written to Ḥalfon to buy a cloak (kisā'). Well wishes are sent to Abū Isḥāq Barhūn and Abū ʿAlī Ḥassūn. Information from Gil. EMS.

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī (Māzar) to Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, 1064. This letter is a follow-up from the letter in Halper 389 (Gil) that hints at the possibility of breaking up the partnership between the sender and the recipient. In this letter, Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī demonstrates his readiness to make concessions in settling their accounts and is prepared to bear himself the loss of 60 dinars. He expresses his wish to continue with the partnership. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 475. See also Goitein notes.) (Formerly PGPID 5735)

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā of Sfax, in Mazar, Sicily, to his partner Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The longest letter in the Geniza. Dating: Early 1060s according to Ben-Sasson, based on the military disruptions mentioned. 7 September 1064 according to Gil, based on his identification of the battle discussed as that between the Qā'id of Sfax and the Zīrid ruler Tamīm b. Muʿizz on that date. Many details about a wide variety of commodities are mentioned, as well as financial transactions. "In essence, this long letter had a single purpose: to convince Yehuda b. Sughmār, Salāma's partner, not to dissolve the relationship between them." Salāma in fact agrees to the dissolution of the formal partnership (ṣuḥba), "I got your letters this year, and you swore that you wanted to dissolve. I want this to happen even more than you do. If the partnership continues there will be discord. . . . Now we no longer feel as we used to, when we relied on each other" (v4–5, 30). Despite this, Salāma suggests other ways of continuing their relationship, including Yehuda's mentoring of Nissim, a new junior associate Salāma is sending to him, and Yehuda's sending Salāma some goods in agency. Jessica Goldberg, Trade and Institutions, pp. 296–99 ("Salāma b. Mūsā's Disastrous Year"). Salāma opens with his shock and dismay at the letters full of blame that he had received from Yehuda. "I had expected you to congratulate me on my survival in al-Mahdiyya, my deliverance from destruction, and the terrible ordeal (al-mawqif al-ʿaẓīm, also mentioned in r23) that I would not wish on anyone. I was bound (kutiftu) and almost killed (or executed, ʿuriḍtu ʿalā l-sayf) four times (or five—the ink is flaked here). Even if there were no partnership (sharika), love, (mawadda), or association (ṣuḥba) between us, this would have been incumbent on you. Now, more than one year later, the terror has not subsided, rather the fright remains in my heart. My greatest trial in al-Mahdiyya was my concern for your business. . . ." Interestingly, when Salāma mentions Yehuda's illnesses of last year (mā laḥaqak tilk al-sana min al-ḍuʿf wa-l-tawajjuʿ, r75), there is not a word of the usual sympathy or congratulations on his recovery. Gil understands Halper 414 to be a follow-up from this letter; Goldberg believes that Halper 414, a small sheet, was inserted into Halper 389, which seems to agree with Goitein, who calls it a "continuation" of Halper 389 (see Goitein notes linked to PGPID 35364). Information from Goldberg, Ben-Sasson, and Gil. ASE; MR

Business letter that mentions men named Hasday and Ahmad, concerning shipments of cotton. The verso contains seemingly unrelated jottings in Arabic script.

Letter from Allush ('Lamb') b. Makhlūf al-Nafusi to M[ahr]uz ben Yaʿaqov, 1130s or 1140s. Business letter concerning payments involving and owed to various merchants, including someone named Madmun, perhaps the representative of merchants and Nagid of Yemen, Madmun ibn Ḥasan (d. 1151); Abu Said ibn al-Dimyati; Abu Zikri, perhaps the representative of the merchants in Fustat during the first half of the twelfth century with the same name; and the writer's brother, Yiṣḥaq (= the well-attested India trader Yiṣḥaq ben Makhlūf). Allush appears again in a court record dated 1132 as having bought a house in his brother's name [Bodl. MS heb. b 11/21]. The letter also mentions Abu Said Makhlūf and Ibn Elisha, travel to the Maghrib and Aden, and shipments of pepper. Conclusion and address on verso. (Information from Arnold Franklin and M.A. Friedman and S. D. Goitein, India Traders of the Middle Ages: Documents from the Cairo Geniza, p. 263)

Business letter informing its recipient of the purchase of a certain commentary ('al-perush') for fifty dirhams. The writer reports that he will pay forty dirhams and the recipient will pay ten. Verso contains a payment order by Abu Zikri ha-Kohen. Undated.

Fragment of a letter from Isma’il b. Barhun al-Tahirti to Efrayim b. Shemarya, Fustat. After a disagreement that happened because of a business of selling indigo (it is not clear what the disagreement was about). The writer informs Efrayim, the judge and leader of the Jews in Fustat that Rav Hayya Gaon sent his answer and he supports the Tahirtis side. The writer writes his Hebrew name – Shemuel b. Rabbi Avraham. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #124) VMR

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat, probably to Barhūn b. Mūsā al-Tahirtī in Būsīr, ca. 1053. Nahray sends details of various sales in Fustat and of related payments. A man arrived in Fustat, who fell ill and died within 15 days. During his illness he prepared a will, leaving 10 dinars for charity in Fustat. Some of this money was given to the son of raʾs al-galut instead, whom Gil identifies as David b. Ḥezekiya. The receiver of the letter was appointed as one of the executors of the will. On verso there are illegible accounts in the hand of Barhūn b. Mūsā al-Tahirtī. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 744.)

Two merchants setting out from Alexandria on a voyage to the Muslim West appoint their wives as executors and guardians of their children: (1) Yosef b. Isḥāq al-Fasi gives his daughter Sitt al-Ḥusn 200 dinars and appoints his wife Sitt al-ʿAshīr bt. Barhūn as guardian of his daughter. He asserts that the amount of the principal and profit of a partnership included in the estate has to be accepted according to the word of his partner, because the partner was known for his trustworthiness and religiosity. Dated: Tammuz 4857 AM, which is 1097 CE. (2) Abū l-Faraḥ ʿArūs b. Yosef entrusts Sitt al-Kull bt. Avraham b. Ṭībān, his wife and mother of his boy, with all his affairs and possessions and makes her his heir, as well as guardian of their boy. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, 252; V, 133, 205, 333; and from Goitein's index cards; and from Goitein's hand list.) See also detailed description on CUDL.

Group letter occasionally explaining commercial conditions – 1923CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 131) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 61). MCD.

Commercial letter – May 5 1933CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 249) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 68). MCD.

Letter sent from Aleppo to Egypt whose sender is reporting of the arrival of cargo – 1928CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 26) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 67). MCD.

Personal letter to Kẖawaja David al-Jalālī from a person named Elli Ġozlān in it asking for him to fetch some of books and discussing commercial matters and family salutations – July 2 1944CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 260) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 72). MCD.

Letter requesting correspondence with knowledge of prices for lost packages and also it is asking for the purchase of clothing and a personal gift – 29 September 1929CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 39) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 68). MCD.

Letter issued by a merchant in al-Mūskī in Cairo – undated – Bassatine Cemetery – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 76) – in Hebrew. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 74). MCD.

Letter from Yeshuʿa b. Ismaʿīl al-Makmūrī (Fustat) to ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣedaqa (Alexandria), ca. 1050. Yeshuʿa b. Ismaʿīl al-Makmūrī asks ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣedaqa to secretly find out if his brother-in-law is planning to send him any merchandise. ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣedaqa wrote some draft accounts in the free space left on the verso of the letter. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 56. See Goiteins notes linked below.)