Geniza Lab

Petition from al-Ḥasan b. Abū Saʿd probably to a vizier (several of the titles are similar to those of Ṭalāʾiʿ Ibn Ruzzīk). He complains of his poverty and weak state and seems to be asking for protection against the behaviors of the brokers in the drug/perfume trade in Fustat, who have cornered the market and are preventing merchants from doing business with the petitioner. On verso there is the qiddush for Passover in large 'childish' letters. (Information in part from Goitein's index card, MR, ASE.)

Recto: Letter, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic. Refers to brokerage fees (samsara) and something related (ʿamāla or ʿimāla). Verso: List of names in Arabic script accompanied by Greek/Coptic numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document from February 1255 concerning two members of an orphans’ court who sell certain garments through the “great simsar,” referred to here as ‘munadi,’ or market crier, auctioneer, whose compensation is termed ‘dilala,’ or broker’s fee. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:160, 439) EMS