Geniza Lab

Deathbed will, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Shevat 1441 Seleucid, which is 1129/30 CE. Small fragment.

Deathbed will. Dated: Wednesday, 18 Nisan 1493 Seleucid, which is 24 March 1182 CE. Testator: Abū l-Faraj b. Moshe known as Ibn al-Kallām. He leaves to his wife, the daughter of his maternal uncle, one third of a house, if she does not marry again. If she does, she will receive only what was still due to her from the delayed matrimonial gift. This man owed 2 1/2 dinars to Maimonides, 4 1/6 dinars to al-Shaykh al-Muwaffaq (perhaps the physician Ibn Jumayʿ) for a capitation tax paid on his behalf, 1 dinar and 12 dirhams to the poet and judge Ibn Sanā' al-Mulk, 4 dinars to the faqīh Ibn Ṣawla, and 5 dirhams to Abū l-Khayr al-Ḥayfī. Scribed and signed by Shemuel ha-Levi b. Seʿadya. Also signed by Elʿazar b. Mikhael. (Information from Goitein's notes and from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 31.) Translated and discussed at length in S. D. Goitein, “The Moses Maimonides-Ibn Sana Al-Mulk Circle: A Deathbed Declaration from March 1182,” in Moshe Sharon, ed., Studies in Islamic History and Civilization in Honour of Professor David Ayalon (Leiden: Brill, 1986), 399-405.

Deathbed declaration in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (Date: 1100-1138). Concerning Abū l-Ḥusayn Moshe b. Shelomo al-ʿAṭṭār (ZL), who had given his wife of second marriage, in addition to her deferred marriage gift of 50 dinars, an additional gift of ten dinars. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 3:251, 411, 481; 5:140, 544) EMS

Recto: Legal document. Last will of Abū al-Barakāt b. Abū al-Riḍā Yosef Lebdi. This deathbed declaration was made in the presence of his sons and of the partner in his sugar factory. This document is largely damaged, but several interesting points emerge. For instance, when his eldest son reminds him that according to Jewish law the firstborn was entitled to a double share (Deuteronomy 21: 17), the dying man replies: "I do not prefer one child over another." Also, he and his business partner mutually declare that they trust each other completely; Abū al-Barakāt’s account books would speak for him after his death. At the end, a large bag with ʿūd (aromatic wood) was brought in, a purse with gold was put into it; the bag was laid into a Rumī (European) chest, which was locked, and the key was put into the hand of the dying man. Location: Fustat. Dated: 25 Av 1538 Seleucid, which is August 9, 1227 CE. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Deathbed declaration of Sayyid al-Ahl b. Abī ʿUmar known as Ibn al-Aqtaʿ. Location: al-Maḥalla al-Kubrā. Dated: middle decade of Tammuz 1487 Seleucid, which is June 1176 CE, under the reshut (authority) of the gaon Netanel b. Moshe ha-Levi. The court asks Sayyid al-Ahl if he is owed any money by Abū ʿUmar b. Abū Saʿd al-Iskandarānī, and he answers that no one owes him anything. Witnesses: Natan b. Ḥalfon; Majly(?) ha-levi b. Yefet. (Information in part from Med Soc V, 135, 542.) NB: Goitein refers to ENA 4011.50 as ENA 4011.51.

Deathbed declaration in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, right upper corner. An old widow who had given her maidservant half of a house and the rest of her belongings asks her to renounce one eight of the share in the house, which she wishes to give to her sister's daughter, Najiya. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 134, 442)

Legal document and a marriage document. Damaged fragment containing 3 different legal deeds in 3 different hands, most likely refers to the same parties. On recto what looks like a part from a bill of gift or a will, in Hebrew and Aramaic. Two names mentioned: מובחר and Ya'aqov. On verso two legal documents. On the right side from a legal document of unknown nature, probably between husband and wife. Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic. On the left side a damaged fragment from a ketubah de'irkasa כתובה דארכסא, that is a ketubah written as a replacement for a lost ketubah. Aramaic. AA

Deathbed declaration dated Tevet 1665 / December 1353, in which Yehuda b. Hananya assigns to his wife, Wazira daughter of the elder called al-Udi, the contents of his house in payment of the money promised her in their marriage contract and sets aside money with the Nagid Yehoshuaʿ to cover the costs of his burial and the 'shiva' (seven-day mourning period).

Detailed deathbed declaration made by Abu al-Tahir Mevorakh b. Shela al-murid (government supplier), written by the scribe Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. The testator declares his second wife, Sitt al-Dar b. Yosef, responsible retroactively to the time of their marriage, as well as for the future, with the exception of the 'principals', by which he meant immovable property and merchandise, namely, pepper, lead, jewelry of silver and pearls. Concerning these, those of his children from this second marriage could request an account from her upon reaching maturity. If needed for the household, or 'cases of illness, school fees, clothing or unforeseen expenses,' she was allowed to sell some of the 'principals,' but only with the permission of a relative named in the document or two witnesses appointed by the court. The wife was allowed to spend the money thus obtained however she saw fit. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 255-256, 483). (Written by Halfon b. Menashshe Halevi [Date: 1100-1138]. AA)

Legal document. Will from 1527 drawn up by Shul (Sul, Shol), the wife of R. Shelomo ibn Sornaḥ סורנח. The wife disagrees to let her brother claim her estate from Shemuʾel Brodo, whom in his home she were living at the time she was writing the will (l. 3-4). She also declared that she has no other possessions whatsoever. Signed by Yeḥiel Mar Ḥayyim (data from FGP by Abraham David). Hebrew. AA

Deathbed declaration of a man who had sold his daughter, Sitt al-Sada, and her son two-thirds of two shops with the apartment located above theirs. (Information from Goitein, Mediterranean Society, IV, pp. 58, 363)

Deathbed will of Abū l-Baqā'. Draft: abandoned in the middle of the third line

Legal document: Bill of indemnity or deathbed declaration; fragment. Begins in Hebrew and continues in Arabic script. The subject declares that he has no assets, and has received sustenance from his nephew Yosef b. Yiṣḥaq. According to Goitein the deed was drawn up as a defense against potential government claims that the nephew had inherited something from the uncle, and thus should be taxed; exemplifies how common it was for uncles to bequeath to their nephews. (Information from CUDL and from Mediterranean Society, 2:126, 547) This transcription, probably by Goitein, was entered into PGP before the days of unicode and is thus entirely in Hebrew script.

Legal document. Partnership record. Dating: 1085 (per Goitein's index cards). Written in the hand of Hillel b. Eli (probable, per Goitein). This document is the end of a deathbed declaration in which the dying man accounts for the assets due a partnership in a lead foundry. Apparently the dying man kept an account book; while some assets were held jointly between the dying man, his brother Abū ‘Alī, and one Abū al-Khayr, other assets (including a claim against someone named Yāqūt for 11.5 dinars) were held only between the dying man and Abū al-Khayr. Although Abū al-Khayr may not have been the sole active partner, the document declares trustworthy concerning profit and loss, a phrase often applied to the active partner in a long-distance partnership. Perhaps he had to relinquish some control of the enterprise in his final days as he was ill. His death is recorded on lines 9-10. Although the death of a partner is a sufficient condition for termination of a partnership in Jewish and Islamic law, the typical termination clauses are absent. Rather, the dying man’s brother is to take his place and the partnership is to continue, suggesting an inheritable or transferable, quasi-corporate aspect to the partnership. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 113)

Fragment of a deathbed declaration of Sedaqa b. Mevorakh for his sister and brother, signed by Hillel b. Eli (1066-1107). (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Deathbed will of Khalaf b. Yeshu'a, mentioning the lepers in Tiberias, Elul 1345/August 1034.

Legal query draft regarding a man who willed his executor to buy landed property worth 500 dinars, the proceeds of which were to be divided equally between the poor of his town and the family of his paternal uncle. Question: have the great-grandchildren of that paternal uncle rights on the will? It is unclear if this was written before or after the letter from 1208 on recto. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 436, and Goitein's note card.)

Deathbed declaration of a physician who includes in his will a gift to his wife in addition to the money owed to her as written in her ketubba, Fustat, Ab 1552/July-August 1241.

Will of a terminally ill person made in the home of R. Natan ha-Ḥaver. 1453 sel., month not preserved.

Verso: Formulary in Aramaic for a deathbed will, dated Av 1552 (= 1241 CE) in Fustat. (Information from CUDL)