Geniza Lab

A fragmentary line of a widely spaced Arabic text (probably a decree) visible in the left margin; the document was recycled to copy a biblical exegesis. Only one complete word is preserved: mustaʿmilan.

State document, fragment, in Arabic script, probably a petition (or a draft?). There are also a few lines of Arabic interspersed between the wide spacings of the petition, probably from later reuse or annotations, however, both the hands look fairly similar. The petition is regarding a matter concerning agriculture "al-zirāʿ", also mentions a canal ''al-fatḥ". The last line indicates a course of action "dhālika wa-sharaʿ fī ʿamalihi wa-injāzihi". The first interspersed line bears a date - Thursday 19th Muḥarram 550. Needs examination.

Closing of a state document containing words of gratitude, ḥamdala, ṣalwla, and ḥasbala. "fa'-ūqābil bi-l-shukr ʿalaihi inshāʾ Allah".

First eight lines of a letter addressed to a dignitary ("mawlāya ʾadāma llāh ʿizzah fi ʾamrihi wa-masʾalat mukātabat"), in a chancery-trained hand. Possibly dealing with trade. Mentions a letter that arrived from "his colleagues in the Egyptian city of Ṭalḥā" (l. 4). Reused for piyyuṭ on verso by the same Jewish scribe who reused T-S Misc.29.13 (and probably many others).

Minute fragment from the bottom of a (state?) document in Arabic script. The text preserved is just the ḥamdala. Reused for Hebrew liturgical text on recto.

Left side of an Arabic-script letter. Possibly a petition, or simply a letter that draws on petition-like phrases (this hypothesis is supported by the fact that the sender refers to himself with first-person pronouns instead of as "the slave"). Wide line-spacing, in a chancery hand. Refers to 'the building of that which was destroyed(?) and the renewal of that which has passed" (ʿimāra mā dummira(?) wa-tajdīd ma maḍā). Refers to "that which ʿAbdallāh b. Ṭāhir did with your excellency and viziership" (fiʿl ʿAbdallāh b. Ṭāhir maʿa jalālatih wa-wizāratih). Reused for Hebrew piyyut in between the lines on recto and on verso.

Decree. Only part of one line is preserved, mentioning the caliph al-Ḥāfiẓ, "...wa-waliyyihi ʿAbd al-Majīd Abī l-Maymūn al-Imām..."

Decree, probably a public copy with gigantic line spacing. Mentions the signature/ʿalāma (khaṭṭ, khuṭūṭ) of two just witnesses (al-shuhūd al-ʿadlayn) and overseers (al-mushārifīn). Also mentions two dīwāns (dīwānayn). "جميعها خطوط المشارفين والشهود العدلين وخطه ليخلد الديوانين ويطالع بم..ها".

Likely a decree to a lower official, to judge by the sloppy hand. The section toward the end contains inshallāh, then kutiba, with the date ripped off, as is nearly universally the case with decree fragments. The text is mostly not arranged in horizontal lines but is more sporadic, with some sections written in larger script than others. The name ʿAbd al-Malik al-[...] appears in the upper left. One line may mention the end of (salkh) Dhū l-Ḥijja.

State document, fragment, in Arabic script written in enormous letters, probably a decree. Mentions "fourteen heads" (li-arbaʿa ʿashara raʾs) (of cattle?). Reused for several different pieces of writing in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. In calligraphic Hebrew on verso is Zechariah 6:11, and underneath are some Judaeo-Arabic phrases that sound as if they are taken from a letter. There is also writing in Hebrew script on recto that is much more difficult to read.

Decree (?) to a lower official or letter to a dignitary, 5 fragmentary lines from the mid-section. Arabic script, wide line spacing, chancery hand. Very brown paper. A few words are readable, but they’re too generic to allow for any context (e.g., ʿalā shayʾ minhā, al-waqt). Reused for a Judaeo-Arabic literary work. MR

Recto: Informal note in difficult Arabic script, scrawled basmala on top, possibly a memorandum to do with land tenure? Needs further examination. Verso: Informal note in Judaeo-Arabic from a sick man to his son's teacher informing him that his son behaves outrageously and needs to be disciplined. "A teacher must tell the boy if he tries to leave, 'Don't go around to the houses and the markets.' The gist of the matter is that if the boy comes this Friday afternoon and if he behaves thus (?) at that time, please inform me in your response to this note, in large Hebrew letters, because I am sick (wajiʿ), prostrated beneath my bed (or bedcovers? rāqid taḥt al-firāsh). Uncover his legs and give him a good beating." Perhaps the note on recto is from the teacher, and the man had a hard time reading it, so asked for the next one to be in Hebrew script?

Petition or official report (?). Arabic script, wide line-spacing, quasi-chancery hand. Lower left corner; the document was trimmed and reused for a Judaeo-Arabic letter (PGPID 30345).

Late accounts in Arabic, probably Ottoman-era. The list starts with 'thaman' (price) or 'qabaḍ' (collected).

A draft version of the same legal query to a jurist (istiftāʾ) as in T-S Ar.41.105 (edited by Geoffrey Khan, Arabic Legal and Administrative Documents, doc. no. 65), concerning changes introduced in Jewish liturgical practice. A major difference is that this query is addressed to the qāḍī al-quḍāt ʿImād al-Dīn (d. 624 AH, which is 1226/27 CE). A full list of variants can be found in Fenton's edition of T-S Ar.41.105 (as cited by Khan). A very imperfect edition of this text was provided by Gottheil in Mélanges Hartwig Derenbourg, p. 98. On verso there is Hebrew literary text.

Ottoman-era legal document (or letter with legal content?) addressed to Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad b. Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad dated 19 Shaʿbān 930 = 1524 CE. Mentions ابراهيم يشوع (؟) اليهودي . A transaction in the coinage of al-jadīd al-Sulaymānī (=the new coins minted by Suleiman I) is also mentioned. Signature in the shape of a cartouche at the top-right corner.

Bifolio from a register containing multiple entries recording fiscal payments, including name of the taxpayer and amount paid. Registration marks visible. Could be identified as one of the various types of ledgers (makhzūma, ruznamaj, khatma, and tawālī) described by Fatimid fiscal manuals.

Difficult-to-read and very brief Arabic document, containing the common but mysterious glyph لے at the top of recto and phrases such as "mamlūkuhu", 'li l-sharṭ' and "inshallah," so probably a letter or a legal document. There are also a few words on verso, perhaps the remnants of an address.

Recto: Six lines from a formal Arabic petition, probably late Fatimid. The second line reveals the name of an official: "...al-salāṭīn khāliṣa amīr al-muʾminīn Asad al-Dīn." The amir Asad al-Dīn was one of the higher-ranking officials during the time of al-ʿĀḍid and was the subordinate of his vizier Shāwar (Ibn Taghrī Burdī, vol.5, pg. 352 and al-Maqrīzī:Ittiʿāẓ, vol.3, pg. 304). He ruled Egypt after him for approximately six months (al-ʿAbbāsī al-Ṣafdī, pg. 127). This document could be dated around 562/1166 during the period of al-ʿĀḍid. Verso: The upper part of an Arabic letter from a certain [Daniel?] b. Bū l-Majd possibly to his sister (in the upper left corner: "ʿabduhā akhūhā"). The text continues on the margin in oblique lines, one readable phrase is "tawakkal ʿalā l-Allah". Needs further examination.

Undeciphered document in Arabic script. Possibly a receipt with a signature at the bottom. Needs examination.