Geniza Lab

Legal document. Dated: Thursday, 17 Nisan 1483 Seleucid (1172 CE). Inventory of the estate of the physician Abū l-Riḍā al-Levi, which was designated for the benefit of the orphan daughter of ʿImrān by order of "the great Rav Moshe," that is, Maimonides, who had recently been appointed head of the Jews. Also mentions the dead man's female slave named Musk. Join by S. D. Goitein. Join awaiting transcription. Goitein's notes say that Westminster Frag. Cairens. 25+ is another copy of this document, but the shelfmark must have changed (this should correspond to L-G Misc. 25, and nothing in the L-G Misc. folder appears to be related to this document).

Letter from Yehuda, unknown location, to Shalom, in Jerusalem. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: No earlier than 13th century, based on handwriting, overall appearance, and linguistic evidence. The sender asks the addressee not to allow Ṣadaqa to sell anything from the estate of the deceased 'mother' (i.e., the sender's daughter), which rightfully belonged to her two orphans, Avraham and Rebecca, and to whom the sender had conveyed all of his own rights in the inheritance. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 310, 495, and from Goitein's index cards)

Legal document. Written and signed by Mevorakh b. Natan. Location: Fustat. Dated: Middle decade of Iyyar 1484 Seleucid, which is 1173 CE, under the authority of the Gaʾon Sar Shalom b. Moshe ha-Levi. (This is the earliest known document from Sar Shalom's second term in office, after Maimonides held the title ca. 1171–72.) Abū l-Maʿrūf Ṣedaqa b. Shemarya has taken in the orphaned boy Hiba of his late brother Abū Saʿd al-Miṣrī, and he asks the court to grant money for him to support the boy. The court agrees to provide 10 dirhams a month out of the estate deposited in the name of the orphan. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 299, 493.)

Draft of a court declaration written by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu regarding the estate of the late physician (al-mutaṭabbib al-ḥakīm) Ibrāhim b. Mukhtār Ibn Ilyās. He bequeathes his property—including medical books (nusakh ṭibbiyya)—to the synagogue of Dammūh. Also mentions "al-rayyis Nuʿmān" and another physician with many titles Sulaymān/Shelomo.

Draft of a legal document, notably made in a mixed Qaraite-Rabbanite court. Agreement by two parties in a complicated inheritance case stipulating obligations should one of the parties bring the case before a Muslim court. Location: Fustat. Dated: Tammuz 1366 Seleucid, which is July 1055 CE. Two women, Rayyisa bt. Tammam and Raḥma bt. Tammām, leave estates to their two brothers' sons, Mevorakh b. Yisrael and Shemuel b. Yehuda. A court of three (Avraham b. Shelomo, Nahray, and ʿEli ha-Kohen) will decide what will be sold and what divided between the two nephews. The new house of Raḥma bt. Tammām will be offered for sale. The verso contains Hebrew verses, rhymed piyyuṭ, headed ז׳ לשמעו. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index cards.) Join: Oded Zinger. Probably an indirect join with ENA 2727.13a.

Document of release concerning the estate of Barakat ha-Levi’s deceased wife Jaliyya, mentioning the mother of Jaliyya and the daughter of her sister specifically. EMS

Recto: Legal document. Abū Manṣūr Ḥayyim b. Sahlawayh appoints Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb b. Shaʿyā, known as Ibn Tawwazī, to investigate accounts relating to the estate of Abū Kathīr Ibrahīm b. Salmān b. ʿEzra. Abū Kathīr had died while some assets of his were still with two brothers of Abū Manṣūr, Daniel and Eli, and the brothers had also meanwhile died, leaving Abū Manṣūr as their heir. Abū Yūsuf is appointed to examine the accounts of all three dead men, so that Abū Kathīr’s heirs can receive what is due to them. Abū Yūsuf’s investigation will be supervised by Abū Naṣr Shelomo/Salāma b. Saʿīd Ibn Ṣaghīr. Location: Fusṭāṭ. Dated: Wednesday, 23 Iyyar 1368 Seleucid, which is April 1057 CE, under the authority of Yehuda b. Yosef ha-Kohen ("the Great Rav"). (Information from Goitein's index card and from CUDL)

Legal document. Inventory of estate. Dated: August 1108. Location: Cairo. Signed by Abraham b. Ḥalfōn b. Abraham and Isaac b. Abraham. Eleazar b. Araḥ assumes management of his father’s estate (including a shop) on behalf of his widowed mother and his brother, a youth. The valuation of the store one is in total 11.5 dinars (including 169 dirhams, rose marmalade, sugar, honey, and "potions"). His brother’s share, 5.75 dinars, is to be loaned to Eleazar for his investment or other use. There is no discussion of profit or loss sharing. Eleazar is charged with sustaining the widow and boy from assets that have been set aside for the purpose and upon which he has no claim. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 179)

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Dated: Tuesday, 7 Elul 1425 Seleucid, which is August 1114 CE. Inventory of the estate of a wealthy goldsmith, the late Abū Yaʿqūb. The list consists of dinars in bankers’ notes, gold cash, and in bars of precious metals; various vessels, two female slaves, and promissory notes are also referenced. The document was written by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe and sealed by the rabbinic court on the day of Abū Yaʿqūb’s death. Before any shares were distributed to the heirs, the widow received the “deferred installment” due to her according to her marriage contract, in this case 75 dinars. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society 5:168-70, 549, 533; and Goitein’s index cards) EMS

Inventory of the items from a dead man's estate that are in Alexandria, mainly books (two pages) and various household items (last page). In Judaeo-Arabic and Greek/Coptic numerals, with some Arabic script. A selection of the books: the Torah; the Tuffāḥa on Leviticus; commentary (tafsīr) on Tehillim (this entry crossed out); Shemuel b. Ḥofni's treatise on partnerships (al-Sharikāt); Saadya's translation (sharḥ) of the Torah; many more sacred books; and what may be a composition on love (Alfāẓ ʿalā l-Ulfa). AA. ASE.

Letter in which the writer asks the addressee to intervene with Sar ha-Sarim, probably Mevorakh b. Saadya, to retrieve his nephew's estate. (Information from Goitein's index cards)