Geniza Lab

12369.7 and 8 are drafts of several Judaeo-Arabic letters and documents by Yisrael al-Gevili (אלגוילי) writing in Cairo it seems circa 1755/6 CE (the lower segment on recto mentions the year [5]516; the second digit could also be a ר, making the date 1855/6, but it is closer to his ק and the fonducli - an Ottoman coin - would be more likely to be circulating in Egypt in 1756 than 1856.) Upper segment of recto: Some sort of testimony, perhaps that the Shaykh al-Islām Naṣr al-Dīn Abū Zayn al-Dī al-Iskandarānī pledges to pay a sum of 120 to al-Ḥajj Muṣṭafa in the Gamaliyya neighborhood. Lower segment of recto: Documentation that Yūsuf al-Ḥarīrī who is living in the wakāla of al-Fayyūmī has paid the price for the courtyard and the apartment, and then something to do with six months of payments involving al-Ḥajj Muṣṭafa al-Ramlāwī. Verso: Draft of a letter to his brother regarding business matters. Yisrael reports on the status and likely price of the goods that his brother had sent to him with Murād al-Jawharji. He orders Indian textiles because the demand this year is very high, as none of the ḥajj pilgrims brought any textiles with them. Verso of 12369.8 is another draft of the same letter. ASE.

12369.7 and 8 are drafts of several Judaeo-Arabic letters and documents by Yisrael al-Gevili (אלגוילי) writing in Cairo it seems circa 1755/6 CE (the lower segment on recto of 12369.7 mentions the year [5]516; the second digit could also be a ר, making the date 1855/6, but it is closer to his ק and the fonducli - an Ottoman coin - would be more likely to be circulating in Egypt in 1756 than 1856.) Recto: Draft of a letter to his brother. His brother seems to have gotten upset about the lack of letters from Yisrael and the lack of any shipment of goods or money. Yisrael apologizes and says he had intended to send them sooner, but encountered various difficulties including with selling the goods. However he plans to send everything on Monday. Verso: Draft of a letter to his brother regarding business matters. Yisrael reports on the status and likely price of the goods that his brother had sent to him with Murād al-Jawharjī. He orders Indian textiles because the demand this year is very high, as none of the ḥajj pilgrims brought any textiles with them. Verso of 12369.7 is another draft of the same letter. ASE.

Recto: Accounts, mentioning Moshe Kohen and listing amounts of money for the weeks of Shemot through Tetzaveh. One of the currencies used is the fonducli. Verso has jottings and the curious stamp: IACOBVS KVHNEN SPANISNADEL.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Late.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Late.

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated Monday 2 Adar 5497 AM, which is 1737 CE. ʿEzra b. Eliyyahu Rofe Fayrūz acknowledges a debt of 31(?) golden fonduclis from Yosef Levi b. Naḥum Levi (or the grandson of Naḥum Levi?). This took place in the house of Moshe ha-Rofe b. Aharon Ẓaʿīr. There are no signatures and there are several corrections; probably a draft.