Geniza Lab

Verso: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic to Abu l-Ḥasan, sending money with the messenger and asking Abu l-Ḥasan to purchase hashish for the writer.

Note from Yefet b. Yosef (both son and father are called "teacher," melammed) to Abu Zikri the physician, the son of Eliyyahu the judge asking him to send the tutty (zinc oxide for ophthalmic use) that he had promised the writer before his departure. Information from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Probably 1063. Natan wrote the letter 10 days before Passover. The writer is upset because a deal (probably for spices and beads) did not go as expected. He blames Abu Zikri b. Menashshe. Also mentions a matter of inheritance in the Tahirti family. The writer’s son was sick and his sight was impaired. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #426) VMR

Letter from Yosef b. Yeshuʿa, in Tripoli (Syria), to Nahray b. Nissim. The letter mentions Nahray's pilgrimage to Jerusalem and shipments of emblic myrobalan and frankincense. A certain old woman has gone blind in one eye, and the other eye is in danger, so Yosef asks Nahray to send him tutty (zinc oxide) or whatever else might be beneficial.

Fragment of a letter from Yisrael b. Natan, Jerusalem, probably to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. The letter deals with trades, especially of fabrics. Yisrael b. Natan returns some pearls to Fustat because he is disappointed with their marred color. He asks that they be sold in Fustat, and some carnelians purchased with the money. Nahray is also asked to urgently provide parchment in order for Yisrael to do some work as a scribe. The last part is about Avraham b. ha-Gaon Shelomo b. Yehuda. Yisrael asks Nahray for bitumen (qifār) for his eye problem because he cannot get any in Jerusalem; see also T-S 12.364; T-S 13J26.4; and T-S 10J10.24. (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 3, pp. 145-148, #472) VMR. ASE.

Letter from Umm Abū ʿAlī, in the Rif, likely near Damīra, to her son Isḥāq, in Fustat. The latter may live with his aunt and uncle, as the letter is addressed to the writer's sister’s son, Abū l-Munā. The writer is ill, and she repeatedly tells Isḥāq to tell Umm Abū l-Munā to send myrobalan and a medicinal syrup back with the messenger, presumably to be furnished by Abu l-Muna’s father who is a maker of syrups (sharābī). Isḥāq's wife seems to be pregnant (the writer is waiting for "khalāṣ zawjatak"). The writer invites her sister Umm Abū l-Munā to visit her in the village by promising plenty of watermelons to eat. This letter is mentioned in Mediterranean Society, I, p. 121. The Arabic address reads: "yaṣil hādhā l-kitāb ilā waladī al-shaykh Abū l-Munā b. Abū Surrī al-sharābī min khālatihi Umm Abū ʿAlī ... dār al-wāzīr (or wāzīn?)." ASE.

Letter from Isḥāq b. ʿAlī al-Majjānī, probably in al-Mahdiyya, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Dating: Aound 1040. In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter deals with disagreements about money and discussions on how to solve them. The writer orders a dirham of bitumen (qifār), "for the need is pressing" (lines 12–13). He is most likely alluding to an eye disease. In the margin, he sends greetings to Abū Zikrī Elḥanan the physician and writes, "tell the friend of Tammām, the physician, 'My hope is in you.'" Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #636. VMR. ASE.

Letter from Avraham ha-Reviʿi b. Shemuel ha-Shelishi, probably in Ramla, to Shelomo b. Yehuda, in Jerusalem. In Hebrew. Dating: Ca. 1040 CE. The letter is also signed by the physician ʿAmram b. Aharon ha-Kohen. (There was a liturgical poet by the name of Shemuel ha-Shelishi ("the Third") whose works survived in the Geniza and who lived around 1000, so this could well be his son.) The bearer of the letter is Moshe b. Mevasser. The senders ask the addressee to ensure that he receives the full third of his father's inheritance that is due to him; there are 3 brothers (including a Natan b. Mevasser), and none is the firstborn. Shelomo b. Yehuda writes about the same case in T-S 20.178. There is also a request "to obtain a little kohl for me to remove the whiteness from the eye of my little daughter," and a request for emblic (amlaj). There may be a reference to the controversy with Natan b. Avraham. (Information in part from Gil.) MR. ASE.

Letter from Abū Manṣūr to his father Yaʿaqov. In Judaeo-Arabic. He complains about his terrible misfortunes this year ("everything that I had is buried," perhaps meaning "I lost everything"). "I have reached a point in my distress that no one else has ever reached... what I really need is monitor lizard oil (dahn al-waral) to anoint myself... pay whatever it takes... and make sure to get it when the sun is in Aries, because otherwise it will not help me... after that time, the oil solidifies and cannot be used." The sole reference to monitor lizard oil in al-Rāzī's Al-Ḥāwī fī l-Ṭibb is for obtaining an erection. It is still produced and marketed in the 21st century, but mainly as a topical for hemorrhoids. ASE

Letter written to "my brother," apparently from Qus, dealing primarily with family members' medical issues. There are many eccentric spellings. Recto 4-12: The writer has sent several letters before this one asking the recipient for help. Recto 12-15: Yusuf (apparently the writer's son) has been sick for 6 months with tertian fever; his mother (apparently the writer's wife) has been sick for 8 months with ophthalmia, "like a piece of flesh" (the same phrase is used for women in wretched states in CUL Or.1080 J24 and T-S 12.575). The little boy's eyes are even worse than hers: his ophthalmia has progressed to trachoma (reading ואגראבו as a creative spelling of وأجربوا). For the relationship between these terms, see Ali b. Isa's Tadhkirat al-Kaḥḥālīn, translated into English by Casey Wood as Memorandum Book of a Tenth-Century Oculist (1936). Trachoma (jarab), pp. 85-89. Ophthalmia (ramad), pp. 126-135. Progression from ophthalmia to trachoma, p. 133. Recto 16 - Verso 5: The writer tells the recipient to pawn a table for 5 dirhams and to bring the money for a consultation with Abu l-Ma'ruf b. al-Taffal; the writer has also written Abu l-Ma'ruf a letter describing the wife's ophthalmia. The recipient is to obtain the ophthalmic medicines and send them urgently to Qus with a trustworthy messenger, to Abu l-Mansur b. al-Meshorer. Abu l-Ma'ruf should label each ophthalmic with its name, and he should also send dry kohl (antimony) for the wife and for the son. Verso 5-13: The recipient is to go to Abu l-Makarim from the well known Ibn Nufay' family (a man of the same name in Alexandria is mentioned in T-S 13J21.36) and have him expose the leaves of the codices (? מצאחף) to the air and turn them, so that they do not decay. The recipient is to go to Abu l-Surur (b. Al-Kaf?) and give him the same instruction, both for the codices that are with him and the garments, because they contain high-quality silk and must not be allowed to rot even a little bit. Verso 17-19: The writer gives instruction regarding the ground floor or courtyard of his home. ASE.

Recto: Informal note in Arabic script. Needs examination. Verso: Informal note from Shelomo (probably Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) ordering several medicinal syrups from Abū Isḥāq to be given to the bearer: sharāb aṣīl, sharāb laymūn, sharāb ward (one ounce each) and also one ounce of water of borage (lisān thawr, 'oxtongue').

Informal notes in Judaeo-Arabic, one on each side. Neither note seems complete. Recto: inviting al-Shaykh al-Nafīs to "come out (perhaps from Fustat to the Rif) and enjoy yourself." Verso: Asking the writer's father to kindly obtain for him an ounce and a half of raw quince syrup.

Letter from Peraḥya b. Yosef Yijū to Saadya b. Avraham Ibn al-Amshāṭī. Fragment. Dating: ca. 1160s. Same writer and addressee: Moss. VII,152.1, ENA 4020.1, ENA 4011.32. He expresses hope that someone will make a complete convalescence (yanqah naqah kullī) and asks the addressee to send a letter on his behalf to the son of the faqīh Manṣūr, it seems to ask for a prescription.

Letter from ʿIwāḍ b. Ḥananel, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Around 1060. The letter is in the hand of Benāya b. Mūsā and switches to the voice of Benāya starting in line v1. The letter discusses goods and shipments as well as books that ʿIwāḍ is buying for Nahray. ʿIwāḍ has been suffering a serious illness (wajaʿ) ever since Adar Rishon (this passage begins in line r16). People despaired of him; he recovered from the illness; but then he developed a swollen abdomen ("and I am frightened from it"). Now he does not travel unless absolutely necessary. He asks Nahray to obtain for him sugar and good-quality rhubarb. Information in part from Gil and Gotein's note card (#27102). VMR. ASE.

Letter from the schoolmaster Natan b. Shemuel, in a small town, to his brother Abū l-Ḥasan, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. The writer asks for some ophthalmic medicine, some sour-grape kohl, and an unidentified medicine (רישאנא?), because he needs them very much. If his financial situation were not so terrible this winter, he would have sent some money to cover the cost. He describes his extreme hardships, explaining that he had had to pawn garments to cover the costs of the holidays(?). He asks the addressee to meet with their in-law Abū Naṣr and thank him and seek to resolve some family matter. He worries that people are angry at him: "I think that no one likes a beggar." He then asks for the addressee's indulgence for what he had previously written. He was not himself, because of his great preoccupation upon the death of the khaṭīb of his town, who had been a great support to him. He goes on to allude to a dispute between himself and his cousin (ibn ʿamm), about whom he has many harsh words (incl. "Smoother than cream were the speeches of his mouth, but his heart was war" (Psalms 55:22); "may God save me from his evil"). He conveys greetings to various people, including R. Yeḥiel (active 1224–33). In a first postscript, he reports that Qaḍīb is severely ill with pleurisy (dhāt al-janb). He is out of his mind with worry and asks for his sister Saʿāda to be sent urgently. "May I not live to see her day [of death]." In a second postscript, he reports that actually Qaḍīb is doing much better now, thank God. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, IV, pp. 185, 413; V, pp. 242, 573, 600-601.) ASE

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan (Isrā'īl b. Sahlūn), in Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 31 December 1061 CE, according to Gil. Yisrael mentions letters intended for the Maghrib that he had previously sent, in particular one for a certain Labrāṭ. He asks Nahray to send him the garment that arrived from Tripoli and the medicines (ʿaqāqīr) and the bitumen (qifār) with Abū ʿAlī Ismāʿīl b. Ruʿbūb. Umm Sha'ul, the wife of Nahray, is in Jerusalem, and Yisrael conveys news of her and other contacts. There is a famine in Jerusalem. Yisrael conveys the good news that Abūn b. Ṣadaqa and his daughter have recovered from illness—but Yisrael is sick of Abūn. ASE

Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, Qalyub, to a family member in Fustat, dealing with sundry small business matters. He orders walnuts, sugar, and Sinnārī cheese (this last to be sent with Salāma). Ibn al-Nuʿmān is to be paid 42 dirhams. Ibn al-Dajānī will receive some as well. Moshe refers to the pressing of the grapes. He is anxious to know about the capitation tax and how much remains to be paid so that he can send some money to help. Abū Khalaf is mentioned in the margin. Verso is more faded and difficult to understand. He writes that Farruj's name is Furrayj b. Ishaq (?), and the agent's name is Ma'ani b. Abu l-Khayr. He asks for medicine and/or medical advice regarding the boy who was circumcised on Friday and who 'chafed' his 'leg' and has a bit of blood at the opening. In a postscript Moshe says he has sent with the bearer a copper vessel (qumqum) that is either filled with or to be filled with rose water. Mentioned in Ashtor, Histoire des prix, 1969, p. 136. ASE.

Letter from a certain Moshe to his son, the physician Avraham. Fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. What remains is largely taken up with expressions of the preoccupation of the writer and his wife for their son's health. If they receive good news of Avraham, his mother rejoices, and if they receive bad news, she becomes sad and distressed. Moshe and his wife seem to be concerned because Avraham is traveling frequently (r11–15), and perhaps because of something to do with his wife (rm1). On verso, there are repetitive instructions about not allowing a certain man (Avraham's brother?) to go anywhere without taking Avraham's mother with him. At the end of the letter, Moshe reports that he has obtained the ophthalmic medications (ashyāf) from the physician Abū l-Faraj as requested, and has forwarded them along with a letter from the same Abū l-Faraj. Several towns of the Delta are mentioned in the letter: Bilbays, Minyat Ghamr, and—if this a place name—al-Ṣāliḥiyya. Avraham responded on the same piece of paper, writing nothing more than that he read the letter and thanked God for the health of his father and mother and the children. There are also some Arabic jottings on verso. ASE.

Letter from a physician in Silifke (Seleucia) to his sister's husband, presumably in Fustat. Dated 21 July 1137. "The Emperor John II Comnenus was on his way to Antioch—held at that time by Raymond of Poitiers—and a part of his powerful army passed through the town in which this letter was written. The Byzantines arrived before the gates of Antioch on August 29. Our letter, however, reports a rumor that the city had already fallen forty days earlier. The writer, a physician, even expresses the expectation that the Emperor might take Aleppo and Damascus as well and already placed an order for medical books which would be looted there from the homes of his colleagues." The writer had emigrated from Fatimid Egypt to Byzantium. Goitein suggests that he traveled initially with the Fatimid navy, as he lists letters he sent in previous years from the army camp at Jaffa, from Rhodes, and from the island of Chios, which were occupied by the Venetian navy in 1224. The physician also stayed in Constantinople before settling in Seleucia and marring a woman with a Greek name (Korasi). He repeatedly describes how wealthy he is despite having arrived penniless, and urges his in-laws to follow his example and join him, no matter how much they have to leave behind. [Recto 1-8:] He opens with a discussion of the fertility of his sister; she has already borne two girls to the recipient, who is now presumably hoping for a son. She has not been able to become pregnant "due to her emaciated state"; the writer believes he would be able to give her medications to allow her to conceive "even after the emaciation." (Goitein's reads shurb instead of shaḥb, and zawāl instead of huzāl, yielding, "My sister did not become pregnant despite the many medicines. If you were here, I would fix her pregnancy, by my life, even after she had ceased to bear children.") The writer's own wife never conceived except with medication. [Recto 8-9:] The writer was unable to cure Avraham, "the little beggar from Akko," who died and left his son an orphan. [Recto 10-17:] The writer provides a detailed list of the dowry that he gave his son-in-law Shemuel b. Moshe b. Shemuel the Longobardian merchant, worth altogether 200 dinars. [Recto 17-21:] The writer explains that his own letters may have never arrived because he used to send valuable materia medica with them, including mulberry concentrate (rubb tūt), ribes (rībās), barberries (barbārīs), Gentiana (ghāfit) leaves and extract, and absinthe (afsintīn). [Recto 21-27:] He lists the five letters he has sent in past years in exchange for only one from the recipients, including Abū Zikrī Yaḥyā and Abū Naṣr b. Isḥāq. [Recto 27-31:] He offers messianic wishes, citing Daniel 12:11 and a piyyut for Havdala written by the recipient's father. [Recto 31-38:] He writes of his great happiness and wealth, including a house worth 200 dinars and 400 barrels of wine. [Verso 1-4:] If the recipient really does join him, he should bring the medical books that the writer left behind. Regardless, he is hoping to obtain some medical books from the loot of Aleppo and Damascus. [Verso 4-22:] He conveys news of family and friends. [Verso 22-24:] He requests a quarter dirhem of seeds of mallow (mulūkhiyah), mandrake (yabrūḥ), and althaea (khiṭmiyyah), as these are unavailable in his location. Information from Goitein's attached summary and translation. EMS. ASE.

Letter from Abū Zikrī Yehuda b. Yosef (active 990s–1030s CE), in Qayrawān, to his brother-in-law ʿAyyāsh b. Nissim. The sender reports that the addressee's son is doing well, reports on the success of another relative (Abū l-Surūr), discusses business transactions, and asks for medication for his eyes (something Indian, "the white kind . . . ostrich eggs, and the green kind, because I need to use it on my eyes"; line 15). Information in part from Gil. ASE