Geniza Lab

Deed of manumission for Ashu, an Indian female slave, written by Avraham Ibn Yijū, Mangalore, October 17, 1132. On the verso and on the margins of the deed Ibn Yijū copied drafts of 3 poems for Maḍmūn b. Ḥasan of Aden (See II, 40). Both Goitein and Friedman suggest that Ibn Yijū bought Ashu so that he could release her and then marry her. This deed is especially important for the 'reshut' clause, written in India, and mentioning both Daniel b. [Ḥ]isday, the Exilarch in Baghdad and Maṣliaḥ b. Shelomo, the head of the Palestinian Yeshiva residing in Cairo.

Deed of manumission written by Mevorakh b. Natan in which Sitt al-Hasab, daughter of Shela ha-Levi 'the sar', manumits a female slave, named Salaf, who was probably given to another lady as a marriage gift. Dated Kislev 1469/ November 1157. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 138, 433; IV, pp. 325, 456)

Instructions for manumission of a female slave written by Avraham Ibn Yiju. III 40a is the top of the page. III, 40b is the bottom of the page. III, 40c is the verso, a draft of a letter written by Avraham b. Yiju for another man and having nothing to do with the India trade, and therefore not edited in Goitein-Friedman. It is, however, edited in Assaf, Texts, 149-51.

Deed of manumission (geṭ shiḥrur) for a female slave. Location: Fustat. Dated: Tishrei 1510 Seleucid, which is 1198 CE. Theoretically the date could be 1520 Seleucid, but that is probably too late, given the signature of Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi on verso. Abū l-Maʿālī al-Levi al-Tājir b. Khalaf al-Dajjānī frees his female slave named Saʿāda. Written in the hand of the court scribe Yosef b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi (c.1181–1209). Signed: Menashshe b. Yosef. The attestation on verso that the deed was delivered into her hand ('in the Iraqi synagogue') is scribed and signed by Yosef's father, Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi (c.1165–1203). Also signed by Menashshe b. Yosef. (Information in part from Moshe Yagur via FGP.) ASE

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic. Attesting that Sitt al-Gharb bt. Abū l-Faraj b. Semekh al-Daʿwa (known from other Geniza documents) gave a deed of manumission (גט חירות) to her male slave Munjib. There are several text blocks in different hands; all those on recto appear to pertain to the same case. On verso there are notes about other legal cases, as well as two lines from the beginning of a petition in Arabic script. Join by Moshe Yagur. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Dated: 11 Iyyar; dating: 1126 CE. Change of a will signed by Ḥalfon b. Ghalib and Yefet b. Efrayim two days before the death of the testator, saying that Najiyya is to receive part of a house from her dying maternal aunt on condition that she and her husband, Abū Naṣr Mevasser ha-Levi, renounce all other claims on the estate. A freed woman (Nashū) will receive another part of the house and a man promises to marry her and never divorce her. Yefet b. Ḥadīd is also released by the dying woman. Signed by Ḥalfon b. Ghalib the cantor and Yefet b. Efrayim (Information from Goitein's index cards.) This document consists of two fragments; the right side is document T-S 16.44 and the left side is document T-S 12.613, the break between the two documents is indicated in the transcription by /.

Deed of manumission of a female slave. Location: New Cairo. Dated: Wednesday, 18 Sivan 1421 Seleucid, which is 1110 CE. The owner's name is Ṭoviyya b. Yefet the physician. The slave's name is Thabāt, from the land of Greece (מארץ יון). The document is written, signed and witnessed by Avraham b. Natan Av Bet Din and Avraham b. Ḥalfon b. Avraham at the foot of recto and again on verso (attesting that the bill was given to her). (Information in part from CUDL.) VMR. ASE.

Deed of emancipation. Avraham b. Aharon frees his slave Nasiyya ('Youth') on Friday, October 8, 1176, Cairo. VMR Written by Mevotakh b. Natan. AA

Deed of manumission in which three daughters emancipate a female slave, Wafa, from Jan. 20, 1181. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:436; 2:449) EMS. Written by Mevorakh b. Natan. AA

Recto: Deed of manumission for a slave. Fragment, with a note in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic underneath.. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:436) EMS Verso: Short note in Judaeo-Arabic concerning a book. Two individuals, Yeshu'a and Rabbi Yosef, are mentioned. (Information from CUDL)

Legal formulary for a deed of manumission of a male or female slave.

Deed of manumission of a slave. Only the bottom left corner of the document is preserved (or perhaps the entire left half of a very short document).The owner is named Mevasser b. Yefet. There are no details about the freedperson. Signed: Tamīm b. Shemuel ha-Kohen; Seʿadya b. Khalfān.

Deed of manumission for a female slave, given by Yefet b. Yosef. Location: New Cairo. Dated: Tuesday, 2[.] Shevaṭ 1341 Seleucid, which is 1030 CE. The slave's name is missing; a large piece from the middle of the document seems to have been deliberately cut away. A portion of one witness signature is preserved. On verso there are pen trials in both Arabic and Hebrew script.

Deed of manumission of a female slave. Location: New Cairo. Dated: Monday, 5 Kislev 14[0]8 Seleucid, which is 1096 CE (if indeed there is no decade digit in the missing lefthand margin). The owner's name is Menashshe b. Yaʿaqov. The slave's name starts with תוכ or תומ. Witnesses: Avraham b. ʿAmram and Aharon b. Yaʿaqov ha-Levi. On verso there is an attestation that she received it before witnesses (but this attestation is not itself signed). There are also several more lines of unidentified Hebrew script on verso. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 547 and from Goitein's index cards).