Geniza Lab

Letter from the head of the court of Palermo (perhaps Maṣliaḥ b. Eliyya) to his counterpart in Qayrawan, ca. 1050 CE. The letter details a legal suit between Shemu'el/Ismaʿīl, who is overseas, and his brother Abū Zikrī, who has been in Palermo and managing Ismaʿīl's store, and it seems that Abu Zikri or his mother sold Ismaʿīl's courtyard. Ismaʿīl appointed Shemuel b. Ḥayyim to represent him (?) in the case against Abū Zikrī. Part of the issue was whether Abū Zikrī had been conducted business as a partnership with his brother or with his own money. One witness, Ṣāliḥ b. Yūsuf al-Ṣabbāgh, witnessed and took an oath that it was a partnership. Abū Zikrī's brother-in-law is attempting to mediate a settlement involving a transfer of 20 gold coins and 800 qelafim (sheets of parchment?), which have already been sent with Nissim b. Menaḥem. Ismaʿīl is now to draw up a document in Arabic ("let it be witnessed by Gentile witnesses in Mahdiyyah and Qayrawan") and in Hebrew ("in the beit midrash of rabbenu," i.e., the recipient) releasing Abū Zikrī from all claims relating to the store and the courtyard. However, if Ismaʿīl does not accept this settlement, he should write as much, and the court in Palermo will proceed with the implementation of justice. Information from Menahem Ben Sasson's edition. ASE.

Letter from Yishaq b. Avraham al-Mishmar (ha-Kohen?) from Fustat, to his son in Qayrawan (Ifrīqiya). The writer instructs his son to pay his debts and listen to the master of the diaspora – the Nagid” ("אדון הגולים, הנגיד"). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #165) VMR

Letter from Avraham b. ʿAmram to Nahray b. Nissim (and Barhūn b. Ṣāliḥ?), Fustat, 1067 CE. The letter includes information about the Tahertis who are in Jerusalem, and about the death of one of them. The writer requests urgent action regarding obtaining witnesses in Fustat, in particular from Yūsuf b. Yannai al-Baradānī, regarding the rights of a woman to property that remained in Qayrawān. A letter is mentioned that reported difficult news about the events in the Maghrib, apparently Qayrawān. Information from Gil.

Letter from Qayrawan to Efrayim b. Shemarya in Fustat. 23 July 1035.

Letter from a woman, in Qayrawān, to a benefactor, unknown location. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely 11th century. The beginning is missing. Her children have nothing to eat or wear, and they have 'exposed themselves' (inkashafnā), that is, become dependent on public charity. "But do not suppose that [in] Qayrawān that they have compassion and give. By no means do they do this! They give to those whom they know." The wife of ʿAṭā' gave them only a couple measly garments, and when they put them on their bodies, they felt chills. She and her children all have an ear illness. The addressee evidently left 5 dinars for her with Farḥūn, although she has not yet been able to get her hands on it. When she does, she will have the community (or just her children?) bless his name every Shabbat. ASE

Legal fragment (right half). Deed of sale of a house, probably from Qayrawān. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Court record in the record book of Fustat dealing with the remains of an inheritance in Qayrawan. Dated Adar 1345/March 1034.

Legal document with testimony of Farah b. Yusuf Banuqa regarding shipments to Qayrawan, which were received by Barhun b. Moshe Tahirti.

Draft of a letter from Qayrawān to Yosef b. Yaʿaqov b. ʿAwkal (Fustat), ca. 1010. Mentions consignments of laque and possibly other goods as well (the letter is damaged). Describes a campaign in Qayrawān to raise funds for the Babylonian Academies and the negotiations linked to this campaign. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 581.)

Letter from Avraham b. David Ibn Sughmār (according to Gil), in Fustat, to the Nagid Yaʿaqov b. ʿAmram, in Qayrawān. Dating: Probably spring or summer of 1039 CE, and in any case 1038–42 CE, during the period of conflict between Natan b. Avraham and Shelomo b. Yehuda over the gaʾonate in Palestine. The letter drafts on both recto and verso are about the conflict and the loyalties of the community of Qayrawān. The sender asks the Nagid, who had previously petitioned the Muslim official Abū l-Qāsim Ibn al-Ukhuwwa on Natan’s behalf, to show his renewed support for the legitimate gaʾon, Shelomo b. Yehuda. This letter also mentions the arrival in Fusṭāṭ of the Nasi Daniel b. ʿAzarya and presents him as a great reformer, banning the ownership of female slaves, excommunicating miscreants, and cracking down on music. As an afterthought, the sender alludes to terrible wrongs being inflicted by Natan b. Avraham's relatives. One remarkable thing about this letter is that it was written at least a decade before Daniel b. ʿAzarya served as gaʾon (beginning in 1051 CE after the death of Shelomo b. Yehuda). It's also one of the key sources for Daniel b. ʿAzarya's lineage: it says that his father was the exilarch ʿAzarya b. Shelomo b. Zakkay, whose elder son Zakkay (Daniel's brother) established the dynasty of Nasis in Mosul whose descendants crop up throughout the Geniza documents of the next two centuries. Jacob Mann published T-S 18J4.16, and Mark Cohen discovered the join with ENA 3765.10 and the significance of this pair of letters. (Information from Goitein, Cohen, Gil, and CUDL.)

Letter from Yosef b. Labrāṭ al-Fāsī (Qayrawan) to Yaʿaqov b. Yosef b. ʿAwkal (Fustat). The writer apologizes for a delay in returning a debt of 10 dinars that Yaʿaqov b. Yosef b. ʿAwkal lent him and explains that the delay is due to difficulties that he encountered when selling the merchandise bought with this money. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 291.)

Poem/prayer for Shabbetay b. Seʿadya b. Amitay of Qayrawān. Information from FGP.

Small fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic letter, probably mercantile, including the phrase "I sent it to Qayrawan."

Letter of appeal for charity. A needy man from Qayrawan had applied for assistance from his relative, the esteemed Ifrīqiyyan merchant and scholar, Nahray b. Nissim (active in Fustat, 1060–97 CE). Before turning to Nahray he had already received donations from another prominent Ifrīqiyan merchant, Abū Zikri (Yehuda b. Moshe ibn Sughmār). Nahray had become annoyed. It is not clear whether he was angry because he felt that people might have thought he was neglecting his relative or became peeved for some other reason, such as competition over patronage--or perhaps both (Cohen). In any case, the writer promised henceforth to rely only on Nahray. But since then Nahray has only paid him the insufficient sum of 15 dirhams over the course of eight months. Now the writer is too ashamed to address Abū Zikrī, and he has therefore written this note to a third potential patron to solicit support. (Information from Cohen and Gil and CUDL.)

Letter from ʿAllūsh b. Yeshuʿa (Qayrawan) to Ismaʿīl b. Avraham al-Andalusī (Fustat), ca. 1010. A cargo of best quality flax was stolen from a ship. The ship’s owner compensated merchants for their losses but received his money back when the cargo was found. The letter testifies to a wide-ranging commercial activity of traders from Muslim Spain. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 617-618.)

No. 1: Letter of condolence from a Gaon on the death of the addressee's son. (Bamerkazim, pp. 69-72); No. 2: Letter from Hayya Gaon to Qayrawan. In No. 1, T-S 20.100 begins at end of verso line 22. No. 2 begins with T-S 20.100 and continues on T-S 10G5.8 on line 53. Rotulus, written by the scribe known as Ibn Buqra (early 11th century)

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim from Fustat to a person in Qayrawan. Around 1045. Mentions galls, Camphor, and shipment of money. Nahray Also expresses his worries for his family in Qayrawan. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #243) VMR

Testimony by Avraham b. Kabir concerning the heritage of Yiṣḥaq b. Avraham. Qayrawan, 978 A.D.

Letter from Shemuel b. Hofni to the community of Qayrawan. Dated ca. 1008 CE. In it Shemuel reminds the community that the academies of Sura and Pumbeditha had made peace before the death of Sherira Gaon, and that Sherira’s son, Khai, is now Samuel’s son-in-law. (Information from CUDL) Only T-S 12.99 is edited in comparison with manuscript.

Letter from Harun b. Yosef al-Ghazzal, Qayrawan, to Yosef b. 'Awkal.