Geniza Lab

Legal document: partnership agreement. Dated: July 18, 1107. Location: Cairo. Partnership agreement between Nethanel b. Tiqva and Eli b. Mevasser in a clothing and tailoring shop. Nethanel and Eli will both sell the clothing, which Eli will sew. Nethanel contributes 10 dinars, expecting to contribute more once the shop is in operation, and is the shop keyholder. He will receive two-thirds of the profits and losses; Eli is to receive the balance. Lines 1 and 4 mention God’s role in guiding the partnership and in bringing about profit, which is common in such documents. Four diagonal lines run through the entire text; it is unclear whether this indicates that the partnership was terminated. The document is signed by Shelomo b. Mevorakh. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 210)

Request for a fatwā (or possibly a petition or official report?). Begins with a taqbīl clause (yuqabbilu l-arḍ) and then moves to the qiṣṣa (wa-yunhī). Mentions quires (ṣaḥāʾif), a shop (dukkān), possibly its movement from one town to another, a qāḍī, an iqṭāʿ, and someone's son.