Geniza Lab

First eight lines of a letter addressed to a dignitary ("mawlāya ʾadāma llāh ʿizzah fi ʾamrihi wa-masʾalat mukātabat"), in a chancery-trained hand. Possibly dealing with trade. Mentions a letter that arrived from "his colleagues in the Egyptian city of Ṭalḥā" (l. 4). Reused for piyyuṭ on verso by the same Jewish scribe who reused T-S Misc.29.13 (and probably many others).

Recto: Six lines from a formal Arabic petition, probably late Fatimid. The second line reveals the name of an official: "...al-salāṭīn khāliṣa amīr al-muʾminīn Asad al-Dīn." The amir Asad al-Dīn was one of the higher-ranking officials during the time of al-ʿĀḍid and was the subordinate of his vizier Shāwar (Ibn Taghrī Burdī, vol.5, pg. 352 and al-Maqrīzī:Ittiʿāẓ, vol.3, pg. 304). He ruled Egypt after him for approximately six months (al-ʿAbbāsī al-Ṣafdī, pg. 127). This document could be dated around 562/1166 during the period of al-ʿĀḍid. Verso: The upper part of an Arabic letter from a certain [Daniel?] b. Bū l-Majd possibly to his sister (in the upper left corner: "ʿabduhā akhūhā"). The text continues on the margin in oblique lines, one readable phrase is "tawakkal ʿalā l-Allah". Needs further examination.

State document. Draft of a formal letter or petition in Arabic. The recipient's name and/or position may be present. Needs further examination. This side was reused for a document or composition that appears to be in Hebrew (but very little remains), and on verso is a Hebrew literary work.

Letter from a Spanish community to Egypt concerning an impoverished and aging man from Rhodez, France, who appraoched the ruler of his land for redress after his son was murdered; the ruler instead expropriated his possessions. Wants to go to Jerusalem to spend the rest of his life there. Recto after a long alphabetical exordium.

Contract of lease for an irrigation channel on the jazīra of Fustat (the Nile island later known as Rawḍa). Dated: 18 (or maybe 28?) Shawwāl 407 AH (March 1017 CE). The lessees are Maḥāṣin b. Sayyidihim b. ʿAbdallāh; Muḥammad b. Abdallāh; Abū l-Faraj b. Sayyidihm; Khalīl al-Naṣrānī; Sulaymān b. Maḥāsin b. Naṣr al-Naṣrānī. The lease is for a period of 5 months, beginning on 23 Shawwāl 407. The lessees are to pay 600 dirhams paid in 5 monthly installments (munajjama) of 120 dirhams. The property borders that of the town (Fustat) and contains an orchard of date palms, strawberries, sycamore. No signatures are preserved. Reused for Hebrew poetry.

Eight rough drafts of a petition to the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustanṣir from the followers of Shelomo b. Yehuda, probably the end of 1041 (according to Gil's estimate). Six drafts are in Judaeo-Arabic; one abortive draft is in Arabic script in the same hand as the Judaeo-Arabic drafts; the final draft is in Arabic script in a chancery hand. Join: S. M. Stern. The Rabbanite Jews write to al-Mustanṣir regarding a conflict that arose in the community because of two leaderships (riyāsatayn), this conflict was earlier addressed by the Caliph by appointing Dāwūd b. Isḥaq but he didn't do anything. The situation worsened to an extent that one schism of the community barred the other from entering their synagogue until the other faction forced themselves inside leading to violence between the two. The Jews urge the Caliph to resolve this issue by sending his royal command "al-ʾamr al-ʿālī".

Letter from Tiberias, containing a legal document recording their estate in the Muslim registration of Tiberias, dated 940. Ca. 1020

Fragment of a letter from an imprisoned government official. 12th century.

Complaint by a group of workmen, who were newcomers to a provincial town, that they were dragged to the corvee (forced labor) and forced to work for the government. They also assert that the indigenous inhabitants did not permit them to exercise their craft. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 394, 612)

Letter from Mūsā b. Abī l-Ḥayy, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: November 28, 1062 (Udovitch). The writer recently returned from a long trip in Palestine. He suffered from illness during his trip. He visited Jerusalem, and had the time to manage trading, as he bought textile products, oil, nuts, and silk, and arranged shipments of coins. The writer also mentions the bad times in Egypt and the pressure that the community in Tripoli, Libya, is having because of the taxes. Goitein translation of the illness passage (r5–11), slightly altered, is as follows: "You have received no letter from me, because exhaustion (iltiyāth) did not leave my body from the very time I left. I arrived in Tyre, but was unable to do business there for more than five days and then remained confined to bed (lāzim al-farsh) for nineteen days. Finally God granted me recovery. I proceeded to Jaffa and from there went up to Jerusalem—may God rebuild it—and again I could not do there business for more than eight days and then was confined to bed (lāzim al-farsh), suffering from chills and fever (al-bard wa-l-ḥummā), during the month (of the High Holidays). By God I was unable to walk up the Mountain (of Olives) on the day of the Festival (21 Tishrei) but had to ride. I gave myself up. But God the exalted was merciful to me for the sake of His name and gave me health. I was able to leave the house, but the remnant of the weakness (or 'illness'; baqiyyat al-ḍuʿf) is still with me. The travel to Tinnīs, and from there home, was a great trial which to describe would take too much space. I praise God who turned the end to the good and brought me back in safety." Information from Goitein's note card (#27134) and Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #449. VMR. ASE.

Letter from Ya’aqov b. Yosef al-Tunisi, Fustat, to Salah b. Barhun al-Taharti, Ramla. The writer sends goods to Ramla, to the merchant’s officer Ahmad b. al-Harani. Mentions details about merchandise that arrive in Fustat. Both the Taharti brothers, Ismaʿil and Salah b. Barhun, are in Palestine. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #140) VMR

Petition to the caliph, draft in the Arabic handwriting of Efrayim b. Shemarya. Dating: January 1039. Concerns the closing of a synagogue in Fustat, following the requests of Natan b. Avraham and his family members.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from a government official to a certain Yehuda b. Elʿazar ha-Kohen, giving a great deal of information about other government officials at the time of Saladin. Beginning missing; verso is blank. People mentioned: ʿAfīf al-Dīn, Ibn al-Lamṭī, Nāṣir al-Dīn (al-ṣāḥib al-makhdūm), בן שכר (mushārif al-balad), Ibn ʿUthmān (al-qāḍī al-saʿīd), Saniyy al-Dawla, Abū l-Walīd (al-rayyis), and Saʿd al-Mulk.

State document, fragment of a longer text, dismembered at the collesis. What has remained is wa-mā tawfīqī illā bi-l-lāh. Possibly Ayyubid (tawfīqī billāh was an Ayyubid ʿalāma).

Letter in Arabic script concerning a governor, a bishop and monasteries. In the formal third-person address, the writer apologizes for sending the request in writing instead of making it in person; his excuse is that he’s pressed for time since he’s currently studying (ḥadīth? jālis ilā) at the feet of a certain Ibn Ṣāʿ. Asks the addressee write to the scribe of a Fatimid governor titled ʿAzīz al-Dawla with a request for two documents. The first document should be addressed to the bishop Binyāmīn of Ṭamwah (Dammūh), who is responsible for two monasteries, Shahrān (in Minyat al-Shammās) and Ḥilwān (also south of Cairo), “strengthening his hand,” presumably meaning reinforcing his property rights over the monasteries' property; the second should be addressed to the overseer of Shahrān itself, both strengthening the hand of the bishop and establishing who owns the property that belongs to the two monasteries. The property in question may be waqf property of the monasteries. The title of the governor, ending in al-dawla, dates the letter to the Fatimid period; contains a taqbîl clause, kissing the hand of the addressee rather than the ground, so likely 12th century rather than earlier.

Letter from Jalāl al-Dawla. Dated: 1237 CE. Concerns in part a negotiation between members of the Jewish community and Christians about preventing Jews from entering Jerusalem. The writer mentions that the Christians welcomed him and his companions, and also mentions the town's ruler. VMR.

Account of Marduk b. Musa listing a large number of commercial transactions with many names - some of known merchants. Also contains instructions.

Letter, fragmentary, from Isma’il b. Barhun ha-Tahirti from al-Mahdiyya, to Yosef b. Ya’aqov b. Awkal from Fustat. Mentions some information about the Sultan interfering in trade matters. Mentions Yosef b. Brahya and the Nagid – Avraham b. Ata. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #119) VMR

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Shelomo b. Eliyyahu’s hand? Mentions an old woman, then somebody's (probably the writer's) intention to bring a matter before the state authorities ([anā] ʿāzim ʿalā l-dukhūl ilā l-sulṭān. . . fī qaḍiyyatī wa-injāz qiṣṣatī. . . al-salāṭīn ʿazza naṣruhum. . .), then perhaps returns to the old woman and the desire for her to enjoy peace of mind and tranquil years. If [...] agrees, the writer will send another letter, and if a certain woman also wishes something. . . otherwise, let her sit until God has mercy . . . [it ends around here]. ASE.

Copy of a petition to the caliph al-Ẓāhir (matn only) against acknowledgement of the Iraqi authority in Palestine. Dating: original document ca. 1030, but this copy may be several decades later. Discussed in Khan, JRAS, p53; Rustow, Heresy and elsewhere; Rustow, Lost Archive, p. 347. Previous description (Goitein's?): Shelomo b. Yehuda to al-Mustansir defending his position against Yūsuf al-Sijilmasi, the Iraqi leader in Palestine. In the same hand as ENA NS 13.15 and T-S K25.244.