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).

Letter from Musa b. Abi al-Hayy, from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1060. Regarding shipments of goods, mainly beads, linen, and lead. Mentions trading with al-Andalus. Musa b. Abi al-Hayy doesn’t want to risk sending all the goods and money immediately. It seems that Marduk b. Musa also participated in the writing the letter. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #450) VMR

Letter from Mardūk b. Mūsā to Nahray b. Nissim.

Private account written by Nahray b. Nissim, ca. 1055. Mentions silk from Sicily and Spain. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #278) VMR

Letter from Yehuda b. Salama, probably in Ṣahrajt, to a certain Abū Saʿīd, in Fustat. Dated: Elul 4808 AM, which is August 1048 CE. In Judaeo-Arabic. Gil identifies the writer based on his handwriting (and mentions that he had previously identified the scribe as Zekharya b. Gedalya b. ʿAyyāsh). The writer excuses himself for his late response on account of his illness (ll. 3–4), and he conveys sympathy for the addressee's illness (ll. 12–13). He expresses his worries because of the events in Qayrawān, as no information has arrived from there for seven and a half months. The addressee is about to travel to Ṣahrajt and the writer asks him to buy and bring an Ashkelonian cotton cloth. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #718.) VMR. ASE. NB: The text of the transcription below is backwards (left-to-right) and belongs to a different, unidentified fragment.

Account in Arabic script written by Nahray b. Nissim, ca. 1055. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #279) VMR

Recto: Last nine lines of a legal document in Arabic dated 555 AH, with the signatures of two witnesses. Verso: Accounts in Arabic mentioning units of weight (raṭl), with the names of various individuals, two of which are Hilāl b. al-Raṣṣāṣ and Abū l-Surūr b. al-Amshāṭī. Needs further examination.

Note in the hand of Nissim b. Iṣḥaq al-Tāhirtī, ca. 1050, written for himself and for Nahray b. Nissim. Records details of a shipment of beads, pearls and wax. Half of the note is in Hebrew characters and the other half is in Arabic characters. Verso is blank. See Goitein notes linked below. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 338 and Goitein, typed texts.)

Business letter in Arabic script from Avraham ben Khalaf, probably from Alexandria, to Abū al-Faḍl Sahl b. Ḥasan b. Salāma al-Sukkarī in Fustat. Datable to ca. 1062 on the basis of a reference to cotton turbans, which are mentioned in other letters written ca. 1062. Discusses the balance of a debt of Mūsā b. Yaḥyā al-Majjānī for the goods of the addressee. The writer asks the addressee to make some purchases for him, but not having received the goods he requests that the money be given to Mūsā b. Abī al-Ḥayy instead. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 320.) Mentions that seven cotton turbans for the price of eighty quarter-dinars have been sent to the addressee with Abū Zakariyā Yehuda b. Menashshe. (Information from S. D. Goitein, Index cards.)

Business letter from Shelomo b. Mūsā al-Mahdawī, possibly in al-Mahdiyya, to his cousin Peraḥya b. Yosef, in Fustat. In Arabic script.

Report about selling merchandise in Qayrawan, from the beginning of the 11th century; probably for Ya’aqov b. Yosef b. Awkal. Mentions several different products, including indigo, food, wax, and pearls. It is not clear who are the owners, but mentions the names of Abu al-Bishr and Salah. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #114) VMR

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan, from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Qayrawan. Around 1045. The writer is still in Egypt (before he moved to Byzantium) and his cousin, Nahray, did not leave the Maghreb yet. Israel writes information for Nahray about purchases he made in Egypt. He bought goods from Abu Naser, who is Hesed b. Yashar ha-Tustari. Mentions details about several people and trades, mainly of pearls and beads. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #408) VMR

Letter dated ca. 1050, sent by Sedaqa b. Zakariyya from Alexandria to his partner Barhun b. Salih al-Tahirti in Fustat. The letter mentions shipments of lacquer and specifies amounts of money available to the addressee. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 567)

Letter from Mūsā b. Yiṣḥaq in Sfax to Yehuda b. Moshe Ibn Sughmar in Fustat. Contains details about shipments of coins, oil and soap from the Maghreb to Fustat. The recipient is asked to buy goods, mainly flax, in Fustat. (Information from Gil, Kingdom)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Simha al-Naysaburi, in Alexandria, to Ulla ha-Levi b. Yosef, Fustat. Dating: around 1080. Concerns trade in saffron and other spices, and in silk, and lists prices. Mentions some details about ships. The writer mentions a third partner. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #739) VMR

Letter from Barhūn b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Tahirti, in al-Mahdiyya, to Nahray b. Nissim, probably in Alexandria. Dating: ca. 1045 CE. Nahray is sending goods to the Maghreb and selling goods that he receives from Barhūn and vice versa, Barhūn sells goods in the Maghreb and sends goods to Egypt. They both also buy goods. The writer mentions a business collaboration with Abu Naṣr Ḥesed ha-Tustari and a partnership with Abū l-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Raḥmān in trading gems. T-S K25.253 (PGPID 8595) is another copy of the same letter (from l. 31 onward). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #377 and Goitein's index cards.) VMR

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim (Misr) to Abu Ishaq Barhūn b. Salih at-Tahirti (Busir).

Letter from Musa b. Abi al-Hayy, from Alexandria, to Yosef b. Musa al-Tahirti. Around 1045. The situation in Alexandria is very complicated. The writer mentions details about shipments of goods. Contains a copy of a receipt for goods that Alal b. Nahray b. Natan sent to Fustat. Mentions details about the process of weaving and bleaching linen. )Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #458) VMR

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

Extremely polite business letter dealing with a consignment caraway dispatched from Fustat. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 340, and from Goitein's index cards)