Geniza Lab

Letter from Yiṣḥaq to Abū l-Makārim. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions what happened upon leaving the synagogue; al-Shaykh al-Thiqa; and Maḍmūn.

Recto: Letter fragment in Arabic script. Verso: An Abū Zikrī Kohen cheque.

Business letter from Abū Naṣr b. Avraham to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. Despite its physical state, the letter contains much information on commercial activities in the port of Alexandria: movement of ships, merchandise prices and commercial disputes. The letter also contains a unique piece of information regarding a direct shipping route from Alexandria to Bijaya. The identification of the writer and recipient of the letter is based on the handwriting and style of the letter.

Addendum/postscript of a letter from Yisrael b. Natan, in Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. He reports that there is demand in Jerusalem for black, sky-colored, and all colors of silk (shēsh) except for crimson. Crimson silk might sell in Ramla or ʿAsqalān. As for coral (marjān), demand is low in Jerusalem. But Nahray can bring some if he wishes, and maybe he will find some Persians to buy it. (NB: this shelfmark was previously known as JTS Geniza Misc. 15.) Gil translates marjān as "small pearls," but see Goitein and Friedman, India Traders, p. 170 note 18 for the argument that it must refer to coral.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 11th or 12th century. Opens with commiseration for the addressee; mentions the government (al-sulṭān); mentions ʿImrān; and conveys the sad news that the boy Yeshʿya died. Regards to Abū l-Barakāt and Yūsuf. Needs further examination.

Note from Maḍmūn b. Ḥasan, written by one of his clerks, to Avraham Ibn Yiju during the first half of the twelfth century. The letter describes the highhanded tactics of Bilāl b. Jarīr, the governor of Aden and Maḍmūn's occasional business partner. Madmun complains about Bilal’s habit of demanding the first pick of the goods in the port, specifically of ‘drky,’ a commodity exported to Aden from India that was not always available. (S. D. Goitein and Mordechai Akiva Friedman, India Book, 357) EMS

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Probably the same handwriting as ENA NS 48.13 (per the note photographed with the image), which Frenkel has been identified as the hand of Abū Naṣr b. Avraham. Mentions a Christian; 200 dinars; pepper; ʿAmīd al-Dawla.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. "1200 royal dinars. . . I was distressed by (the state of) those poor children. . . "

Letters in Judaeo-Arabic. On a narrow sliver of paper. Recto: Letter addressed to Elʿazar, complaining about the addressee's delay in copying the quires (karārīs). The writer had sent him an ounce of ink as well as Abu l-Faraj with a riding beast, and Elʿazar should send the quires and the parchment with them. The writer has paid Sulaymān's capitation tax for him. As for the quires that were sent with al-Bilbaysī, and likewise the two quires that wre sent with Abū ʿAlī, the writer did not receive them. If the bearers of the goods find a boat to take, they should take it. Verso: The response from Elʿazar. He reports that the ink never arrived, and therefore he has been sitting unemployed, so the addressee should send more ink, two ounces in fact. Someone was sick (perhaps סית is to be read סתי?). It is also possible that Elʿazar's letter came first and the other one is the response.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Describing the horrific tortures inflicted on the writer and his colleagues in the citadel at the hands of four jailers and the jandārs and the slaves of the Great Amir. The purpose of the torture seems to have been the extortion of money (māl). The victims were tortured 17 times until, it seems, a higher authority (the ṣāḥib al-dīwān?) ordered them to be released. Apart from shackling and physical contortions and forcing substances in the noses and mouths, there is an extended description of being "pressed" in the "press" (al-miʿṣara). When they were released, they were dropped off at the synagogue. "Everyone is healthy, but very distressed." This letter was written on Monday night 27 Heshvan, which might make it possible to date. Regards are sent to Bū l-Rabīʿ and Bū l-Alā' and Milāḥ and Rāma(?) and Zahr. The writer's name may be Bū l-Faraj, but there seem to be two additional letters, and it is not completely certain that this word is even his name. Needs examination. Same scribe as T-S 10J7.4 (likewise an account of torture). ASE

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Long and full of interesting details. Tells a long story on recto concerning a eunuch, the amir Murhaf al-Dawla, the king, and someone named al-Numayrī, and someone and "his slave who is his wife." At the end mentions a woman who fasts and prays for an absent young man (presumably her son). Needs further examination.

Letter addressed to Sitt Shaʿl, in Dār al-Nāqa, Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The handwriting is distinctive, with stylized loops at the end of all the descenders. Dating: Perhaps 12th century; more precise dating may be possible based on the people named in the letter (e.g., Abū l-Murajjā Sālim and Rabbenu Zakkay). "The holiday has attacked (i.e, is upon us). You cannot stay by yourselves, and neither can I stay by myself. I know that the community will not let me leave the town, and also there will be a pesiqa on the holiday. Give to Abū l-Murajjā Sālim your relative the goods that you cannot carry, and send your sister's jar (zīr) with the bearer of this letter so that he can treat himself with it{s contents} (? yataṭabbabu fīhi). If my father asks for any wheat, give it to him." The writer expresses commiseration with a certain woman (his mother?) and then perhaps describes his own illness, but this section is damaged: ". . . on Friday, but only with a dirty body, and I was bled. And [my?] illness. . . ."

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic to Abu Zikri ha-Kohen, reperesentative of the merchants in Fustat, ca. 1135

Letter from Yūsuf b. Ibrahīm to Abū ʿImrān Ibn Nufayʿ. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Long and well-preserved. Concerning numerous business matters, including the goods left by Tamīm upon his death and goods to be sold in ʿAydhāb. Needs further examination.

Letter of a woman, who was seriously ill, requesting her sister to provide her younger daughter with a proper education. Concerning the illness: "This is to inform you that I have become seriously ill with little hope for recovery. I have dreams indicating that my end is near. . . . Let Abū l-Barakāt come and treat me, for I am in a serious condition. . . . God knows how I wrote these lines." Concerning her daughter's education: "My most urgent request to you, if God decrees my death, is to take care of my little daughter and make efforts to give her an education." She repeats several times not to separate the Sudanese female slave from the little girl and to give nothing but the younger female slave to the elder daughter Sitt al-Sirr. "Cursed be he who acts against my dying wish." ASE

Letter from Khalaf b. Yiṣḥaq about turmoil in Yemen and measures taken by Abu Zikri Kohen for ensuring Khalaf’s rights after the death of Abu Imran Nufay. Abu al-Yumn is also mentioned, and Khalaf further notes that the recipient of the letter, who was involved in the affair, had traveled from Egypt; Aden, fall 1138. (S. D. Goitein and Mordechai Akiva Friedman, India Book, 462) EMS

Letter from Maḍmūn b. Ḥasan to Avraham Ibn Yiju: freight jettisoned. Aden, ca. 1137–39 or 1145–49.

Business letter addressed to [...] b. Abū ʿAlī. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions saffron and various other commodities and prices and shipping logistics.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Early 13th century, based on the regards to Eliyyahu the Judge. Same hand as T-S 10J15.23 + T-S NS 163.86.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Quite damaged. Addressed to [... ha-Pa]rnas ha-Kohen ha-Ne'eman. On verso there are several lines of Arabic script.