Geniza Lab

Tiny fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic letter. The writer's name may appear on verso: "min [Man?]ṣūr b. [...]"

Small fragments, very faded, of a Judaeo-Arabic letter.

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Only a few phrases are preserved: אלסלאמה בעד משקה... פעל מעי אלדי הו בזכותי... כנת יאכי ואנא פי.... AA. ASE.

Minute fragment, contains mostly rhymed sentences, might be from a letter or a poem to honor a certain Halfon, but too little text remained. AA Dating: 12th century

Probably the opening of a late letter in Hebrew to a sage ("ha-pilosof [...] Ibn [...]")—the name may be readable.

Small fragment from the top of a late letter to Yosef Ya'betz יוסף יעבץ dated 17 of Nissan (no year preserved). Judeo Arabic and Hebrew. AA

Small fragment from a letter addressed to a dignitary (תפ]ארת השרים [...]ת הנשיאות]). Seems to be in the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan. Only a few words (conveying greetings) have survived. Mentions "their mother (sitthumā)" and Saʿd al-Mulk. AA. ASE.

Informal note addressed to 'the father.' In Judaeo-Arabic. Asking him to send with the bearer the 100 dirhams that are with Maymūn for the construction expenses on the wind catcher (bādhanj). Dating: Probably early 13th century. Might be in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. AA. ASE.

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions the synagogue and Ibn al-Siqillī. Ends, "And God knows" (ואללה אלעאלם).

Mysterious document(s) in Judaeo-Arabic. Multiple hands and distinct text blocks. On the far left of recto, there is a text block concerning tax farming in a certain district, "the property of the two dīwāns," the kharājī year 951 (=1544/45 CE plus or minus a couple years), the amir Muḥammad אלדרדכש(?), a qāḍī also named Muḥammad [...], and Isḥaq the Jew. To the right of this text block, there is a letter or draft of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. On verso there are accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Needs further examination.

Letter in what Goitein identifies as the handwriting and style of well-known India trader Abu Nasr Avraham informing recipient about events, apparently taking place in the Red Sea. On the recto, the author alludes to travel to or from Dahlak, mentions an unspecified group of islands (possibly the Dahlak archipelago itself), a sojourn of 18 days in Dahlak, and the arrival of an unnamed individual from Aden, and wishes for favorable winds and safe arrivals. The verso contains greetings to a number of people (legible among them are Ibn Yaḥyā, Shaykh Yaʿqūb and Abū Naṣr al-Ḥalabi) and gives date as the 6th of month of Av. Abū Naṣr al-Ḥalabī appears as al-tājir, the merchant, in the extant document of his wife's deathbed declaration preserved and dated to 26th of Iyyar 1454/April 13 1143. (Information from R.E. Margariti and S. D. Goitein, 'India Book' VI.40/IB.94; Mediterranean Society 5:151-155)

Part of a letter. Recto mentions "the people of Aden." Verso is greetings, including to Yahya, Musallam, al-Sheikh Ya'qub, and Abu Nasr al-Halabi. See Goitein notes linked below.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company, in Alexandria, to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 8 Shevat 5572 AM, which is 22 January 1812 CE. Very brief: 6 lines only.

Letter drafts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter from a son to his mother. In Judaeo-Arabic. Urging her to come, and if not, he will neglect the shop and come to her. The handwriting may be known.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. What remains is mostly formulaic. Quite deferential.

Letter from Yaʿaqov Yuʿbaṣ to Confrada Khumsa Kharja(?). In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late 18th or early 19th century.

Letter fragment in Ladino. Dated: 11 Elul 5501 AM, which is 1741 CE.

Business letter in Hebrew. Dating: 16th c? On a consignment of semolina. Information from JRL online catalogue.

Letter addressed to Avraham ʿAmram. In Judaeo-Arabic. Late. Draft, abandoned mid-line.