Geniza Lab

Report to an Ayyubid official mentioning al-Malik al-ʿĀdil and a deceased official named Shams al-Dīn. The Mainz shelfmark is how it's listed in FGP, but it's not actually in Mainz. The image in FGP is from a microfilm at the National Library of Israel; the original was at a paper museum in Mainz that has since closed, now presumed lost. Join: Marina Rustow.

Document in Arabic script. Chancery hand, huge space between the lines. Probably a state document or petition. Three lines are preserved. On recto there is Hebrew literary text.

Testimony in Arabic script probably meant to accompany an investiture petition from the gaʾon Shelomo b. Yehuda to the newly appointed caliph al-Mustanṣir billāh, listing the prerogatives the gaʾon has enjoyed for the past eleven years of his tenure. If this interpretation is correct, the document dates to 1036 CE. Goitein writes that the script and style are identical with those of T-S NS 320.45, and also that Halper 354 "is the most important Geniza document found thus far illustrating the official position of the Jerusalem Gaonate within the Muslim state."

Verso (original use): Bottom of a petition to a vizier (ḥaḍrat al-wizāra). In Arabic script, with ḥamdala and ḥasbala at end. Layout: landscape mode, eastern-style. A group of petitioners ask for help against a group of people who are wronging them. None of the specifics of the conflict are preserved.

Petition, Fatimid(?). In Arabic script. Last 9 lines. With hamdala and hasbala at end. Needs further examination.

Fiscal account beginning with the words waṣala ilā bayt al-māl al-maʿmūr. Mentions several amount in dinars

Letter in Ottoman Turkish to the sultan that references at least three imperial officials and the transfer a thousand qantars of gunpowder "bārūt" (l. 5) from Rashid to Alexandria. Given the presence of Ottoman garrisons in each port, this detail helps date the document as post-1517CE. In the opening lines beneath the phrase "Sulṭānım / my Sultan" there is reference to the Sultan's order/decree "buyuruldu" (l. 4r) in connection with the appointment of the Dīvān Kâtibī Meḥmed Efendi. The appointee's reputation is confirmed as that of "a good man / iyi bir adām" (l. 4r). In the lower left corner, the letter sender has signed and while much of his signature remains unclear, he held the title "اغا". The other imperial officials who are mentioned appear in the right margin: Ibrahīm Çelebi (l. 5r) and in the upper margin: Defterdâr Ḥālazâde Kenān Efendi (l. 1-2r). MCD with information provided kindly by Dr. Ozgen Felek.

Original text: State/fiscal document. The years 534 and 535 AH are specified in multiple places, paired with sums of money at the top. Refers to the issuing of a decree (khurūj al-tawqīʿ al-ʿālī) dated (muʾarrakhan) 13 Shaʿbān 534 AH (= 3 April 1140 CE.) concerning the iqṭāʿ of [someone's name?]. The word ʿajam (Persians) may also appear. On verso: A note addressed to Abū l-Ḥasan al-Kātib asking/ordering him to investigate the situation of the Jawājira (= the people from Jūjar?) and to inform the sender what he learns. On recto, at 90 degrees to the original text: A note containing the same word (jawājira), possibly the response conveying the desired information.

Official receipt of some kind. Very difficult to read.

Fiscal (or other?) receipt. Arabic writing, Coptic numbers.

Verso: Receipt. In Arabic script. For Ibn Mazhar(?) the Jew. The scribe's name appears at the bottom: Abū l-Majd b. ʿAlī. Dated: Either 506 or 560 AH, which means either 1112/13 or 1164/65 CE. The payment was 4.5 (dinars?) cash, which is written both in words and in Greek/Coptic numerals. The payment seems to be for the ground rent (ḥikr) for a property (...al-dawra alladhī fī sūq al-[...]...).

Petition, possibly. In Arabic script. The ends of 4 lines are preserved: على ايديهما منشور كريم يوفر فيه المملوك... تسلطهم... الوالي... Needs further examination.

Tax receipt(s). There are distinct documents on recto and verso. Needs examination.

Tax receipt for Bū l-Faraj b. Bū ʿAlī. Needs further examination.

Petition from a Jewish man to a dignitary. In Arabic script. Fragment (upper left corner). Opens with two lines of grand titles for the presumably Muslim addressee (Fakhr al-Dīn Jamāl al-Ruʾasāʾ, Ṣ[...] Amīr al-Muʾminīn). and then the description of a Jewish man who is presumably in need of help of some kind. There is a single word in Hebrew in the upper margin. On verso several lines of rhymed Hebrew (including one line against gentiles). On verso there may also be the remnants of the address of the letter on recto (in Arabic script). Needs further examination.

Official-looking document(s) in Arabic script. Needs examination.

Official-looking receipt for Abū Saʿd. Needs examination.

Official-looking document(s) in Arabic script. Small fragment.

Possibly a petition in Arabic script. Dating: Ayyubid or Mamluk-era? At the top: [...] Manṣūr(?) b. Abū l-Ṭayyib al-mutaʿalliq bi-dīwān al-[...]. Mentions blessings for the addressee, then a certain Mūsā, and further down the millers (al-ṭaḥḥānīn). Needs examination.

Tax receipt, Fatimid. For someone's payment in New Cairo. Needs examination.