Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter to the Gaon in Cairo (al-Muʿizziyya). In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer explains that he has not yet been able to find a riding animal to come visit (aftaqid) the Gaon in person, and in the meantime his heart is with him. Verso: Letter (draft?) in Judaeo-Arabic, addressed to a group of people (al-ḥaverim), it seems the writer's inferiors, mentioning the encouragement of good deeds (istinhāḍ al-thawāb). They are to investigate the matter of Ibn Sabra, regarding vows that he has taken. Possibly he vowed to marry a certain woman but now wishes to marry another. The addressees are to make a determination whether this is permissible or not, and in the latter case, a ruling should be issued (fa-l-yuftūh) after a 'flogging' (ḍarb malqot) and a fine, because this will be a lesson for others. The writer seems invested in strengthening the legitimacy/authority of fatwās (an yakūna li-l-fatwā bāb). Also, a letter should be sent to Ibn al-ʿAmmānī upbraiding him for his tardiness in writing. ASE.

Letter from the court to the community of Dhū Jibla in defense of Maḍmūn. Aden, ca. 1135.

Letter from Shelomo b. Aharon to Natan ha-Kohen b. Yosef. Opens with a cryptic mention of the writer's departure for the sake of paying the capitation tax with the 'muʿāmilīn.' Reports on the silk that he had brought with him and that he had to spend Shavuʿot "outside" (Fustat? Rashid?) and only came in after the holiday. He reports on the price of wheat in the city. He spoke with the addressee's sister and told her all that the addressee had told him in Qalyūb. Namely, that their other brother had maligned her (akhūhā ẓālim) by saying that she had sued him for the addressee's sake (possibly - this is somewhat unclear). She was much relieved to hear that the addressee had not married in Fustat and thereby 'fallen in with the people of Fustat.' The remainder of the letter is mostly about business matters. The writer requests a shipment of wheat to Rashīd, to be delivered by camel.

Letter from a Qaraite, in Jerusalem, to al-Shaykh al-Rashīd Hārūn Ibn Saghīr, in Cairo. To be read to the whole Qaraite community. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, probably no earlier than 15th century. Very similar format to many of the Firkovich letters. The writer complains of great trials suffered ever since arriving in Jerusalem "on account of the ḥabash (Ethiopians?)." He clarifies that the conflict is about Ibrāhīm and Sulaymān who both insist on marrying Rivqa who 'belongs to' (? btāʿ) al-Shaykh al-Najīb Shimʿon. They had decided to marry her to Avraham, but she insisted that she would only marry Sulaymān, and Avraham said that he would kill someone if he didn't get to marry her. They feared something ('al-amākin' = the places?) and prevented her from entering either Sulaymān's or Avraham's house or from leaving her own house without a female escort. The story continues for much longer, becoming ever more convoluted and involving the Rabbanites and Islamic courts and a forged ketubba. Needs further examination.

Letter from ʿAllūsh b. Yeshuʿa (Qayrawan) to Ismaʿīl b. Avraham al-Andalusī (Fustat), ca. 1010. A cargo of best quality flax was stolen from a ship. The ship’s owner compensated merchants for their losses but received his money back when the cargo was found. The letter testifies to a wide-ranging commercial activity of traders from Muslim Spain. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 617-618.)

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim to Yosef ha-Kohen b. Eli Alfasi, Tyre. Around 1067. Abu Yaakov Yosef b. Eli ha-Kohen is on a ship on his way to , and he is based in Ramla. From there he is traveling to Tyre to receive a shipment from the port. Nahray sends him instructions and asks him about the business. The letter was written in Heshvan 13, and mentions an Islamic holiday that is coming soon. It is probably 10 in Du al-higa that was celebrated in October, 1066-1068. The letter mentions important details about exporting goods from . (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 3, pp. 271-276, #508). VMR

Letter from Khalaf b. Yiṣḥaq in Aden to Avraham Ibn Yiju in Mangalore, dated July-August 1148. The letter contains information about their commercial dealings and some personal matters.

Letter from Thābit(?) b. Ibrāhīm to Abū Isḥāq Ibāhīm al-Kohen b. Yūsuf, probably in Alexandria. Dating: 11th or 12th century. Written in Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Deals with business matters. Mentions Abū Yaʿqūb b. Lukhtūsh (a Berber name). Needs further examination.

Recto: Letter from Yehuda to an unknown addressee. Written in Judaeo-Arabic. Distinctive (Levantine or Iraqi?) handwriting. Deals with business matters, mainly produce (plums/prunes, dates, ḥashīsha, rose conserve (ward murabbā), sugar. Verso: Accounts in Arabic script, headed, "This is all of what Sulaymān left before he traveled." There is is some overlap with the goods on recto, e.g. the rose conserve.

Letter of appeal probably from Berakhot b. Shemuel, addressed to Abu l-Ḥasan the father of Abu l-Mufaddal. He says he has been a stranger in this city for the last year and a half, making a small living by copying - some days half a dirham, some days three-quarters - but he has lost this job and is now hungry and cold. Similar to T-S 13J21.35, which is signed Abu l-Barakat and addressed to Abu Nasr. ASE.

Palimpsest. Undertext: Unidentified text in Greek. Identification may be possible even without multispectral imaging. Some phrases may include: εν τω ιερω (in the Temple) and (β?)ασανω(ν?) (sufferings?) (suggestions kindly provided by Sergey Kim). Overtext: Three letters in Hebrew. Sent from Crete to Egypt. Dating: Perhaps 15th century. Edited by Avraham David.

Letter from Moshe Zussman, in Cairo, to his mother Rachel b. Avraham Zussman of Prague, in Jerusalem. In Hebrew and Yiddish.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 12th century. The handwriting may be known. Deals with trade in pepper, brazilwood, saffron (zarnaba), dragon's blood (qāṭir), a flask of sorrel (baṭṭa l-ḥummāḍ), and other items. Also mentions the zakāt (here: customs?), someone who died in Beirut, someone who works as a goldsmith in the citadel of the sultan, the purchase of a female slave ('to be imported from [...]'), various amirs, the Qāḍi Jaʿfar, and someone referred to merely as "the accursed one (al-arur)." Underneath the letter on verso, there are several additional lines in Judaeo-Arabic, in a different hand, probably business accounts added later (בקית אלחסאב אלדי ענדכם פי אלאוראק...). And there are the remnants of a few words in Arabic script, probably from the address of the letter. Merits further examination.

Letter or letter draft from Muʿammar ha-Kohen ("the teacher of Qalyūb") to ʿAmram ha-Kohen, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Recto consists entirely of pleasantries and flattery and mentions that the when the addressee had departed from the writer's location, he had invited the writer to stay with him in Fustat, however the writer had no way of coming to Fustat and furthermore did not wish to burden the addressee. On verso there purpose of the letter emerges: the writer is destitute and needs help with the capitation tax and is staying in the synagogue (in Fustat?). He previously stayed for two months in Qalyūb and received only the mūna/mu'na (living stipend?) and 10 fulūs. Regards to Abū ʿAlī.

Letter from Petaḥya (aka Futūḥ) b. Shelomo to Seʿadya ha-Levi ('segan ha-leviim'). In Judaeo-Arabic. The purpose of the letter is not clear. There seems to be a request concerning merchandise or possessions (raḥl) couched in very respectful terms.

Letter fragment sent to Fustat. In Hebrew. Only the opening lines and the upper marginal text are preserved, in two unusually-oriented diagonal blocks. On verso there is the remnant of an address: من محبه لا عدمته.

Letter from al-Ḥājj Aḥmad [...] to his son al-Ḥājj Abū Zikrī. In Arabic script. Dating: Probably late (Mamluk or Ottoman-era). Reports that 'we arrived safely in [...]' (recto, l. 4). Mentions copper and mercury (verso, l. 2). Needs further examination.

Letter from a certain Yūsuf, en route from Damascus to Cairo, to the amīr Sanbāy, in Cairo (Ṣalība street). In Arabic script. Dating: Mamluk-era. The letter opens with greetings to Burhān, [...], al-Ḥājj Badr, the people of the Ṭashtkhāna (طشتخانة, apparently the place where the royal textiles were kept, washed, and prepared), the Mahtār al-Khayl (also a Mamluk title, taken from a Persian word, meaning something like groom/keeper of the horses), al-muʿallim Aḥmad, [...], al-Ḥājj ʿAlī, Muḥammad al-ʿIfrīt, Badr al-Dīn al-Mukārī, and the people (=women?) of the house. The sender's party has been delayed on account of the mules and the 'house,' but they hope to arrive soon. The amir ʿAlī Bey greets the addressee. Burhān is asked to get the house ready, for the women are going to arrive soon. The sender conveyed a memorandum/document (mutālaʿa) with orders for Abū Bakr al-Maghzī, but Abū Bakr disobeyed him. Also, no one extended hospitality to him in Damascus, even though he conveyed the muṭālaʿāt for Muḥammad (the addressee's brother-in-law?). "He did not attend to me or even break a loaf of bread in my face." ASE

Letter from al-Ḥājj Muḥammad [...] to his son. In Arabic script. Dating: Perhaps Mamluk-era. Needs examination.

Letter to Nahray b. Nissim. Written in Judaeo-Arabic. Almost complete. Mentions flax; Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf al-Kohen; "the beads of al-Tustari"; Av[raham] b. Sughmār and Abū Zikrī b. Sughmār. Needs examination.