Geniza Lab

Business letter from Musa b. Abu al-Hayy in Alexandria to Abu al-Afrah Avraham (`Arus) b. Yosef in Fustat. The letter contains an accounting for a shipment, perhaps of flax, followed by List of prices, manly spices and medicaments. Dated ca. 1080. (Information from Gil, Kingdom)

Letter. See T-S 10J14.20 for description.

Business letter to the Parnas Mordechai ביאלוכוס in Cairo from הצעיר יאודה יוסף נסים מניני and הצעיר יששכר כניסי, including accounts with Arabic numerals. C. 18th-19th century. (Information from CUDL)

Business letter to Karo y Frances from Nissim M[...], c. 1800 CE. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Ladino to Joseph from Isaac in Cairo, mentioning ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān and Marseille (?). Dated 5488 of the Era of Creation (= 1728 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Business letter from Moses Ḥarād (חראד) to Shim'on Frances in Cairo, with European numerals. Dated 167 (5567 of the Era of Creation = 1807 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 20 Sivan 5568 AM, which is 15 June 1808 CE. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Bū l-Maḥāsin, in Alexandria, to his mother Sitt Ghazāl bt. Abū ʿAmr, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: undated, but there is an Abū l-Maḥāsin b. Sitt Ghazāl (he must have been an orphan or his father unknown, since he is only identified by his mother's name) in T-S K6.149, which Goitein dated to 1165–1203 CE based on the identification of the handwriting with that of Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi. In this letter, Bū l-Maḥāsin tells his mother about the trouble he encountered when sailing from Cairo to Alexandria. He left Cairo on Friday but could not board the sail-boat because the customs officials would not let him and finally got a ferry to take him over to the boat, where the officials could not see him. He did travel comfortably, however, on the crowded boat during the trip, which took almost a week, arriving in Alexandria on Thursday evening. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 298; V, p. 329)

Letter from Ibrāhīm b. Farrāḥ, Fustat, to [ ] b. Isḥạq b. ʿAlī Majjānī in Alexandria. Mentions an ullaba (container) holding bible codices, details about a commercial shipment and a discussion with the owner of a boat. He hopes a load with goods will arrive at Majjānī's soon, but remarks that neither the navy nor civilian boats have been able to sail. He adds that Nahray b. Nissim was unable to pay his one dinar to the synagogue for lack of cash. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 335, and Gil)

Fragment of or postscript to a letter requesting a visit or a letter from the recipient. (Information from Goitein's typed texts)

Letter from Musa b. Abu al-Hayy from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat. The writer mentions robbery by pirates on two ships carrying merchandise meant for the writer and for others. Dated ca. 1055. (Information from Gil, Kingdom)

Fragment conveying good wishes for the holidays and reporting on the sale of indigo (nil) in al-Mahalla which had been successful but which had been unsuccessful in Minyat Ghamr. The writer is in Ashmum. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Abu al-Nasr b. al-Melammed mentioning the impending divorce of his nephew and niece. Abu al-Nasr describes himself as suffering 'dispersion and separation from family and friends' after he traveled from Fustat to Alexandria, where he hoped his mother would join him. He adds that he will spread the fame of his benefactor at warehouses and social gatherings. He also writes that his wife refused to return with him to Alexandria after he had had to flee to and spend some time in Fustat after having gone bankrupt in Alexandria. He now wants to divorce her unless the recipient can restore peace between them. Finally he remarks that he wants to pay the capitation tax.

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim from Fustat to a person in Qayrawan. Around 1045. Mentions galls, Camphor, and shipment of money. Nahray Also expresses his worries for his family in Qayrawan. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #243) VMR

Letter from Nissim b. Yiṣḥaq al-Tahirti in Susa to Abu Zakariyya Hayyim b. `Ammar, who writes about a disaster at sea that overcame the boats, in which was traveling Barhun b. Salih al-Tahirti. The writer fears for his fate. Dated ca. 1052. (Information from Gil)

Letter from Ata b. Amar, probably from Qayrawan, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. November 22, 1047. The writer sent Nahray a copy of the Bible that was copied by the Hillal. The writer’s father, who passed away, ordered the book and the writer, who is in need for money, was obliged to sell it. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #776) VMR

Letter from Ya’aqov b. Isma’il al-Andalusi, from Sicily, to Yoshiyyahu b. Natan, Fustat. Around 1050. The letter mentions “the enemy,” the identity of which is not clear. The letter deals with import and export between Sicily and Egypt. Details a list of goods and their prices in Sicily. Mentions information about books of questions and answers that belonged to Masliah b. Eliyya, the judge of Sicily. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #575) VMR

Letter to Eliyyahu the judge from a female relative in Alexandria, complaining about his treatment of her family. Early 13th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Ismāʿīl b. Faraḥ, in Alexandria, to his son Faraḥ b. Ismāʿīl, in Būṣīr. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Gil suggests 23 September 1056 CE. This is because the letter was written on 12 Tishrei, likely the same day that Ismāʿīl b. Faraḥ wrote T-S 10J15.4 to Nahray b. Nissim. Gil dates T-S 10J15.4 on the basis of its similarity to BL OR 5542.9, which was written when Monday fell on the 27th of Elul, which apparently happened in 1053 CE and 1056 CE, and of the two he believes 1056 CE to be a better fit. The letter possibly contains information about Nahray’s eye disease, a report that Ismāʿīl will soon travel to the villages to buy linen, and the news about the bad events that are happening in Sicily. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #491) VMR. Nahray is known from other letters to have suffered from ophthalmia, but it is not clear that his eye disease figures in this letter. Gil reads, "bi-mā tabaqqarat lahu ʿaynuhu, wa-innahu ʿalā ʿayn mā tarāhu" (r5–6), and translates, "that his eye split open and he stands to lose his vision in one eye." However, when the phrase עלי עין מא תראה appears in other Geniza letters it seems to refers to a temporary not seeing or not being seen, e.g. "do not buy anything if eye-does-not-see" (T-S 13J26.22) or "if my son turns out to be a worthless employee, get rid of him ('make him eye-does-not-see')" (T-S 24.78). The second clause in the sentence in this letter could also be wa-anta ʿalā ʿayn mā tarāhu, meaning '[you received word from Nahray about X] without having seen him.' The first clause is difficult to read; the form "tabaqqara" does not appear in Arabic dictionaries, and it is possible that the word ʿaynahu is actually ʿaybahu. In sum, both the reading and the meaning of the sentence are obscure, but it is likely that there is no information here about Nahray's eye disease. Corroborating evidence for the absence of illness is that Ismāʿīl wrote to Nahray on the same day (T-S 10J15.4) and two days later (T-S 8.66) and did not send good wishes for a recovery. ASE.

Fragment of a letter from Abu Sad al-Magribi, might be from Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1060. The writer mentions Jerusalem, Ishaq b. Aharon, and Ḥasan b. Amar, that his son, Yuala, brought the letter. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #827) VMR