Geniza Lab

Recto: Fragments of two lines of a grand state document, perhaps a decree. The word ملاحظتك is discernible.

Draft of a petition to the caliph al-Ḥākim al-Hakim, with tarjama and opening formulae. Verso contains a Hebrew legal deed (see separate entry). From Hibat Allāh b. Abū Manṣūr al-Yahūdī. It reads: ṣalawāt allāh wa-barakātuhu wa-nawāmī zakawātihi wa-afḍal taḥiyyātihi wa-salāmihi ʿalā mawlānā wa- sayyidinā l-Ḥākim bi-amri llāh amīr al-muʾminīn wa-ʿalā ābāʾihi al-ṭāhirīn wa-abnāʾihi al-akramīn. (Information from Rustow, Lost Archive, p. 468 note 15.) Cf. ENA 2742.4 which contains similar petition-like phrases from [...] b. Bū Manṣūr b. Yehuda.

Recto: fragment from an Arabic chancery document. Probably part of the same manuscript as T-S 20.70. Verso: Draft sermon or ethical work, citing the Song of Songs and other biblical sources, with many additions and deletions. Information from GRU catalog via FGP.

Fatimid decree. The decree is from the period of al-Hafiz (1131–49) and mentions the congregational mosques of al-Ḥākim (in Cairo) and al-Ḥāfiẓ (it is not clear which the second mosque was). Marina Rustow

Chancery document. 6 lines preserved. Reused for piyyutim. Needs examination.

State document in Arabic script, an internal memorandum or report containing multiple hands. Containing (on the last fragment) the signature of the vizier Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad (441 AH/1049–50 CE). The dating is discussed in Stern's article and should be considered definite; it is also corroborated by the caliph's name. The Arabic text is written in five different hands, reflecting administrative procedure. NB: This is a continuous join: T-S Ar.18(2).193 + T-S Ar.30.306 + T-S Ar.30.314. Whether T-S 24.21 and ENA NS 10.31 also join is less clear: they were reused by the same scribe for the same text, but may not have been part of the same state document. If they were, the first two fragments don't join continuously with the last three. Between the lines on recto is a Judaeo-Arabic letter (see separate record, PGPID 16773). On verso is Shemuʾel b. Ḥofni's Kitāb Aḥkām al-Shurūṭ, parallel to the text in SP RNL Evr-Arab. I 2938 fol. 3b. (Information from CUDL and Marina Rustow.) Joins: Marina Rustow.

Recto: two petitions to a Fatimid judge. The first concerns the incarceration of the family breadwinner, a certain Ḥabīb. An endorsement fixed to the end of the petition orders his release. The second petition is incomplete (c. 12th century). These seem to be unrelated documents glued together to create a large enough piece of paper for verso (for which see separate record). (Information from Khan and CUDL.)

Decree. The beginnings of 5 lines are preserved (...waṣala ilā thaghr...). The word "kiswa" appears - referring to the covering of the Kaʿba? Reused for accounts in Arabic script (also on recto) and a letter in Judaeo-Arabic (on verso).

Letter or possibly a decree to a lower official in a chancery hand. Upper part only. Someone has attempted to wash out the text of the basmala, perhaps intending to reuse the fragment; a second scribe has inserted a line of text between lines 2 and 3 in an attempt to imitate a chancery hand. Reused by Abū Sahl Levi (see PGPID 7687).

Four lines of an official letter in Arabic script. Mentions the amīr Shihāb al-Dīn (last line). Reused for a Judaeo-Arabic halakhic discussion.

Recto: Official letter in Arabic script. The beginnings of four lines are preserved. Refers to the beginning of the ebbing of the Nile. The rest is difficult to make sense of without the context. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Verso: Draft of a petition in Arabic script. Needs examination.

Bottom 5 lines of an official letter in Arabic script. Ends with either a request or an instruction, ويفعل بذلك ما عهد من همته والله يوفقه ويعضده ان شا الله, followed by a ḥamdala and ṣalwala. Reused for Hebrew poetry/piyyut.

Petition to the Fatimid vizier al-Afḍal, including the raʾy component and endorsements.

Recto: Document in Arabic script, probably a state document. The ends of three lines remain, including the word al-taqsīṭ. On verso is a Judaeo-Arabic commentary on Genesis.

Fragment of a petition in Arabic script. The petitioners complain to the authorities that a certain person is corrupting their religious status quo (niẓām) and preventing them from fulfilling their religious duties (al-iqāma bi-mūjibāt sharīʿatihim) and from their gatherings. Includes a marāḥim formula (wa-hum yasʾalū min al-marāḥim al-hamīma wa-l-ʿawāṭif al-[...]).

Petition to a Fatimid vizier regarding the repayment of a debt. The petitioner asks for help in dealing with the head of the arsenal, Abū l-Aʿsar, who is claiming the repayment of a debt that the petitioner had never contracted. Dating: middle of the 12th century. On verso there is a calendrical treatise in Judaeo-Arabic, dealing with the number of days in the different types of years of the Hebrew calendar and the length of the day in hours and parts (חלקים). (Information from Khan and CUDL.)

Response to the endorsement of a petition by two men, one of whom is Ibrāhīm, son of the illustrious judge. The case is referred to the office of the chamber of al-Ẓāfir. Dating: Middle of the 12th century. (Information from CUDL)

State document in calligraphic Arabic. The fragment preserves only the ends of four lines.

Report from a Fatimid chancery clerk concerning an iqṭāʿ. Dated: 520 AH = 1126/27 CE.