Geniza Lab

Letter from ʿAzarya b. [...] to a Kohen (both the individual and his father’s name were in the piece now missing from the right side of the fragment). In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender's son Rajā had given 5 dinars to the addressee. The addressee is now asked to immediately give something—it seems a repayment of the 5 dinars—to the bearer Mufarraj b. [...] (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning various business matters. The sender reports that 32 3/4 dirhams remain out of the original 60. He mentions a merchant, "one of the acquaintances of Rabbenu Ḥananel ha-[...] ha-Maskil," who kindly offered to take (the money?) and deliver it quickly. He greets 'the father' and 'the brother al-Rashīd.' The letter was written on the 22nd of Tammuz. He repeats a request that the addressee intervene (yuqīm jāhah) with Ḥananel concerning the Muslim (al-Yishmaʿel) who loaned something to the sender.... (the fragment cuts off here). (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter in a crude hand to a woman (Sitt […]), describing the writer’s safe arrival in Fusṭāṭ. (Information from CUDL.) Also in his handwriting: T-S 12.257 + T-S AS 145.278 + T-S K25.209 and T-S 13J14.22. ASE.

Letter concerning a request from a noble lady to lend the writer decorative hangings. The owner of the draperies is described as lending out curtains and other hangings regularly, for others to decorate their homes with them. The fabrics were apparently originally part of the woman’s bridal bedding outfit. The letter ends by asking whether Abū l-Maḥāsin has arrived. (Information (incl. translation) from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 122 and CUDL)

Note on verso. "Let the ruqʿa be read. Its contents are that they are asking her to lend them drapery and curtains." Seems like a filing note from the secretary of the noble woman, but needs examination.

Letter mentioning 20 irdabb of wheat that the writer has stored at his house. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Bū l-Majd b. Thābit (=Meir b. Yakhin) to Bū l-Manṣūr al-Mutaṭabbib b. al-Kharazī. This fragment contains only the address (in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script) and Meir's name on recto.

Letter, asking for a swift reply and mentioning a certain Ibrahim. (Information from CUDL)

Letter, referring to the Nagid, a certain Menaḥem, Dammūh, the cloth trade, the death of a woman’s child and the desire of the writer to see Zakkay again, possibly the addressee of the letter. Dated Shabbat ba-Midbar 1651 of the Seleucid Era (= 1340-1341 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 13th–14th century. Recommends the bearer for assistance, something to do with the charitable collection (jibāya) which was done for him by the congregation of Cairo. Uses the colloquial word 'bāriḥ' for 'yesterday.' (Information from CUDL)

Informal note from a certain Avraham. In Judaeo-Arabic. He sent the note accompanying אלסדר (perhaps a prayerbook, but it is apparently a collective noun—could be lote leaves for medicinal purposes). He apologizes for the delay, explaining that they were in a place that he was unable to access. The addressee must have sent the note back or anticipated that Avraham would see it again, because he crossed out all of Avraham's phrases of abasement (ʿabd, mamlūk) and wrote above them "rather, his lord" (bal mawlāhu). Cf. Bodl. MS heb. f 101/43, where the addressee did the same trick. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Letter from a son to his father, concerned with travelling issues, sending greetings to many family members, and mentioning the sender’s uncle Abū l-Faraj Ibn al-Tawwazī. (Information from CUDL)

Letter(s) in Judaeo-Arabic. The portion on recto deals with the sending of various goods to be purchased and/or sent with Hiba, including lac, 2 pairs of tefillin, an ounce each of silk-white pearls and blue pearls for embroidery (raqm) and an ounce of 'muqallad blue' for ṭirāz, and white and blue knives. The portion on verso is an informal note in a different hand. Dated: 42nd day of the Omer, 1547 Seleucid, which is May 1236 CE. This is probably a postscript from somebody else in the household addressed to the same person as the letter on recto, because this person asks Hiba to purchase 10 nice ebony pens.

Letter from [Ismāʿīl?] b. Yefet to Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen. Dating: 1125–50 CE. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender reports that he arrived safely. Natan's maternal aunt owes him 50 dinars. He asks Natan to get the money and give it to Abū Munajjā but not to tell him how much it is, only to tell him that Ismāʿīl kisses his hand and asks him to buy farkha cloths with it and send them to him a few at a time. He asks for the wicker baskets (קרטל) that he forgot to bring with him. Regards to Natan's maternal aunt, Avraham ha-Melammed, Umm Manṣūr, Yūsuf b. Munajjā, Ibn Ḥātim, and Abū l-Faraj. Regards from the sender's maternal uncle, who also asks Ibn al-Shelishi to send the daftar containing Deuteronomy.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps ca. 13th century. Mentions [Kāti]b al-ʿArab; a matter that was only resolved by bribing one of the eunuchs; the Nagid's owing 20 dirhams to al-ʿAmīd; business in various garments including a turban; Muwaffaq the Qaraite; a shipment that came with a detailed account written down on its 'qirtās'; R. Eliyya; and Abū l-Najm who wanted two blankets. ASE

Beginning of a letter to Ibrahim ha-Talmid, perhaps from a certain Shemuʾel. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Lower part of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The sender heard that his brother Yosef died in India, and he asks the addressee to enquire with a certain Ibn al-Dajjājī as to exactly how it happened. Apart from simply wanting to know, he is on the hook for paying his brother's capitation tax—maybe he will be exempted if he can prove his brother's death. Verso: accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. (Information in part from CUDL)

Recto: pen trials and drafts of letters in Judaeo-Arabic, Hebrew and Arabic. Verso: illegibly rubbed, faded and stained Arabic and jottings in Hebrew script. (Information from CUDL)

Draft of a commercial letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning the textile trade, mentioning the Syrian cities of Lādhiqiyya (Latakia), Anṭākiyya (Antioch), Maʾarrat al-Nuʿmān, and Aleppo. It specifically mentions letters written to 'the elders of Latakia' and 'the elders of Antioch.' On verso there is an informal note in a different hand, asking to be brought quires containing liturgical poetry (raḥamin) and "the siddur of the Head of the Yeshiva (raʾs al-mathība) belonging to Abū Naṣr." NB: Goitein's index card refers to 6J5.5a ("Ashtor, Braslavi 480"), which is apparently a Mamluk-era fragment of a charity drive record written in Arabic script. This must refer to a different shelfmark. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Draft of a letter from Nahray b. Nissim to a person in the Maghreb. Around 1046. Seems like the letter is addressed to the Tahirti Family. Mentions several of his relatives and a few ships. Also mentions a visit of Nahray to Alexandria, the status of selling silk, and the arrival of Ibn Basak (Masliah b. Eliya, the Sicily’s judge). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, pp. 722-723) VMR On the recto of the join is a different business letter.