Geniza Lab

Decree to a lower official. Fragment, end of the main section just before the date, left side only. Possibly Fatimid. Reused for liturgical poetry, azharot for Shavuʿot (per FGP/Zulay catalogue).

Decree fragment. Only a few words are legible, in large, calligraphic script. There are also a few words in smaller Arabic script in the upper left corner of the fragment, possibly unrelated, but perhaps some kind of filing note. Reused for a Hebrew liturgical text.

Official letter, possibly addressed to the vizier ("ḥaḍrat al-wizāra") concerning the appointment of an amir in Yemen. Dating: ca. 11th/12th century. On verso there is a Hebrew piyyut based on 1 Kings 2 followed by a piyyut based on Shemot. (Information in part from Khan's edition of T-S NS 162.34.) The joins are indirect and are not certain but appear to match on both sides. Joins: Alan Elbaum.

State document. Dating: Refers to payments for the year 415 kharājī; 415 AH is 1024/25 CE, so 415 kharājī is 1024/25 CE plus or minus a year or two. Refers to a dignitary called "amīr al-umarāʾ tāj al-dawla wa-sharaf al-milla al-muʾayyad dhī l-[maʿāl?]ī"; a man called Abū l-Ḥarīrī or Jazīrī ; and to another dignitary called ʿAmīd al-Dawla (together with aṣḥāb dīwān al-[...]). Refers to a government office called Dīwān al-Aṣl. Needs further examination. On verso there is a draft of a Hebrew elegy for a deceased woman. ASE

Ḥamdala and ṣalwala from the bottom of a state document. Reused for Judaeo-Arabic calendrical text.

Petition from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. [...] to Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn (Saladin). In Arabic script. Has a tarjama at the upper left; 4 lines of introductory blessings; a report and request (wa-yunhī ilā.... anā rajul min ahl al-[...]... iḥṣānuhu maʿa l-khāṣṣ wa-l-ʿāmm... ); and a concluding ra'y clause and ḥamdala and ṣalawāt. Needs further examination for the content of the request. (Information in part from Zain Shirazi.)

Recto: the remnants of two lines of an Arabic chancery document with wide spacing, probably a decree. The first line reads as "من حياطة دينه واظهره لدولته من", the second line has a fragmentary ṣalwala. Verso: a whole page of Arabic that appears to be from a literary composition or prayer. The fourth line from the bottom reads من مشرق الارض ومغربها وسهلها وجبلها وبرها وبحرها ومع ذلك... (from east to west, from plains to mountains, from land to sea, and even so...). ASE, YU.

Petition from al-Ḥasan b. Abū Saʿd probably to a vizier (several of the titles are similar to those of Ṭalāʾiʿ Ibn Ruzzīk). He complains of his poverty and weak state and seems to be asking for protection against the behaviors of the brokers in the drug/perfume trade in Fustat, who have cornered the market and are preventing merchants from doing business with the petitioner. On verso there is the qiddush for Passover in large 'childish' letters. (Information in part from Goitein's index card, MR, ASE.)

Recto: State report. 4 lines preserved. Mentions "Bū Kalījār the king of Ahwāz," probably identical with the Buyid Amir Abū Kālījār Marzubān in Persia (d. 1048). (Ahwāz is the capital of Khuzestan province in present-day Iran.) The document reports on a wazīr who arrived from Abū Kālījār and somebody who reached the province of Wāsiṭ. Three delegates (of the Turks?) went to greet him; he displeased them, and they in turn ill-treated him. Abū Kālijār is believed to have fostered very close ties with the Fatimid chief Dāʿī and courtier al-Muaʾyyad al-Shīrāzī in Persia, prior to his arrival to Egypt (See al-Muʾayyad al-Shīrāzī, Sīrat al-Muʾayyad fī l-dīn Dāʿī l-Duʿāt). Needs further examination. YU.

Fiscal register. (Compare AIU IV.C.453, T-S NS 243.75a, T-S NS 198.61, ENA 2886.1–7, T-S NS 71.64, T-S 8H22.18, Moss. IV,252.1, T-S NS 308.41, BL Or. 5557R.105, and possibly T-S Misc.24.106.) Reused for a Judaeo-Arabic commentary on the Mishnah both on recto and verso.

Recto: Petition or report from [...] b. ʿAbdallāh al-Juḥāfī to al-Shaykh al-Thiqa. In Arabic script. Dating: Probably Ayyubid-era, based on diplomatic features and the estimated date of verso. With an ʿalāma at the top (al-mulk lillāh). Mentions Zayn al-Dīn, building a dike (yabnī l-jisr), bringing the price of something with somebody (...lī thamnahā ṣuḥbatahū...), and as soon as someone arrives (...fa-sāʿata wusūlih...).

State document, ending line of a petition containing the raʾy clause. The fragmentary line reads as "حضرته..رايه العالي في ذلك ان شالله". Hebrew liturgical text on verso.

State document, in Arabic script. Wide spacing, two fragmentary lines. Some of the words read as "من مساعدته....من ذلك في امره".

State document, probably a decree. The fragmented line reads as "واما ما ذكره من دعا الخاصة". Hebrew liturgical text on recto.

Fiscal or administrative document containing the "addā" cipher.

Long state document with extremely large calligraphic Arabic script, probably used as a performative decree, which was later cut down and reused for Hebrew script. Roughly two words are preserved per line, the most readable phrase is "فوقع بتاريخ". Mamlūk period? Needs examination.

Fiscal register, dated 3 Dhū l-Ḥijja of an unmentioned year, mentions several sums of money (Compare AIU IV.C.453, T-S NS 243.75a, T-S NS 198.61, ENA 2886.1–7, T-S NS 71.64, T-S 8H22.18, Moss. IV,252.1, T-S NS 308.41, and possibly T-S Misc.24.106). Reused for Hebrew liturgical text.

Two pages from a single fiscal register, mentions the months Rabīʿ II, Ramaḍān, Shawwāl, Dhū l-Qaʿda, and a name ʿAbīd b. ʿUmar. Reused for Hebrew liturgical text.

Fiscal document, few lines of text, something to do with the release of funds. Probably dating to the Ayyubid period. Reused for Hebrew script. Needs examination.

Fiscal document, in Arabic script. Large format with 16 lines preserved, marginal notes, and crossings out. The document is an internal fiscal Fatimid accounting document mentioning military spending from the year 500/1106-7. There are large sums of money and iqṭāʿāt. Mentions an official of al-Afḍal by the name Zahr al-Dawla Bandūd (?) al-Afḍalī. (See al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, III, 34).