Geniza Lab

Letter from Isma’il b. Farah from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1060. The writer deals with selling goods that arrived from the Maghreb. Mentions details about the eastern wind that delays the ships on their way from the Maghreb to Egypt. Mentions details about Byzantine merchants and the prices of several types of goods: resin, fabrics, soap, and oil. Also mentions a shipment of wax, that has not been sold entirely yet. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #498) VMR

Letter from Farah b. Isma’il from Busir, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1053. The writer returned from Dandir where he bought linen. He informs Nahray that he would not pay the sellers until he gets the linen. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #505) VMR

Only the bottom of the leaf is preserved, possibly a poetic letter or panegyric. Refers to Nathaniel ha-Sar (the 12th-century Gaʾon Nathaniel b. Moses?). (Information from CUDL)

Incomplete letter from Abun b. Sadaqah, Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. October 1065 according to Gil. Deals with the sale of quarter dinars. Two dinars went to Nahray's uncle Surur b. Sahlan. Describes a flood: "All the people living above and below it were scared. The reservoir (?) overflowed into the cellars (?), and the residents cried out, and I went to the house and witnessed terrible things...." ASE.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a certain Abū l-Ḥasan b. Ḥassūn. The writer recounts the legal proceedings following somebody's death and various people bearing false testimony. The writer toook a vow and paid a certain woman what was her due. "In the course of this, a severe illness came over me (wa-ḥadatha li-ʿabdihā fī ghuḍūn hādha maraḍ ṣaʿb), so I was forced to leave the [elders] and return to my family (wife), fearing that it would get worse (khawf an yashtadd [bihi?] al-amr)." The writer is mentioning this as a justification for failing to continue to be there in person (wa-kān ʿadhr ʿabdihā fī dhālika wāḍiḥ). He asks for forgiveness from 'ḥaḍrat sayyidinā', and if the latter orders him to return in person, he will do so. ASE.

Letter from Yosef b. Farah from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. October 25, 1056. The letter contains details about shipments of dinars for exchange in Fustat as well as details about the ships movement, especially from Tyre. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #514) VMR

Letter addressing a communal leader, a certain ʿOvadya. Other names mentioned are Yaʿaqov b. Aba Mari Moshe, and [...] b. David the judge. There is a reference to the city of Kashi (possibly Kashan, Iran). (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Ismaʿīl b. Barhūn al-Tahartī (CUDL), Yosef b. Berekhya or Moshe b. Barhun al-Taharti, Qayrawān (PGP), to (Efrayim b.) Shemarya, Fustat. Discusses responsa of the geʾonim.

Poetical opening of a letter to the Nagid Mevorakh (Mevorakh b. Saʿadya, 1079-1111 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Memorandum to a traveler carrying Indian goods to Yiṣḥaq b. Bundar. India, ca. 1110.

A leaf folded once to create 2 pages. One contains a draft of a letter and a poem and the other a faded Arabic text. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Ya’aqov b. Salman al-Hariri, from Rashid, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1060. The writer describes what he has been through while he delivered linen to Alexandria, and the ship was delayed in Rashid. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #664) VMR

Letter from Natan b. Avraham, probably Fustat, to Mevorakh b. David in Qayrawan, approximately 1037.

Letter addressed to Avraham ha-Kohen Ḥemdat ha-Kohanim b. Aharon with greetings to sons Abū ʿAlī and Abū l-Surūr. Mentions various sums of money (including 30 dinars) and the Rayyis and Abū Naṣr and Abū l-Faraj. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Yeshu'a ha-Kohen b. Avraham ha-Kohen ha-Glili to Yosef b. Yeshu'a, approximately 1010.

Letter from a man, in Fustat, to his brother, probably in ʿAydhāb. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender urges him to return quickly; their mother fasts out of worry for him. Gives prices for pepper, lac, indigo, קסט מכעב, clove, red sandalwood, salsola (qāqullā).

Letter from Sason b. Shemuel to a notable named Elʿazar (or perhaps [...] b. Elʿazar). In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The sender alludes to his bad state and requests charity or help of some kind. There are a few lines in Arabic script on verso, perhaps part of the address. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter, barely legible. (Information from CUDL)

Formulary for Hebrew letters. One of them is introduced "ṣadr kitāb." Originally from a larger volume, probably. The join was identified by Goitein.

Letter from a group (קהלינו הכנסת) to a communal leader. No names are preserved, but the recipient is addressed in a very ebullient manner. The margin on verso contains Judaeo-Arabic text, possibly a sample opening or address of a letter in the same hand. Space is left for the name, so possibly it is a form of letter. (Information from CUDL)