Geniza Lab

Letter from Manṣūr b. [...] to Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAmmār al-A[..]ī, in Qalyūb. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. The letter was sent together with a book (bible?) in small booklets (muṣḥaf ṣaghīr karārīs), and either the addressee or Abū l-Ḥasan ʿEli ha-Kohen is asked to deliver it to Ibn Shemaʿya al-Ḥaver with the message "this is from/by Sibāʿ b. Ṭībūs." The only reason the writer did not come himself is that he was occupied with the teaching of the children. EMS. ASE.

Note from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi probably to his brother Yedutun, in which he repeats five times that the recipient is urgently invited to a circumcision ceremony to be held on Friday, tomorrow, and promises to escort him back to the capital on Sunday. (S. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, 5:14, 506.) EMS, ASE.

Letter from Yeshuʿa ha-Melammed b. Avraham, in Minyat Zifta, to Eliyyahu the Judge, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1236 CE (Iyyar 4800+196 = 4996 AM, line 16). The writer reports that the income from the ‘quppa’ was used as a school fee for poor children. Goitein also makes note of the greeting for an old man in precarious health in a high position: "May God not wound Israel through him" (line 4), i.e., may God not wound Israel by causing him illness or death. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:105-6, 515, 544.) EMS. ASE.

Letter sent to Abū l-Barakāt Ibn Shalīda, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer calls the addressee 'my uncle' (ʿammī). The purpose of this letter is to break off their relationship, and it is striking for its hostility. The writer reports that Abū Isḥāq the cantor recently arrived and told him that the addressee is seriously ill (fī ḥālin ṣaʿb min al-wajaʿ). In place of expressing sympathy, the writer begins a tirade about how the addressee has mistreated him (and/or his family members?) and wounded his heart; "even strangers could not wound my heart so" (r13–14). The substance of the conflict is difficult to discern. The writer expresses the wish that certain people will be killed by marauding Ghuzz (Seljuks/Turkomans) (r7–8). The writer continues, "May God curse the hour that unearthed this matter. . . it has brought me nothing but evil (wabāl). From now on I care nothing about what you desire or about the illnesses of those in your family. I swear to God that I will not write you again, wish you peace, or ask after you, neither you nor those in your family, neither with language nor tongue (i.e., not at all). And [I will remain?] in this world without uncle, without father, and without brother." He concludes with two somewhat self-righteous biblical quotations: 'Abraham was one among the nations [and he inherited the land]' (Ezekiel 33:24, slightly misquoted), and 'may God repay every man according to his deeds, according to the fruit of his doings' (Jeremiah 17:10, slightly misquoted). The writer might also quote 1 Samuel 24:15 ('The Lord therefore be judge') earlier in the letter (r11–12), but a lacuna makes it difficult to be certain. Information in part from Goitein's note card. EMS, VMR, ASE.

Letter of recommendation concerning one of the chief people in Sunbat, who had to flee because he could not afford to pay his own and his son's capitation tax. (Mentioned by N. Golb in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 33 [1974], p. 142)

Letter from Avraham b. Farah from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1055. Regarding ships movement from Alexandria to Sicily and back. Mentions several ships, including the ship of Abu al-Husain b. al-Shari and Ibn Avi Akil. Also mentions a shipment of oil that arrived in bad condition and that he is worried about the situation in Alexandria. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #549) VMR

Letter from Musa b. Abi al-Hayy from Alexandria to Yosef b. Musa ha-Tahirati, Fustat. Around 1055. The writer is available to work because Avraham b. Farah prevented him from selling trading goods that he had. Mentions details about ships in the Nile which are about to depart. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 3, pp. 530-533, #459). VMR

Recto: Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to someone with the title al-Shaykh al-Rashīd. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 1218–38 CE, based on the name of the sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil, which appears on verso. Shelomo begs forgiveness (mustaʿdhir) for something having to do with his need to study more (? al-qirā'a ʿalā _____) and benefit from the addressee's wisdom. Verso: Remnants of accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and jottings in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script, including phrases from a formal letter/petition. ASE.

Letter from Avraham b. Faraḥ from Alexandria, to ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣedaqa, Fustat. Around 1050. Regarding shipping fabrics and sending dinars to Fustat for exchange. Also mentions other shipments of goods, including of crocus. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #542) VMR

Letter from Yosef b. Yeshu'a, Alexandria, to Yosef b. Awkal (1028 or 1029).

Letter segment from Avraham b. Saadya the Hebronite, Bilbays, to Shelomo b. Shelah, probably in Fustat, beginning of the twelfth century.

Letter from Barhun b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Tahirtī, in al-Mahdiyya, to a younger relative. Around 1050. Barhūn informs that a shipment of goods is on its way, mentions that a few relatives are in Sūsa, and shares his willingness to send his father's bones to Jerusalem (his father died in 1049). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 3, pp. 302-303, #383). VMR

Recto: Letter of appeal from Mahfūẓ b. Mūsā and his brother Musallam/Muslim. In calligraphic Judaeo-Arabic. The writer describes the humiliation his family (or wife?) has experienced at the hands of the authorities (al-sulṭān) because he is delinquent in paying the capitation tax (here called kharāj) for the last two years ('years 8 and 9'). He asks for help. Verso: Document in Arabic script, which looks like it mentions various quantities and saffron. Information in part from CUDL. ASE.

Letter from a merchant in Alexandria to a business associate in Fustat, advising him to dispose of goods costing a large amount of money and, “This letter of mine is your proof in court.” The writer also notes he received a loan of 80 dinars from a compatriot and asks that all consignments to himself should be turned over to his creditor. Eleventh century. (S. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, 1:254, 291, 464, 272; 2:337, 601) EMS

Letter from a widow, with one orphaned daughter and whose house had collapsed, petitioning a high-ranking official in the community for assistance. The woman employs the common strategy of appealing especially for her fatherless daughter, and indicates furthermore that she herself was an orphan. (Mark Cohen, Voices of the Poor, 89) EMS

Recto: Letter from an unknown writer, in Ramle, to an unknown addressee, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 11th century. "When, on a rainy day, the qadi of Ramle ordered a Jewish merchant to proceed to Egypt under the supervision of a guard (which was a costly affair), Muslims and Jews present (in this order) had mercy for him and persuaded the qadi to grant him a stay of fifteen days." "The writer carried with him goods belonging to Abū Naṣr, probably the famous Tustari, of Cairo, for which he had no sufficient authority. A delegate of the qadi was to accompany him so that he might not sell part of the goods on his way, for instance in Ascalon. Fifteen days were pIenty of time for a letter going to Cairo and coming back with Abū Naṣr's instructions to the qadi. The writer mentions also that he did not feel well that day (wa-anā wajiʿ). For the legal term rassam, see Med Soc II, 372 and 609, n. 46." Verso: list of names, including Abū l-Surūr and Abū Manṣūr. Information from CUDL and Goitein, Med Soc V, 534–535.

Letter from Salman b. Harun, maybe from Mazar, to Aaish b. Sedaka, Alexandria. Around 1045. The writer asks Aaish to take care of two shipments that he shipped to Egypt so they will not be left on the seashore. In addition, he asks him to collect some of the debts that people (probably) from Fustat owe him. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 519-521, #770). VMR

Letter from Natan b. Avraham to Ḥalfon. Dating: ca. 1037 CE. The writer excuses himself for not seeing the recipient off. The writer was not the host, but he had talked to the recipient a few days before his departure. His excuse is that he had an intense pain, like colic, and he could hardly sit down, let alone stand or ride. The illness persisted for most of the day, and when it relented and Natan asked after Ḥalfon, he was told that he had already departed. Information in part from Goitein's note card.

Letter fragment from Ṭoviya b. ʿEli ha-Kohen to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. The carrier of the note is an in-law. The writer's handwriting is known from other letters, and he signed his name on verso of this one. EMS. ASE.

Letter from Ezra b. Hillel to Nahray b. Nissim instructing him to exchange the 50 dinars sent to him by the writer, which are “out of use here in Alexandria, but are excellent and first class in Fustat. Please exchange them for Damascus [or: Syria] dinars whose legends are arranged in lines, good ones, as I know you are accustomed to procure.” The commission for Nahray, per an agreement his brother-in-law made with writer, will be “one dinar for a hundred [changed],” and the writer further instructs him to execute the order immediately. Alexandria, ca. 1060-1080 C.E. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:238, 378, 459) EMS