Geniza Lab

Letter from Abū ʿAlī, currently in Iraq, to his cousin in Fustat. Dating: second half of the 12th century. The writer shows his support for a visitor who is about to arrive in Fustat, Shelomo from Sijilmasa. The writer mentions his own visits to saints’ and prophets’ graves in Iraq. Also mentions Shemuʾel b. Eli gaʾon. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #88) VMR

Letter to a certain Shemuel. In Judaeo-Arabic, in a crude hand. Mentioning the currency nuṣṣ (= nuṣf, which generally refers to the muʾayyadi first coined in 1415 CE) and Ar. arsala for ‘to send’, thus dating to the 15th century or later (as opposed to Goitein who estimated 13th century). Containing many instructions about business transactions. (Information in part from CUDL; see also Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Eli Ha-Kohen b. Ezekiel, Jerusalem, to Eli Ha-Kohen b. Hayyim, Fustat, ca. 1060

Unfinished note in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to Abū l-ʿIzz. "I am not asking for silver nor for gold, only the copies of the Torah. I have already written twice, and this is the third time..."

Letter from Abū Sahl Levi ha-Levi (?) in Qalyūb (?). Goitein's note card: "The writer's wife quareled with the wife of the recipient. The latter's brother had consulted an astrologer. The recipient should visit next Sunday, since he was at peace with the writer's wife. The recipient should feign that he would bring his own wife to come. Verso: Arabic chancellery script" (for which see PGPID 35177). It is not clear that the recipient's wife features in this letter at all. Goitein read "ahl al-makān" in line 14 as referring to the recipient's wife, but this could just as well be referring to the writer's conflict with his own wife, which he wishes the recipient to mediate. The handwriting and colloquial spellings resemble those of Abu Sahl (Levi) the cantor, the father of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi and Abu l-Ḥasan Yedutun. Moshe was in the habit of visiting Fustat from Qalyub on Sundays, as mentioned here. Curiously, the writer switches from Judaeo-Arabic to Arabic in the margin, but this is not for secrecy, as it is just a repetition of what he said in the main text. ASE.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic concerned with the sale of ambergris. Dating: 12th century. Polite request to the addressee to sell 1.5 bayʿa of ambergris, sent to him together with the letter. 1 bayʿa = 1 dinar, as far as he knew. Added in Arabic script on verso sold for 52 dirhams, which corresponds to 1.5 dinars. See Med Soc IV, IX, B, note 405. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Musa b. Abi al-Hayy, from Alexandria, to Azhar b. Avraham, the judge. Around 1063. Regarding the selling of cedar resin, birch resin, and lead. The partners succeeded in selling part of the goods but some of it is still in their ownership. The birch resin might go bad. )Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #464) VMR

Letter from Yosef "the poor foreigner" (al-miskīn al-gharīb) to the Nagid David Maimonides. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender sold his garment which he had bought for 20 dirhams for (his capitation tax?) for [6]50 AH (=1252/53 CE). For the new year he pawned his wife's malḥafa. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Salāma b. Asad (?) the perfumer to Abū Saʿīd, concerning business issues. 11th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from a certain Avraham, in Gaza, to his mother, in Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic, in an unskilled hand. The sender is en route to Damascus. He reports on his journey so far, with stops in Fustat and Bilbays. The letter is addressed to his mother, and he greets his wife and many others, such as ʿImrān and Yosef. The letter is to be delivered to אלמרוכשי אלכיאט (=the tailor from Marrakesh?). (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Letter to Efrayim b. Shemariah from his friend Yiṣḥaq, who asks for money to pay the tax-collector and so prevent his being imprisoned. Dating from the first half of the 11th century.

A letter about a merchant who handles the business of others. Alexandria, mid-eleventh century. An example of the difficulties and challenges for the researcher, which are posed by the fragmentary letters of the traders from the Genizah, in the identifications and the combination of what is written of them in the research. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Letter from Salāma b. Ismaʿīl to Ismaʿīl b. [...] concerning business affairs. Dating: 11th century. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter from Zakai b. Moshe, probably from the Maghreb, to Abu al-Faraj b. Sdaka al-Ramli, probably from Alexandria. Around 1060. Regarding shipments of goods, mainly silk and oil. Mentions that goods that arrive in Alexandria and their owners are absent, are being held in a storage. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #717) VMR

Letter from Yeshua b. Isma’il al-Makhmuri from Malig to Barhun b. Musa al-Tahirti, Fustat. Around 1045. The writer tried to sell cloths and fabrics in Malig but had to return some of them. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #316) VMR

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim, Egypt, to Abu al-Farah b. Isma'il b. Farah, Busir

Informal note from an unknown writer to R. Ḥiyya. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer requests the excellent jug of wine (al-nabīdh al-mamzūj) that Ḥiyya had promised him on Saturday, as he received bloodletting today, and the doctor prescribed that he drink wine afterward. Trans. Goitein, Med Soc IV, 255.

The address on a letter from Zekharya b. Berakhel to Shemuel b. Eli gaʾon. Seems like this fragment held several letters. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #84) VMR

Recto: Letter from Natan, a foreigner from Jerba (the island off the coast of Ifrīqiyya), who claims that he has been unjustly placed under house detention by the Muslim authorities. House arrest was imposed for unpaid debts in general, not just for the capitation tax. Unable to acquit himself of the entire obligation he owed he had been paying interest for nine months as well as the fee for house arrest (payment for the guardsman, called tarsīm), the normal procedure in such cases, a form of 'debtor's prison.' He asks assistance from a notable, a Jewish courtier with connections to the Muslim government. (Information from Cohen.) Join by Oded Zinger.

An Instruction to Avraham (b. Sahlan) to find money for a poor man.