Geniza Lab

Letter. Beginning lines only, mostly honorifics, very faded. Wide line-spacing, grand layout of the type that became more common starting in the 1060s. (Information from Marina Rustow) Recto (as conserved) contains a protective prayer or charm for the inhabitants of a certain place, written in a mix of Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. (Information from CUDL) The edition attached to this record is of the recto. The verso could possibly be transcribed with great effort.

Note to Abu l-Makarim Moshe b. Yehezqel ha-Levi, urging him to come to court because of alimony claims from his wife, threatening him with a heavy fine should he not oblige. Signed by Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo. (Information from CUDL)

Petition in which the sender reports that a certain person (dhāt al-shakhṣ) had not come down from the citadel (al-qalʿa), and the ruler and Jamāl al-Dīn were busy with the arrival of Ibn al-Jawz (or perhaps Ibn al-Jawzī). In addition, R. Yehuda has gone out to the shop, and the payments for alimonies (presumably orphans staying with the writer) were incomplete, and he asks for relief. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index cards) EMS

Recto: Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to a certain Abū l-Surūr (probably an elder relative, since he is addressed as "father"). In Judaeo-Arabic. Faded and damaged, and only the upper part is preserved. Verso: Draft of a generic legal document—a "trial of style," according to Goitein. Location: Fustat. Dated: Thursday, 29 Tammuz 1536 Seleucid, which is 1225 CE, under the authority of Avraham Maimonides. Probably written by Judge Eliyyahu b. Zekharya (AA). (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS.

Short letter from Avraham b. Natan Av ha-Yeshiva ("the head of the (Palestinian) Academy") to an unknown recipient (called only Rabbenu). In Judaeo-Arabic. Acknowledging the receipt of a large consignment of "kaysī" cheese and the corresponding heksher (certificate of kashrut) brought by Ṣadaqa b. Shemarya. According to Goitein's notes, the sender "at that time" was the Jewish Chief Justice of Cairo, and he is writing to his colleagues in Fustat. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Note from a teacher (Shelomo b. Eliyyahu?) to (his brother?) Abū Zikrī, complaining, "The master promised to talk to our lord Ḥananel and tell him that I specialize in teaching neglected children (mustahmalīn) to read, but the master has not done a thing.” (Information from Goitein's index card.) EMS. NB: The transcription listed below for verso must belong to a different shelfmark.

Fragment of a letter in the hand of Elḥanan b. Shemarya in which he states that Ḥasan b. Saʿdān b. Aṣbagh met the late Caliph "this week." Someone said that Ibn ʿImrān brought a fatwā from al-Shām saying that people must only go to Yaḥyā b. Shemarya (=Elḥanan himself) for judgment. The chronology is perplexing, unless the caliph died a few days before the letter was written—maybe this is why Goitein's index card says "Dreams." (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card) VMR. EMS. ASE.

Business letter, which begins after seven lines of poetical complaints about separation, concerning camphor (kāfūr) and garments (aksiya) transported by Abū al-Afrāḥ ʿArūs. (Information from Goitein's index card). EMS

Letter addressed to Ibn Sa’id b. Abu Nasir concerning an order of textiles, including two ‘khaysha’ (a type of linen cloth), a ‘tafadila’ (a tailored piece), and specificities in the colors of green, gold, and brown. “Iraqi purple” dye is also mentioned. EMS

Letter from Abū l-Najm to Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Asking him to send the crimson red silk in his possession (al-maftūl wa-l-shaqīq) with a third person. The letter is torn off here, and the bottom part is missing.

Letter from Yosef b. Farrah in Busir to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat, c. 1055 CE.

Memorandum containing order of copper vessels from Yosef b. Avraham to Ibn Yiju, Mangalore, India. Aden, ca. 1134-1137.

This is not a formal letter, but a short memorandum written by Yosef b. Avraham in Aden to Avraham Yiju in Mangalore around 1134-1137. The document details various dealings of copper items.

Recto: Letter to David the Nasi b. Daniel, in which the writer informs him that he has arrived in Alexandria. Verso: jottings in Arabic script. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter from Yehuda b. Simḥa, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1050 CE. The writer trades in pearls and coral. He asks Nahray to sell one of his shipments. He writes that when he imported pearls, through Spanish merchants he had to pay heavy taxes. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 386-387, #729). VMR. Note that Gil identifies the sender as Yosef b. Yehuda b. Simḥa, who also sent ENA 3793.6. This is possible, but the word "Yosef" is not preserved on this fragment, and the hands do not seem to be identical. ASE

Beginning of a letter written to two people addressed as 'mawla'.

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to the ra’is (leader) concerning commercial matters, in particular an issue regarding the price of a small scale (mizan saghir) that was purchased, and a note about silk. Abu Fadl is mentioned. EMS

Letter to Ezra, Head of the Academy.

Letter to Mevasser b. Shelomo. EMS

Letter recounting a dispute. The writer is scared that someone will kill him should he fall into his hands. Mentions Elʿazar the judge, Abū l-Ḥasan, Abū l-Ṭāhir, Fusṭāṭ and Cairo. On verso are accounts in Arabic and the rest of the letter, obviously written around the Arabic accounts. (Information from CUDL)