Geniza Lab

Chancery document in Arabic script. Two lines are preserved on recto. There is some Arabic script on verso, unclear whether it is related (فهو لا يزداد علما...). Reused for Hebrew poetry

Earlier document: Accounts in Arabic script. State document? Needs examination.

State document (decree?). In Arabic script, in a chancery hand. Huge letters and wide space between the lines. Some words: ...الاحتجاج ويتعجل حمله(؟)... فقد علم الله.... Reused for a Judaeo-Arabic literary text.

Fiscal accounts relating to agrarian administration for the kharājī year 430 (spanning the lunar years 431 and 432 AH, corresponding to 1039–41 CE) issued by Idrīs b. Isḥāq and detailing the revenues in vetch, chickpeas and clover and the overall amount of produce. Quantities are expressed in irdabbs. (Information from Khan.)

Original text(s): Document(s) in Arabic script in a chancery hand. Recto and verso have pieces of what are probably two different documents. Recto looks like a couple words from a decree (وىقطع عن ..). Verso looks like a report or petition with three and a half lines preserved, mentioning al-Manṣūr b. Ṭ[...]. Needs further examination.

Recto: Petition or report to a Fatimid vizier, ending only, including raʾy, ḥamdala and ḥasbala. 5th century AH/11th century CE. Possible join with T-S Ar.22.140 which uses the same titulature. Verso: Hebrew poetry.

Small fragment of a decree (parts of two lines are preserved, but no full words). Reused for a medical recipe in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand might be one of the known court clerks of the 12th century (Mevorakh b. Natan?).

Formal letter or petition. In Arabic script. 11.5 lines of praise and blessings, followed by 1 line containing a request. Opens: "Marḥaban bi-qudūm al-fāris al-muḥaqqaq..." Needs further examination. Verso has an unidentified text in Hebrew and Aramaic.

Petition from Ṣāliḥ al-Khaybārī, a Jew from the community of Baghdad, to the Fatimid amīr Tāj al-Dawla. In Arabic script. Ṣāliḥ petitions regarding a miserable situation into which he fell after a pledge made to Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥasan. As a consequence, Ṣāliḥ was imprisoned for six months and is still in debt for 300 dinars. In order to repay his debt he was given the task of producing a tunic out of two pieces of Persian fabric, one yellow and one white. This task has not yet been completed, and Ṣāliḥ seems to be seeking the amīr’s understanding and support in this delay. Dating: ca. 11th century. On recto and between the lines and in the margins of verso, there is a Judaeo-Arabic commentary on passages from Genesis, including the days of the creation, the creation of men and the incident of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Information from CUDL and Khan.)

Report to a Fatimid vizier. Khan published T-S K25.221 as the end of petition, but it's impossible to know whether it's a petition or a report. If this join is correct, it's a report. The two fragments are the same size, format, layout and titulature. The differences in the hand on the two documents could be an artifact of the fact that the text on T-S K25.221 is the end of the document and is formulaic, so less carefully written. T-S Ar.22140 was reused for a Judaeo-Arabic commentary on Isaiah 54:1 and 1 Samuel 1:11; T-S K25.221 was reused Hebrew poetry, headed כפיף, and for Arabic accounts. Join: Marina Rustow. (Information from Khan, from CUDL and from Marina Rustow.)

State document, probably. In Arabic script. Wide space between the lines, 9 lines preserved. On verso there is Hebrew literary text.

Beginning of a report to the caliph Al-Ẓāhir li-Iʿzāz Dīn Allāh in which a previous report is mentioned. Dating: ca. 411–27 AH, which is 1021–36 CE. On verso there is an Aramaic midrash. (Information from Khan and CUDL.)

Tax receipt of some sort, for the poor Jews of Fustat. Very similar to T-S K25.240.6v. T-S K25.240 ff.3–6 comprise one cluster (ḥikr receipts?) and T-S K25.240 ff.1, 2, 7, 9, and 10 comprise another cluster (jāliya receipts?). All need examination.

Tax receipt of some sort, for the poor Jews of Fustat. Very similar to T-S K25.240.6v. T-S K25.240 ff.3–6 comprise one cluster (ḥikr receipts?) and T-S K25.240 ff.1, 2, 7, 9, and 10 comprise another cluster (jāliya receipts?). All need examination.

Recto: Last two lines of a formal letter or petition in Arabic script. Ends with a ḥasbala + ṣalwala.

Recto: Small fragment of official correspondence in Arabic script. The word "al-ijtihād" is legible, but not much else.

Recto: State document? Accounts in Arabic script in a chancery-esque hand.

Tax receipt of some sort, for the poor Jews of Fustat. Very similar to T-S K25.240.6v. T-S K25.240 ff.3–6 comprise one cluster (ḥikr receipts?) and T-S K25.240 ff.1, 2, 7, 9, and 10 comprise another cluster (jāliya receipts?). All need examination.

Formal letter in Arabic script. Six lines preserved, wide space between the lines. Might be a draft, since there are words crossed out in l. 4. The portion preserved consists of expressions of loyalty and praise. Rhymed in places. On verso there is Hebrew literary text.

Petition concerning someone named Simeon (سمیون), most likely a Christian. 6 short lines and 3 long lines are preserved. May mention Yemen in l. 5. The fragment is made of two pieces of paper glued together. On verso there is Hebrew literary text.