Geniza Lab

Small fragment from the top of a letter or petition. In Arabic script.

List of quantities of materia medica, including simples such as senna, purslane seeds, apricot, almond oil, saffron oil, and Chinese cinnamon. Judging by the continuation sign on the top of the page, this is page is part of another document (in fact this is the mysterious glyph whose meaning is still unknown as of 2022; it does not necessarily mean that this is a continuation). (Information in part from CUDL)

Small fragment of a business letter in Arabic script.

Recto: document, with a continuation sign at the top of the page, indicating that it is part of a longer document, perhaps a letter. Verso: list of materia medica, such as doronicum, Chinese cinnamon, crystalline sugar, mace, borage-water, nard, cloves, Myristica fragrant, Elettaria cardamom and Cissus vitiginea. With Coptic numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Business letter from Sibāʿ, in Asyūṭ. In Arabic script. Dating: Likely 11th or 12th century. Fragment (upper right corner of verso).

Letter in Arabic script. Very faded.

Letter in Arabic script. The script is difficult and the text is quite faded, though the address at the top should be legible (to Abū l-Ḥasan the Jew in al-[...]?). Verso contains the tantalizing phrase: "...free/rid me of him in any case, and inform me what...," and there is a verb that looks like طلقني ("divorce me"?) on the line above. The plea to be released from this man appears again at the end of the margin on verso. Needs examination.

Letter to an amir titled Ṣamṣām al-Dawla (wa-shujāʿuhā)—the same who is mentioned in BL OR 5557B.19? In Arabic script. Seems to mention the army (ʿaskar) in the last word of recto, and on verso there might be good wishes for a speedy recovery (refers to the addressee "entering the bath" and mentions "patience" near the end). Needs further examination.

Small fragment of a letter in Arabic script.

Bottom of a letter in Arabic script, probably a family letter. Ends with a Hebrew שלום. Fragmentary and faded.

Letter in Arabic script. The writer is in Aden. He reports that something of the addressee's is safe in his keeping. "If his (or your?) son arrives to Aden this year, I will give him the letter. . . and if he does not arrive to Aden, and I learn his whereabouts, I will write to him." ASE.

Beginning of an Arabic letter to a judge. Verso: tax receipt (see separate entry). (Information from CUDL)

Management of feverish patients, with rose-water and bread made from white flour recommended as their food and drink. Either notes or correspondence, as verso is written inverted in relation to recto, and the two sides seem to be in different hands. (Information from CUDL)

Ophthalmological text, mentioning the lens and layers of the eyes, and couching as a treatment for cataracts. In the margins are many different jottings in Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic, including epistolary formulae. (Information from CUDL)

State document. Petition in Arabic script, opening only. Probably a draft. It consists of an "I kiss the ground" (taqbīl) clause followed by ~10 extravagant titles and some blessings and a plea for indulgence, then "wa-yunhī," then nothing. ASE.

First 3 lines of a letter in Arabic script. Mentions Abū l-Ḥasan.

Recto: Letter in Arabic script. Fragment. Needs examination. Verso: Elaborate geometrical designs.

Letter from Mūsā b. Hibatallāh al-Yahūdī al-Mutaṭabbib ("the Jewish doctor") to an unidentified dignitary. In Arabic script. Dating: Perhaps 12th or 13th century based on handwriting and style. Preserved text: افضل تحياته وسلامه على . . . وعلى ابائه الطاهرين. The sender may be Moshe b. Netanʾel ha-Levi, known to have served as a physician in a government hospital; see Goitein, Med Soc II, pp. 528 and 578, and M. A. Friedman, “Maimonides and Zuta: A Tale of Three Bans.” Zion 74 (2005): 473–527. However, not enough is preserved, so this identification is speculative. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Recto: recipe, introduced with the basmala and including Prunus mahaleb, Cistus ladaniferus, nard, and rose seeds. Verso: the last line of a letter or document mentioning ‘our lord the Nagid’. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Arabic script. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). Greetings to a cook (al-ṭabbākh)? The address mentions Abū l-Karam(?) al-Ṣabbāgh. In a different hand on verso, two lines including the phrase "your mother said."