Geniza Lab

Minute fragment from a top of a letter to R. Aharon

A long letter dealing with business issues. The writer is informing about various debts collected between Rabi' al-Akhir until Rajjab. He also mention an 'evil person from the evil people of Sodom' and a quarrel they have. He also mentioning Quseir, probably the port city located on the shores of the Red Sea and people who went there. Late

Much damaged opening of a late letter

A letter from Avraham to an anonymous individual whose name is not preserved. The content is not clear, but the Pasha and the Sultan are mentioned, probably asking for assistance. On recto and verso jottings. (Data by Avraham David from FGP)

Much faded and damaged fragment of a letter, not much can be saved.

Much damaged and faded letter.

Small strip from a letter.

Much damaged letter, the content is unclear. The writer inform that he went on Saturday to the majlis of the rayyis.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. All four fragments likely belong to the same letter. T-S AS 207.180 + T-S AS 207.198 is almost a direct join, and T-S AS 207.179 + T-S AS 207.17 is definitely a direct join; the first pair does not seem to directly join with the second pair. In the first pair of fragments, after the standard opening greetings, the sender reports that (s)he ran into [Yaʿ?]qūb al-Kohen al-[...] al-Khawlī (=agricultural overseer) and asked after the addressees' news. Then (s)he met with Masʿūd the Parnas and asked after them. This is followed by a fragmentary reference to "the siege of the city" (al-ḥiṣār ʿalā l-balad); "you are in Fustat every day"; and instructions about sending letters. The second pair of fragments transitions into standard closing greetings, including from "my mother" to "her/your mother and her brothers and sisters." The sender has learned that the addressees are sick, probably an ocular complaint, because (s)he next mentions a sack (ṭillīs), 3/4 of a raṭl, and "within it is an ophthalmic" (ashyāf), and "there is benefit in it, for people were preoccupied with the diseases..." Joins by Amir Ashur. AA. ASE.

Fragment from a letter

Late Hebrew letter of recommendation for a poor man.

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic by someone who calls himself "ha-ẓaʿir" and addresses al-Shaykh al-Rayyis. Perhaps by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu.

Mercantile letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Moshe Bibas to Karo y Frances & Company, dated Av 1807 CE ([5]567). Mentioning Yiṣḥaq Carraso, Girgis the dyer, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān the money-changer, Ḥasan Āghā, and the writer's son Avraham. Mentioned in Wagner, Linguistic Variety of Judaeo-Arabic, p. 24.

Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with one line of the address on verso. Very fragmentary: "...and may he open his eyes... from the blindness... never before seen, from the... the greed and [...]... the bodies and the religions (?אלאבדאן ואלאדיאן)... from turning back (? radʿ) her slaves(?)... and if he makes an excuse (/gives promissory notes? fa-idhā iḥtajja bi-ḥujja)... and if not, leave him alone, and yours is... and act in accordance with your wisdom (cf. 1 Kings 2:6)... empty excuses/promissory notes... I have requested (? אלתמת for אלתמסת, probably) of you... do it, and the matter... with witnesses... with the impossible (bi-l-muḥāl)... your meeting with the elder...." On verso there is also another text in Judaeo-Arabic in different handwriting; too faded to read. The content is similar to the letters of Manṣūr b. Sālim, but the handwriting seems different (but even so there are some intriguing resemblances to Manṣūr's handwriting). ASE

Minute fragment from a letter. Only few words have preserved.

Arabic - needs examination.

Fragment from a business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a landlord (ṣāḥib al-dār) and a garment (shuqqa muthallath).

Small fragment from a letter.

Small fragment from a letter, only few word are preserved. The name Abu al-Muna and abu al-Ridda are mentioned.

Verso, with the address on recto: Letter addressed to R. Muvḥar b. Shemuel, in New Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Telling him not to delay something; mentioning difficult circumstances (aḥwāl muqāraba); bad news that was received; [Abū] l-Ṭāhir and his colleagues; and a blind man. (Information in part from CUDL) Recto: Written around the address, in a different hand, possibly the response to the letter.