Geniza Lab

Letter or petition in Hebrew and Arabic, private rather than state. On verso is a detailed curse in Judaeo-Arabic, Aramaic and Hebrew against whoever stole the dinar from Mashiaḥ b. Ṣemaḥ. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Ladino, reused for halakhic text.

List of indigents. List of about a hundred persons, all male, foreigners, laborers, craftsmen mostly of lower standing, community officials, persons called ghulam or sabi, that is, slave, freedman, or employee, and five others designated as damin, persons for whom security was given. They contribute or are asked to contribute from 1/6 to 3/4 dinar, that is, a partial payment of the capitation tax, the community making up the balance. The sums following the names may also indicate the amounts to be paid by the community. The notables whose employees are mentioned (Dosa, Ibn Sighmar, Ibn Awkal [son of the merchant Yosef], Bahudi, Ibn Hirbish) were active around 1040. Foreigners: From Palestine, 5 from Palestine; Persia, 2; Tiflis, 1; Spain, 3; Saqlabi (of Slavic origin), 1. Some names are only partly visible. Note: 3 kinds of shoemakers in a single list: iskaf, hadhdha, kharraz (Mediterranean Society, II, p. 422 n81; p. 440, App. 4-5, ca 1040).

Pledges for charity on Sabbath lekh lekha of the year 1647, the third week of the Jewish liturgical year, falling in October 1335 (Goitein). The list is headed by hd (=hadrat, His eminence, normally reserved for the Nagid) the judge Shemuel ha-Kohen, who contributed 20 (dirhams), far more than anyone else. 1 donor pledges 20; 2 pledge 10; 6 pledge 5; 1 pledges 3; 18 pledge 2; 56 pledge 1; 2 pledge 1/2; 4 not indicated; 18 illegible. Total number of contributors 108. Heading: asamu lil....'pledged for the...' looks like a pe followed by the faint remains of a qof, rather than, as Goitein suggests in his annotaton, ללכ]ניס or ללע]ניים. Regarding the date: 'This was in the yea[r] 647 Sel.' (perhaps read 1647, which is 1335/36 C.E., which is much more likely than 647 A.M = 881/82 C.E., but note that the preceding letter looks more like a dalet [= 4000] than an alef). In any event, this notation seems to have been there before the list was written, as proved by the last name on line 10, Sulayman, which had to be squeezed in to avoid the letters in the margin, and by the fact that the note is seemingly in a different hand. If so, the writing in the margin probably has nothing to do with the list and therefore the list is to be dated after the fall of 1335. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 496, App. C 69 and Cohen.) Also discussed in Goitein, "The Twilight of the House of Maimonides," Tarbiz 54 (1984), 99f.

Draft of the beginning of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with respectful greetings for the addressee named David, possibly David I b. Avraham Maimonides. At any rate, the handwriting looks 13th century. Recto: Lower left corner of an unidentified document in Arabic script. About four lines are partially preserved, some of them crossed out.

Recto: Letter from a certain Majd to his 'brother.' In Arabic script. Dating: Maybe ~13th century, but this is a guess. Fragment (right side only). Not much of the content is preserved. Mentions a carpet (bisāṭ); a Christian man named Jirjis; a woman in Fustat or Egypt (Miṣr); and 'ahl al-bayt.'

Ten weekly payrolls for the second through the tenth weeks and then again for the fourteenth week of the liturgical year, which begins after the autumn holidays. In this account and those in T-S Misc.8.100, T-S K15.63, and T-S NS J105 the total spent on the distribution of loaves of bread is also listed every week. These important drafts are in the hand of Shelomo, the son of judge Eliyyahu, presumably in preparation of fuller reports. For each week there is the sum put at disposal of writer. The name of the collector who handed over the money is often also named, plus a balance from the previous week, or arrears due on its account. Then, never in same order, the items paid, concluding with the balance remaining or due. Payments to officials do not represent their actual salaries, but their share in the weekly collection. These remain the same for many weeks. The weekly expenditure on bread was 29, 30, 30 1/2, 32 3/4, 33 1/4 dirhams and similar sums. It is possible, however, that there were one or several distributions handled by other communal officials, whose notes have not come down to us. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 450, App. B 40, early thirteenth century)

Recto contains Hebrew poetry, likely in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. Verso contains a Judaeo-Arabic letter, likely from Yedutun ha-Levi, in Fustat, to his brother Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb. Identifications are based mainly on handwriting. The sender comments on either these or other poems (there are several letters in which Moshe writes that he is enclosing poems and wants feedback on them). There is also something about "mukhāṭabat al-faqīh" here. Yedutun says he might come out and visit on Friday. ASE

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Quite formal. Same handwriting as T-S Ar.24.86. Mentions the people of Cairo and Fustat. There is a small mark that looks like a ד over every ת and ה that signify ت and ة respectively. Needs further examination. On verso there is Hebrew poetry.

Recto: calendar reckoning for the year [4]814 of the Era of Creation (= 1053-1054 CE), mentioning the Hebrew months and their new moons, with calendar reckonings for other years. Verso: two different letters. The first is a business letter mentioning the city of Alexandria and a certain Ibn Mahdī, referring to the trade in oil (mid-11th century). The second is also commercial, and refers to Abū Sa‛īd Mūsā Ibn Barhūn, Ibn Yūsuf and Abū l-Ḥasan. (Information from CUDL)

Hebrew formulary of congratulations for a Nagid at his appointment. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Letter in Sahidic Coptic (information from Jacques van der Vliet, "Coptic documentary papyri after the Arab conquest," The Journal of Juristic Papyrology 43 (2013), 187–208, at 204). On verso there is the Coptic alphabet. Needs further examination.

Letter draft or notes in Arabic script, as yet unidentified. Written on the back of a letter in mixed Judaeo-Persian and Arabic (see PGPID 34816).

Letter fragment possibly concerning trade, in mixed Judeo-Persian and Arabic in Arabic script. The Arabic-script text on verso may be unrelated personal notes. The fragment is labeled "L6" in Shaul Shaked's (unpublished) classification of Early Judeo-Persian texts.

Letter from Binyamin de Curiel and Avraham Krispin to Avraham Dayyan. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: the date is probably too faded to read, but these men are known from other fragments. Mentions Istanbul and a Venetia. Well-preserved: merits further attention

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand is reminiscent of some of the 12th-century India traders, but it awaits proper identification. This is a large section from the middle of the letter, missing both top and bottom. Mentions the letter (or epistle) of Rabbenu ha-Dayyan, sent with [...] al-Qazwīnī; an excuse for the delay and not having sent it the prior year; the arrival of Abū Saʿd; a shipment of musk; Ibn al-ʿAkkāwī; Ibn Alqāsh(?).

Informal note from Seʿadya to an unidentified addressee. In Judaeo-Arabic. Asking him to send a 'khidma' informing him whether it is the 3rd or the 4th year of maḥzor 263 (4979–97 AM), i.e., whether it is currently 4982 AM (1221/22 CE) or 4983 AM (1222/23 CE).

Recto and verso (reuse): Letter addressed to Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon containing a report on the conflict between Ṣedaqa and his wife. Initially there was an agreement involving him divorcing her, but later they might have reconciled. The neighbors are mentioned several times. Someone named Abū l-Faraj is also involved. At one point someone says to Ṣedaqa "lā khayr wa-lā karāma!" (roughly "shame on you!"). Needs examination.

Letter of appeal for charity, probably. Dating: Perhaps 14th–16th century. Few details are preserved. NB: Verso does not seem to be digitized; the image listed as verso on FGP actually belongs to T-S K25.157.