Geniza Lab

Fragment of an Arabic letter - needs examination.

Letter in Arabic script. On parchment. Rudimentary hand, crooked lines, and some unusual spellings (e.g. والله الذي لا اللاه الا هو). Likely addressed to Abū l-Fakhr (recto, l. 2). This is a rude letter full of blame and accusations and self-justifications, with words like وقاحة and شتيمة recurring throughout. At the bottom of verso the sender blames the entire disaster (al-muṣība) on Abū l-Maʿālī. Needs further examination.

Damaged letter - needs examination.

Business letter in Arabic script to Abū l-Ḥasan in Fustat (cf. T-S 13J6.4).

Fragment of a business letter - needs examination.

Part of letter (possibly a draft) mentioning medical material. Possibly a request for medical supplies by a druggist of pharmacist (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Arabic script, with a few words in Hebrew script. Dating: Probably 12th or 13th century. Mentions al-shaykh Bū Zikrī in l. 2. Seems to mainly be giving instructions about business transactions. The Hebrew script ("38 or 37") probably indicates the price of a commodity. Further down, "the door of the maṭbakh" and "the maṭbakh" are mentioned, referring to a sugar refinery (the sale of sugar is mentioned in l. 3). On recto there is another text in Arabic script, which seems to be technical instructions of some kind, but needs examination.

Letter in Arabic script. Tall and skinny. Damaged at the beginning. Dating: Perhaps 12th century. The sender is evidently a merchant en route to India: ". . . I have taken Hiba (or: a gift?) with me . . . to give to him in India. . ." (last two lines of recto). The letter is addressed to a woman, perhaps the merchant’s wife: “wa-mā taḥtājī waṣiyya. . . wa-tashkurī. . .” (recto margin). He instructs the addressee to diligently look after (وصيتك بهم غاية الوصية) the house (al-dār), the scales (al-mīzān), the warehouse, the codex (al-muṣḥaf), something else (الصدر؟), and all his other goods. May mention 30 dinars in recto, l. 6. Mentions al-shaykh Ṣanīʿat al-Mulk twice (the addressee is told to buy something for him in recto, ll.15–16, and to greet him in recto margin). Starting in recto, l. 27, the sender says that he woke up one morning in the "middle of the holiday" (wusṭ al-ʿīd = ḥol ha-moʿed?) and measured out a maqṭaʿ cloth for someone. Verso contains greetings to numerous people: the sender's maternal uncles and cousins, his paternal uncle Abū l-Faḍl and cousin Abū l-Baqāʾ, Abū Naṣr, Bayān al-Kharrāz, Abū l-Riḍā al-Naqqād and his son, his maternal aunt, and Wafāʾ. Hiba sends his regards. Regards again to Ṣanīʿat al-Mulk. The sender then gives the date the letter was written (Jumādā I, but the year is rubbed out), mentions al-Shaykh Maḍmūn, and asks for the addressee's prayers. The whole thing requires further examination and should be edited. ASE

One side is probably a letter in Arabic script. The other side is an unidentified document in Arabic script (chancery hand?). Needs examination.

Few lines from the beginning of an Arabic letter - needs examination.

Verso: Letter in Arabic script. Fragment (upper right corner). The sender has been sick. Not much else is preserved.

Petition / letter of recommendation. In Arabic script. Dating: Perhaps ca. 13th century. From Ibn al-Miṭrān ('son of the bishop'). Seems to be recommending the bearer (muwaṣṣilhā, l. 5) for charity or some other kind of support (isʿāf... muʿāḍada...). He is described as suffering from despondency (qanaṭ, l. 7) on account of difficult circumstances. Needs further examination.

Formal letter or petition in Arabic script. Dating: Looks late, maybe even Ottoman-era, based on the hand and layout. About five lines are preserved along with some text in the margin. On verso there is mirror-image Hebrew script. Needs further examination.

Informal note in Arabic script. Dating: Perhaps 13th century. Asking for "a good jar" (of wine?) from Makīn or from somebody else. On recto there are remnants of accounts in Arabic script.

Verso, with the address on recto: Letter in Arabic script. Dating: ca. 1140 CE, based on the date of the earlier document sharing this fragment. The layout of the address is quite confusing: to Alexandria, to Sūq al-ʿAṭṭārīn, to the shop of Abū [...], to be given to Abū l-Khayr b. Ibrāhīm al-Amshāṭī al-Miṣrī. But then it says "ʿAṭiyya b. Bunyām from his brother Abū ʿAlī." Mentions: 17 dinars, "his brother Abū Saʿīd," Abū ʿAlī, depositing something with Abū Naṣr. The sender excuses his delay by saying that the price of something was still with the wakīl. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter - needs examination.

Business letter in Arabic script from Abū l-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī in Cairo to his father.

Business letter in Arabic and Hebrew script between brothers, anonymous; mentions Muslim business partners.

Letter - needs examination.

Arabic letter - needs examination.