Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with some Hebrew. Dating: Probably not long after 1470 CE, and certainly no later than 1570 CE; in the course of reprimanding the addressee(s) for stirring up baseless hatred and communal strife, the sender notes that the first temple lay in ruins for only 70 years on account of idol worship, fornication, and murder, while the second temple has lain in ruins for "1,400 years and change" on account of baseless hatred (sinʾat ḥinam). Mentions Yaʿaqov ha-Turgeman ha-Soḥer.

Letter from ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣadaqa, in Būṣīr, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1045 CE. ʿAyyāsh is about to finish the phase of buying linen in the Delta region. The letter contains details about the type of linen he bought and complains about the difficulties he had. Verso: Account by ʿAyyāsh for business with his partners. Also mentions a Christian person named Yahnes (Yohanan). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #475) VMR

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps 13th or 14th century, but this is a guess. Mentions numerous amirs (including Shams al-Dīn, Saʿd al-Dīn, and Fakhr al-Dīn), qāḍīs, a wālī, and a nāẓir. It seems to involve a matter of rural produce, possibly tax farming, and legal claims. Someone threatens to expose the writer and the wālī, and he retorts, “Even if you went down and the angels (peace be upon them) went down with you, you couldn’t prove a thing against us.” Join: Alan Elbaum. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter in Arabic script. Fragmentary (right side of recto). Probably commercial in nature. The sender's name looks like [...] b. Ibrāhīm b. al-Faraj. Reused for Hebrew literary text.

Letter in Arabic script. Probably commercial. Needs examination. Reused on verso for Megillat Esther-related text in Hebrew.

Letter from Avraham, son of the Gaon, to a business partner in Fustat.

Business letter from Sulaymān b. Shaʾūl to Abū Zikrī Yehuda b. Mūsā b. Sughmār. In Arabic script, with the address in Judaeo-Arabic (indicating that the bearer of the letter was a Jew). The sender expresses anguish over news from the Maghrib, including the death of colleagues and the loss of merchandise in ships. He is also dismayed at the news that 'the young man, the kātib, Ibn al-Maghribī," has separated from the addressee; Sulaymān urges him to help this young man however he can. (Information from Aodeh.)

Letter from Mūsā, in Damīra, to Abū l-Faraj al-[...]. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender, an absent husband, reprimands his wifeʼs family for accusing him publicly of neglecting her (from Oded Zinger's PhD, p. 261). To refute their claim, he says that he gave her 12 dinars for the holiday, and took her with him to Damietta. He sends greetings to some members of the family. AA.

Commercial letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to [...] b. Dāʾūd. Dating: 11th century. Damaged and faded. Mentions ships; the government; the sender's distress about something; the departure of Ibrāhīm; Palermo (Siqilliyya) and al-Mahdiyya (7 lines from the bottom). Uncited in the literature. Needs further examination.

Petition from Abū ʿImrān, probably in Bilbays. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 13th century. The document concerns Abū l-ʿIzz al-Qazzāz and Hibatallāh and a convoluted case involving two mandīls and payments and a power of attorney. Needs examination.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: perhaps 15th or 16th century. The sender is probably in Istanbul (r10); also mentions Antalya and two other locations in the next line. The letter is long and well-preserved, discussing numerous family and business matters. Commodities (all on verso) include lemon balm (taranjabīl), lapis lazuli (lāzuward), carum (aṭrīlān), dried okra (bāmya nāshifa), something whose price is "like that of pearl from Bā[...]," musk, ambergris. Needs further examination.

Letter from ʿAyyāsh b. Ṣadaqa, in Alexandria, to Barhūn and Nissim b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Taherti, in al-Mahdiyya. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Summer 1050 CE. Some of the matters discussed are identical with those in T-S 12.545, suggesting that the two letters were written around the same time. ʿAyyāsh reports on goods that he bought for the brothers; mentions "the calamity that happened to the Tustaris," probably referring to the murder of Abū Saʿd Avraham and Abū Naṣr Ḥesed, the sons of Sahl. ʿAyyāsh requests goods from Sousse, Spain, and Sicily. He discusses the bringing the bones of a deceased person from the Maghrib for burial in Jerusalem; the deceased person in question may be the brothers' father, Yiṣḥaq b. Barhūn ha-Taherti. (Information from Gil.)

Letter from Binyām to Abū Saʿīd b. Abū Naṣr. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. (Same sender and addressee as DK 232.2, where Goitein identified the sender as Binyām al-Rashīdī and his location as Alexandria.) The letter contains many details about trade in materia medica. Many are identical with the ones in DK 232.2 (e..g, אסארון, אבר, קטנה). The bottom part of the letter is missing.

Fragment of a dispute concerning testimony, probably from a letter, mentioning [Sal]ma b. Mandar, Ishaq b. Khalaf and Rosh Kallah. AA

Fragment of a business letter. Rabbi Ishaq is mentioned throughout. Also mentioned a letter from Abu al-Fadl and from Abu Ali. AA

Fragment of a letter. Opening lines in poetic Hebrew. On the top margins the end of the letter in Judeao Arabic with regards sent to הדרתו הקדושה 'His esteemed holiness'.

Letter from Eli Ha-Mumhe b. Avraham, Jerusalem, to Efrayim Ha-Ḥaver b. Shemarya, Fustat, approximately 1045.

Letter from a father who has traveled away to his son at home. In Judaeo-Arabic and some Hebrew. Rudimentary hand and orthography, with many colloquialisms. The sender is worried about Abū Isḥāq. He gives detailed instructions about business transactions involving wheat, gallnuts, and perhaps a fruit harvest (qiṭf, last line of recto). The instructions involve Ibn al-Tājir and Nuṣayr. The sender has been stuck in al-Minya for 8 days; it seems that the boat is stuck in the mud. Regards to al-Shaykh al-Neʾeman, Elʿazar(?), and his cousin (ibn ʿamm) and his female cousin (bint ʿamm) Zahra. He adds in a postscript: “I ran into the son of Wazīra(?) in a boat (not my boat). I said, “Where to?” He said, “Running away from my father and mother.” I said, “Go back!” He said, “Leave me alone(?). I will not ‘drown myself’ (by returning?). He said, “They don’t let me have anything (as long as) I am near/with them. (Or maybe: I am in debt to them?)” I kept trying to turn him back, but I couldn’t… I gave him a rebuke (ʿiẓa), and he didn’t respond(?) and went to Bahnasa to stay with Abū Saʿid. He is in good health, so reassure [his father] about him.” ASE

Fragmentary letter. The writer informs that his cousin has arrived. He is complaining for having an eye infection (רמד). On verso fragment from a letter written by another hand. AA

Fragmentary letter mostly with personal matters but also some business issues. The letter is probably sent to the writer's brother, and he reminds him to collect the rent from Umm Tamim. He also is also asking him about the house he is living in. al-Sheikh Abu 'Ali is mentioned. AA