Geniza Lab

Letter from Efrayim b. Nissim, apparently in the Rīf, to Yiṣḥaq b. Barhūn al-Tāhartī, Fustat, ca. 1040. (Gil)

Recto: Note from Efrayim to al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab Abū l-Thanāʾ. In Judaeo-Arabic with a Hebrew superscription and ending with a ه (for انتهى). Dating: Probably late 12th or 13th century. He wants a loan or advance of 3.25 of something (nuqra dirhams?). Verso: Probably the response. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender says that he doesn't owe anything, also that he is busy with צדע אלזינה(??) and "the arrival of the sultan in Fustat."

Recto: Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, in a rudimentary hand. Mentions a distressing matter ("and we are perishing..."). Asks for a thawb (garment).

Letter, fragmentary, from Isma’il b. Barhun ha-Tahirti from al-Mahdiyya, to Yosef b. Ya’aqov b. Awkal from Fustat. Mentions some information about the Sultan interfering in trade matters. Mentions Yosef b. Brahya and the Nagid – Avraham b. Ata. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #119) VMR

Letter in the hand of Abū ʿAlī Yeḥezqel b. Netanel ha-Levi, Ḥalfon's brother, while in Qalyūb. Mentions Abū l-Faḍl and Abū l-Ḥasan who are known from other IB VI documents. The writer had received two shawls and a fūṭa (waist-wrapper) which in Qalyūb were worth 1.5 dinars and 0.5 dinars respectively. He sends greetings to Abū l-Fakhr, Abū l-Ḥasan al-Bazzāz (the clothier), and a different Abū l-Ḥasan. He asks for the news of the sick person in the house of the latter Abū l-Ḥasan. Makārim and his siblings also send greetings. ASE.

Letter, fragmentary, from Isma’il b. Barhun ha-Tahirti from al-Mahdiyya, to Yosef b. Ya’aqov b. Awkal from Fustat. Mentions some information about the Sultan interfering in trade matters. Mentions Yosef b. Brahya and the Nagid – Avraham b. Ata. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #119) VMR

Letter and response. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 16th century. The writer of the original letter is in some distress and requests help (פי הדא אלאמר אנו דרורי כתיר קוי = indeed it is very very urgent). Regards to his brother-in-law Dā'ūd. This letter is addressed to Avraham Kohen Vini(?) יצו = ישמרו צורו. Needs further examination.

Letter from Makārim b. Faḍā'il, probably in Qūṣ, to Hibat Allāh (at least a mawlā of this name is respectfully greeted at the end), presumably in Fustat. The scribe is Mufaḍḍal b. Abū Saʿd. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer asks the addressee to inform a woman (the female pronouns likely refer to an actual woman rather than being signs of respect to al-ḥaḍra like earlier in the same letter, because here they are not referring to the addressee) that he has sent her 120 dirhams with his neighbor Abū Saʿīd the Qaraite, and he is anxious to know if they have arrived. He wants her to travel to Qūṣ because he wishes to see her.

Letter addressed to Eliyyahu the Judge concerning business matters. Dating: possibly early 13th century. The writer was ill for 40 days, recovered, then relapsed. The writer is extremely distraught and apologetic about not being able to fulfill Eliyyahu's request to send some of the kawlān (papyrus?)—or perhaps its proceeds—that he had previously left with the writer. This is because Musa, the son of the sister of 'sayyidnā', arrived and demanded his uncle's share and took the larger package. Then the writer managed to sell some of the smaller package for 2 dirhams per ounce, which he thought was a good price, but Eliyyahu has told him that he should have gotten 10 dirhams per ounce. He hasn't even collected the full price from the buyer, and there is an ongoing court case. The handwriting resembles that of Yehuda b. Aharon b. al-ʿAmmānī. (The transcription on FGP for ENA 2727.27 is the trousseau list of Nājiya bt. Abū l-Khayr and belongs with a different shelfmark, probably ENA 4020.62.)

Letter sent from Acre shortly after it was taken by the Crusaders in 1104, in which a merchant describes to his parents the terrors of the war, as well as the usefulness of his servant in such a situation. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 132)

Letter from Aharon ha-Tinnisi b. Nahum the scribe. The writer is in need. He lost his job and prices are high, so he left Tinnis (in the Egyptian Delta), leaving behind two children as 'orphans' with their grandfather. He asks for help from the unnamed addressee.

Calligraphic letter by Mubarak b. Hillel to Abu Sa`id ibn al-`Afsi al-`Attar, dealing with business matters.

Aharon ha-Tinnisi b. Nahum the scribe writes to say he is in need. He lost his job and prices are high, so he left Tinnis (in the Egyptian Delta), leaving behind two children as 'orphans' with their grandfather. He asks for help from the unnamed addressee.

Letter from Natan ha-Kohen b. Mevorakh and one other person, in Ashqelon, to Avraham b. Elʿazar, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1130 CE. Bottom missing. Letter of recommendation on behalf of Badr b. M[...] of Ḥamā who lived in either Alexandria or Ashqelon ('al-thaghr') for 30 years, but probably the former, because he is introduced as having come 'here' recently (חצר אלי הנא). Badr recently went blind due to ophthalmia. Starting in Rabīʿ al-Awwal 523 AH (=February/March 1129 CE), his monthly stipend was cut in half from 2.5 dinars to 1.25 dinars. He is attempting to assert his right to the other half of the payments owed him in court, and the addressee is asked to intervene on his behalf. On recto there is a text in Arabic script (see separate record).

Verso: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic mentioning (perhaps addressed to) al-Shaykh al-Melammed Abū Saʿīd.

Letter addressed to Avraham ha-Talmid. Small fragment (upper left corner).

Letter from Ismāʿīl b. Faraḥ to his son Abū l-Surūr Faraḥ b. Ismāʿīl b. Faraḥ. Written on the eve of the New Year. Reporting that 10 ships, each carrying around 500 persons, had arrived on that day in Alexandria from Sicily. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter written to Abu al-Fa(ra)j Daniel b. [...] ha-kohen

Verso: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentioning Abū l-Surūr b. Sughmār, who is traveling to Dimyāṭ (Damietta). The sender will send another letter to the judge (al-shofeṭ).

Letter from Isma'il b. Yosef b. Abi Aqaba, Damsis (Egypt), to his mother's brother Yusuf b. Awkal, first quarter of the 11th century. Ed. S. D. Goitein, 'The Jewish trade in the Mediterranean Sea at the beginning of the 11th century' (Hebrew), Tarbiz, 37(1968), p. 166. Also ed. Gil, Ishamel, doc. 214