Geniza Lab

Fragment of a letter or petition. In Arabic script. Six lines, fragmentary, difficult to read. Some words read as lil-haṣr(?), thaman(?), ʿadlhā wa-ṣadaqāthā (appealing to the addressee's justice and charity). Reused on verso for an unidentified Hebrew text (something halakhic or liturgical? mentioning the high priest and Rosh ha-Shana).

Business letter in Arabic script. Likely from Maʿtūq al-Yahūd. Dating: Probably 19th century. Mentions al-Muʿallim Bakhūr and al-Muʿallim Nissim. An irdabb (of wheat?) is selling for 110 gurush. Mentions Būlāq. Mentions various sums of money: thousands and tens of thousands of silver. The حاخام باشه is mentioned several times, once in the phrase "do not go to the hakham bashi!" There is also the intriguing phrase "we do not follow the Franks; we follow you" (4 lines from the bottom). Needs further examination.

Letter. In Arabic script. Dating: Late, probably 18th or 19th century. Dealing with various business matters, after a long deferential introduction. Needs further examination.

Letter in Arabic script. There are wishes for somebody's health (ارجو ان قد وهب عافيته). Mentions the arrival of Abū l-Faraj. Mentions that 'I have 3 dinars left" and then asks for a loan (وقد تبقا عندي ثلثة دنانير... حتى اسال مولاي في شي يقرضني) for some business affair.

Letter. In Arabic script. Dating: Ottoman-era; repeatedly refers to the "shāwish" (=çavuş). Needs examination.

Business letter. Probably from Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Maghribī al-Tūnisī (upper right of recto). In Arabic script, in an experienced hand. Dating: Possibly Mamluk-era. On recto, the sender describes various commercial transactions (l. 15r). Toward the bottom of recto, he mentions the following: 3 aqfāṣ of antimony; lead; 7 chests of mercury and verdigris; 6 chests of soap; 7 chests of labdanum; later on, arsenic; and something "to India." On verso, he mentions [...] b. Muḥammad al-Shāṭir on two occasions (l. 1v, 17v); he gives prices for pepper and ginger; mentions the return from the ḥajj (al-nuzūl baʿd al-ḥajj); and mentions saffron. He says that he and Abū Naṣr visited the Nā'ib of Jedda, who received them graciously (l. 8v). MCD. ASE.

Business letter. In Arabic script. Dating: Ottoman-era, based on overall appearance and use of the honorific "effendi." There are several lines of accounts at the bottom. Long, well-preserved, and relatively easy to read (lots of diacritics provided). Needs further examination.

Letter addressed to al-Shaykh al-Ajal al-Raʾis Abū ʿĪmrān Mūsā (Shelomo b. Mūsā al-Mahdāwī in al-Mahdiyya) from his business associate (Peraḥya b. Yosef in Fusṭāṭ) regarding diminution of his wages and distribution of work. He expresses his fear of being left with nothing if he is asked to vacate the store. He pleads that he be associated with Nāṣir so that he isn't left without a place or position when the master decides to assign new duties and extend his benevolence today as revealed to him by ẓāhir. Towards the end, he extends greetings to the addressee's father and a Shaykh al-Ajal Abū l-Ḥasan. See also T-S 10J14.16.

Letter in Arabic script. Dating: Ottoman-era. Seal imprint and maybe a filing note on verso.

Business letter from a certain Manṣūr. In Arabic script. Giving detailed instructions about modest sums of money. On verso and in the upper margin, accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals.

Letter from Abū Manṣūr to [al-Shaykh] al-Makīn al-Ṣayrafī, in Qūṣ (here called "thaghr Qūṣ"). In Arabic script, elegantly written. The sender opens with respectful greetings and wishes to be reunited. He says that when he left Qūṣ. . . and went out onto the 'baḥr' (probably the Nile here), then mentions "in Fustat" and "al-Rayyis Dāʾūd" and "al-Rayyis Abū l-Bahā." The last line seems to refer to (someone's brother?) Abū l-Najm who is in either the army (al-jaysh) or prison (al-ḥabs). (This document may relate to the cluster of letters from Manṣūr b. Sālim, frantic about his son Abū l-Najm who ran off from home and spent time in the army and at one point was rumored to be traveling to Qūṣ.) ASE

Letter in Arabic script. Not immediately clear if official letter vs. mercantile (vs. both). Reused for Hebrew literary text on verso.

Arabic- needs examination

Petition or report or letter, Mamluk era? A large magnitude from the top of the fragment is missing and a short strip from the right side of the document. Entire fragment is full of patronage language but it could also be just business-related. In the commencement, the sender thanks the receiver for his patience and apologizes for the delay in replying, and asks to come in person if asked to do so.

Arabic letter- needs examonation

Letter from Abū l-Bishr(?) to Abū l-Bahāʾ. Also addresses Abū l-Riḍā on verso. In Arabic script. Dating: Likely Mamluk-era, based on hand, format, and formulae. Needs examination for content.

Letter in Arabic script. From Khalaf b. Muḥammad(?) the Tripolitan to [...] b. Ibrāhīm, in Fustat. Needs examination.

Letter from al-Mufarriḥ(?) b. al-Ḥusayn to 'the father' Ismāʿīl(?). Concerning a deposit (wadāʿa, line 8). Mentions travel to Damascus (ll. 10–11) and the danger of the roads (l. 13). Regards to many people at the end. Needs further examination.

See ENA 3912.1

Letter in Arabic script. Dating: Ottoman-era, perhaps 18th or 19th century. Seems to have been abandoned halfway through. There are a few words in Hebrew script on verso. The letter is written in a rural hand with a couple of colloquial words addressed to a merchant Maḥmūd ʿĀbidīn (if read correctly). The author of the letter, who appears to work for this merchant, mentions his visit to Ṭanṭa in Egypt, where he offered prayers at the shrine of a local Ṣūfī saint Aḥmad al-Badawī (d.1276). He also mentions the stagnant market conditions (al-bayʿ wa-l-shira waqf ḥāl) and states that only a Jewish merchant al-Ḥāj al-Ḥarīrī settled his dues of 41 maqṭaʿ in 91 days. He expresses his intention of traveling to the mediterranean sea and embarking on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Sayyīd Ibrāhim al-Desūqī (d. 1296) to observe his birth anniversary. Towards the end, he requests a letter from Muḥammad Effendī in the name of ʿUmar Aghā, the superintendent of the freights (al-Anwāl) of al-Maḥalla.