رسالة: T-S NS 297.242

الوصف

Letter addressed to Abu l-Khayr b. Ibrāhīm al-[...]. In Arabic script. Dating: 11th or 12th century. Nearly entirely preserved, except for the upper left corner of recto. The letter is a response to the addressee's inquiry about the news of the West (akhbār al-gharb). The first section begins, "As for al-Mahdiyya...." Mentions two ships, one belonging to ṣāḥib al-Mahdiyya (the same title is mentioned in CUL Or.1080 J258) and one to the Byzantines (al-Rūm). Spices (ṣaqaṭ) are selling well, unlike in Almeria. The second section: "As for Tripoli...." Mentions an item of news "which is not hidden from anybody" and "a certain Muslim man" who did something, "and this is the way of the Muslims." The sender then asks to be sent various goods, such as pepper, brazilwood, and rose water. Greetings to various people. The addressee mentioned on verso begins with "ḥaḍra mawlāya al-Shaykh al-Ajal Abī al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm". The letter is most probably dated to ~1158, when both Almeria (in 1157) and Tripoli (in 1158) had been retaken by the Almohads. During these developments, al-Mahdiyya was still under Norman rule, so it makes sense that the ship of the Ṣāhib al-Mahdiyya and the ship of al-Rūm (Byzantines) were traveling together as mentioned in the letter. ASE/YU.