وثيقة رسميّة: Moss. Xa,3.10

الوصف

Petition to the Ottoman sultan from Pinḥas son of Yūsuf. After the standard honorifics addressing the arzuhal (arḍ-u ḥāl) to the unnamed sultan in lines 1-2, the petitioner references Saʿadya Kohen who is not complying with the terms of a transaction. The petitioner and/or Kohen may have served in the Ottoman financial administration given the mention of the position "āmil" in line 3 (intendant, revenue collector) and the mention of "state funds" in line 6 (māl-i mīrī). But the word "āmil" may instead hold the alternate meaning of a private commercial "agent." At least two different sums of money are listed, 500 para (l.4) and 1,000 para (l.5). It seems that Saʿadya Kohen "fled" before paying all or some of the totals listed (variations of the Turkish verb "kaç" appear throughout the petition). MCD. At the top, there is an annotation in Hebrew. It is difficult to make sense of this annotation, and it is not clear if/how it relates to the content of the petition. It seems to refer to some kind of slander (מלשינות זו); lists the names of several men (Moshe ʿAṭiyya, Avraham Aripol, Moshe Abī(?) ʿAṭṭār, and Moshe ben Hīnī); refers to a "trick" (תחבולה) and saving something or somebody (עד אשר הצילו אותו); and a government minister (לפני השר). Avraham Aripol may be the same as in T-S 13J4.21 (PGPID 16130). Moshe ben Hini may be the same as in T-S 13J24.24 (PGPID 17038) and/or T-S 13J7.30 (PGPID 17049). The mention of a man from the ben Hini family in this annotation provides very faint corroboration that the Saʿadya Kohen mentioned in the petition may be the same as in Bodl. MS heb. b 11/16 (PGPID 19289), where another ben Hini appears; however, Saʿadya Kohen is a common name. ASE The annotation reads roughly as follows: העדים(?) ועל מלשינות זו ושנלקח ר . . . . בתילוי(?) //רב// וה . . אותו אני הולך למשו[ך?] גם רבים ומ . . . החכם הנעלה כהר משה עטיה וכהר אברהם אריפול וכהר משה אבי(?) עטאר וכהר משה ן היני ונעשה אותה(?) תחבולה עד אשר הצילו אותו מידו . . . . . רב לפני השר