رسالة: T-S 20.130

recto

1. [The letter of my lord, the most illustrious sheikh, arrived—may God make permanent your honored position, etc…and bestow upon you] all the gifts [He has destined for you.] {alt. tr.: [May He protect for your sake]that which is most suitable of all He has conferred upon you.} [...and may He] crush [those who en]vy [you]!

2. It was a most gladdening letter and a most delightful message; your servant read it and was made happy by reading it.

3. I (humbly) ask Him whose power is exalted to grant us in His mercy a reunion quickly, in 

4. the near future, under joyful circumstances, when things are going well {alt. tr.: and excellent, pleasant conditions}.

5. From what you mentioned—may God preserve your honored position!—your servant learned about your troubles

6. and discomfort on the sea and otherwise; I ask God—may He be exalted!—to make the outcome

7. Good. The pepper that had been bought for you, which you mentioned (in your letter), amounts to

8. thirty bahārs; of this you received by your own hand here in Aden—may God preserve it!—

9. in the year 526, 56 dinars

10. for four bahārs, leaving you 26 bahārs.

11. (From this) one bahār is to be deducted for ‘the share,’ as is the case with all merchants who have pepper bought for them,

12. leaving you after the discount 25 bahārs;

13. for the value of the drky a bahār and 250 (pounds), of large measure. Total:

14. 26 bahārs 250 pounds. From this the following deductions had to be made:

15. nine bahārs of large measure for Sheikh Abū Saʿīd b. Maḥfūẓ,

16. leaving 17 bahārs and two hundred and fifty pounds,

17. that is, twenty-one bahārs and seventy pounds of small measure. The ‘tithe,’

18. the baskets of palm leaves, and the porter—159 ¼ dinars.

19. I sold the pepper for you at the highest price obtained by anyone, namely, for

20. 37 (dinars) per bahār. The total {alt. tr.: proceeds}, after (the fee of) the auctioneer,

21. is 783 dinars, leaving you

22. 623 ¾ dinars. You owe

23. the price of the sugar, which is to be delivered (to you) by Sheikh Abū Saʿīd in Mangalore,

24. five dinars. In the ship of the nākhudā Rāmisht, I sent for you

25. to Pandarāʾinā (Fandarayna) with the nākhudā Aḥmad b. Bakhtiyār a bag of

26. red copper; the number: ten pieces; the weight: a bahār and a half;

27. the price: 102 dinars. Also, they exempted me from freight charges.

28. Please take delivery of this from the nākhudā Aḥmad b. Bakhtiyār. He also has

29. a bag of copper for Sheikh Abraham b. Fayyūmī. I sent

30. to you with Sheikh Abū Saʿīd b. Maḥfūẓ, in the ship

31. al-Mubārak, to Mangalore—may God ordain his {alt. tr.: its} safe arrival!—100 Egyptian 

32. mithqāls, worth 253 dinars, and also with him

33. 260 Zabīdī dinars, matching Malikī (dinars) in weight.

34. I have also sent you some fine Jiblī niṣāfī (half-dinars) [. . .]

35. a weight of 21 ¼ dinars, a total of [...]

36. ⟦3⟧ 623 ¾ dinars [...]

37. My lord, please take delivery of this from the two aforementioned (people) [. . .]

38. You had mentioned that I would get the legal document signed {alt. tr.: written} by you fr[om]

39. Abū Saʿīd. I have already received this. As for what you had mentioned ab[out]

40. [...that you did not r]eceive it from me in Aden for the value of the pepper,

41. my lord’s account is wrong—you only imagine it. I have the list.

42. [What is (written) in the a]ccount book {alt. tr.:...imagine it. What is written with me [in the a]ccount book} is more exact. Concerning your orders to purchase

43. various items, you know, my lord, of all the responsibilities I have {alt. tr.: of all my preoccupations} besides

44. (the business of ) the ships, and this is something which takes time. Especially in this 

45. year, no imports arrived from Zabīd until the ships had sailed (from here),

46. since they had remained in their city to celebrate the holiday, and then {alt. tr.: and will} set sail from

47. Zabīd after the holiday. Gl[ass] also is n[ot to be found] in Aden.

48. [. . .]

49. [. . .]

50. [. . .]

51. [. . .] this [. . .], God willing. As for what you mentioned

52. [...to buy] silver for the value of the pepper, but nothing has been heard [...] {alt. Tr.: [...about buying] silver from the proceeds of the pepper, nothing prevented me [from buying]} 

53. the silver, except that it was expensive—five dirhems (weight)

54. [of silver, costing—x] dinar(s), but {alt. tr.: and} I didn’t dare to buy you this at that

55. [price. As for] the ‘share,’ which I charged you for the pepper

56. [..., I reduced] it a great deal, since the sum of all amounted to

recto, right margin

[. . .] of the merchants… There is an agreement between me and them that of every one hundred bahārs of large measure (they receive) 95 bahārs. I incurred losses on ships in this business of pepper belonging to the merchants and on expenses for the ship’s equipment, for which I paid {alt. tr.: and for the loss of the tolls for the ship that we paid}, approximately 4,000 dinars. There has not occurred to anyone such a thing. {alt. tr.: No one ever suffered such a calamity.} And all [...]

verso

1. [. . . May God], the Exalted, recompense and replace what has been lost! And after this 

2. [so-and-so] paid me 2,100 dinars for the ship, a price

3. {alt. tr.: the highest bid} absolutely [unheard of]. He did not accept this, but charged me with

4. [. . .I asked God], the Exalted, [for guidance and] fitted out the ship

5. —the [Mubāra]k—which will sail to Mangalore under the supervision of Sheikh Abū Saʿīd b. Maḥfūẓ {lit., ‘I outfitted the ship...through the agency of Sheikh...to Mangalore’}. 

6. —may God ordain his {alt. tr.: its} safe arrival! I have done so dreading that [enemies]

7. and whoever has no good in him would gloat over my misfortune. I sent you with Sheikh 

8. Abū Saʿīd b. Maḥfūẓ half a basket of dates and a piece {alt. tr.: unit} of

9. ros[e water] and two [rubā]ʿiyyas of sugar and raisins. Please be sure to collect this, my lord,

10. and may you think well of your servant! I shall be glad {alt. tr.: please honor me} to do any errand for you.

11. May you be granted complete well-being and the mercy of

12. [God, and His blessings]! And peace.

13. I sent you with Sheikh Abū Saʿīd a rubāʿiyya of soap.