رسالة: T-S Misc.28.33

الوصف

Letter probably sent from a man in Alexandria to his brother in Aden. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: likely second half of the 12th century. Rudimentary handwriting and spellings. The sender requests various garments; conveys their mother's longing for the addressee; orders an imported Indian medicine for hemorrhoids for their father; and requests unpierced pearls for Ibn al-Faqqās. Conveys news about other merchants' comings and goings, including that none of the Jews have yet arrived from Sicily. He is looking forward to the addressee's return to Egypt with the Kārim fleet this year. He confirms receipt of the letter in which the addressee said that he has repaid Manṣūr b. Ilyās that which he owed him. Manṣur along with several other Jews (including Abū l-ʿIzz and Ibn al-Ḥarīsh) traveled to Sicily and fell into great difficulties - it seems that they were taken captive because they had to raise 50 dinars to be redeemed. Raslān (=Arslān) b. Maḥmūd, who apparently used to live with the addressee in the unidentified Yemeni locale of al-Sarḥā, arrived bringing civet which he had purchased from the addressee. Another group of Jewish traders (Abū l-Majd b. Abū Naṣr b. Elishaʿ and the young son of Avrahm Ibn al-Zurzūr) also traveled to the West and to Sicily and returned to Alexandria only after 14 months with news about the state of Sicily. As the sender was completing the letter, (Abū Naṣr?) b. Elishaʿ arrived from Sicily. This letter may be continued in Bodl. MS heb. d 66/14 (PGPID 19407) (identified by Oded Zinger).