Letter: T-S AS 184.183

Description

Letter from Mūsā b. Hibatallāh al-Yahūdī al-Mutaṭabbib ("the Jewish doctor") to an unidentified dignitary. In Arabic script. Dating: Perhaps 12th or 13th century based on handwriting and style. Preserved text: افضل تحياته وسلامه على . . . وعلى ابائه الطاهرين. The sender may be Moshe b. Netanʾel ha-Levi, known to have served as a physician in a government hospital; see Goitein, Med Soc II, pp. 528 and 578, and M. A. Friedman, “Maimonides and Zuta: A Tale of Three Bans.” Zion 74 (2005): 473–527. However, not enough is preserved, so this identification is speculative. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE